Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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175. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the main policy achievements of his Department since 23 January 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38755/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Since the formation of the government in January, my Department has made significant progress, across a range of policy areas, delivering on the commitments set out in the Programme for Government. Moreover, it has done so an increasingly challenging international context.

We have continued to provide a first class passport and consular service. We expect to issue close to one million passports again this year and my officials have continued to provide excellent consular assistance to Irish citizens abroad, including those caught up in the conflict between Israel and Iran.

Sustaining peace and reconciliation on this island has remained an overarching priority and over the last number of months we have engaged intensively with the UK Government to address issues relating to the legacy of the Northern Ireland conflict. More broadly, my Department continues to engage on an ongoing basis with a wide range of interlocutors in Northern Ireland across a range of political, economic, social and other issues.

Where appropriate, we have continued to share lessons from our experience of peace on the island of Ireland, an important duty as we face a rising number of conflicts globally. In particular, Ireland has continued to champion the role of women in bringing about peace, with Ireland’s Fourth National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) approved by Cabinet on 8 July.

The agreement of a new programme of cooperation set out in the UK-Ireland 2030 Joint Statement at the first UK-Ireland Summit in Liverpool in March was a significant milestone, and has provided a clear platform to fulfil the full potential of the relationship. In addition, my Department launched a new Ireland-Wales Shared Statement 2030 in early July and will launch a new cooperation framework with Scotland in the autumn.

We have stepped up engagement with our diaspora communities abroad initiating consultations on a new Diaspora Strategy that will meet the evolving needs of the global Irish, support those who wish to return to Ireland, and deepen our connection with new generations who share a sense of Irish identity. This included the launch of an on-line consultation process, the Global Irish Survey, by Minister of State Richmond on 7 July.

In the last number of months, preparations for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2026 have intensified. The EU Presidency will be a significant opportunity for Ireland. We will play an important role in shaping the EU’s agenda and ensuring the Union continues to deliver for citizens across the continent.

We have continued to contend with an uncertain geopolitical situation. We have been steadfast in our support for the people and government of Ukraine, at EU and international level, providing humanitarian and stabilisation assistance, alongside non-lethal military support, and strong political support, including for Ukraine’s European perspective.

We have provided consistent and principled leadership in responding to the unfolding conflicts in the Middle East. This has included ongoing support to EU efforts to assist the transition in Syria and the reconstruction of Lebanon. I have also continued to call for an end to the horrific suffering in Palestine, and the release of the remaining hostages, while championing efforts to revitalise support for the two state solution. In the last number of weeks, in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, my Department has advanced work to enact legislation prohibiting import of goods from illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

We have also continued to develop relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council, through the EU, as we elaborate Strategic Partnership Agreements and seek to advance bilateral and bloc to bloc Free Trade Agreements. In addition to strengthening the economic relationship we have also continued to build strong political relationships with key countries in the region as part of our effort to contribute to an enduring peace in the region.

At the United Nations, we have been appointed as co-facilitators of two key processes, the process on revitalisation of the Commission on the Status of Women (alongside Saint Kitts and Nevis), and the organization of the high-level meeting to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth (alongside Malawi). We see both of these as an opportunity for Ireland to demonstrate our commitment to the multilateral order, with the UN at its centre.

More broadly, in the context of increased international uncertainty around humanitarian and development priorities and budgets, we have maintained our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and our focus on tackling poverty, hunger and gender equality, in line with the Government’s international development policy, “A Better World”. We have also maintained progress in increasing our ODA towards the achievement of the UN target of providing 0.7% Gross National Income.

In January, following my appointment, my Department took on responsibility for Trade Policy and my officials have worked tirelessly in the last number of months to promote an open rules based trading system, so important for Ireland’s prosperity. Notably, I have established the Government Trade Forum which brings together key government, business representatives and other stakeholders to support a strategic consideration of Ireland’s approach to international trade issues. I have to date convened six meetings of the Forum.

A key message that has come clearly from the Forum is the need for greater diversification in our export markets. In this regard work has begun on a Market Diversification Action Plan which will provide a clear roadmap for a whole-of-government approach to enhance Ireland’s trading relationships with new and emerging markets, and also to maximise value from established markets where there is further potential for Irish companies.

In that context, we have also intensified our outreach in the United States, including through a high frequency of engagement at political level. At a critical moment for the remarkable and mutually beneficial economic relationship between Ireland and the United states, we have engaged closely with our EU partners to ensure Ireland’s interests are reflected in EU-US negotiations on trade policy.

We have also continued the work of deepening our engagement and enhancing our influence globally. In March 38 representatives of the State brought our message to more than 90 cities in 40 countries (including across 15 US states) for St Patrick’s Day promoting Ireland as a place to invest, visit, work or study.

Later this year, we will open embassies in Belgrade, Sarajevo, and Chisinau. Preparations are ongoing to open consulates general in Malaga and Melbourne in 2026. Ireland House in Tokyo was officially opened on 2 July by the Taoiseach. A review of the implementation of the Global Ireland strategy is underway, and in this regard, we are also engaged in work on a successor strategy - Global Ireland 2040 - that will further enhance our reputation, visibility and influence abroad.

We are deepening our engagement with key Asian partners such as India through the Government Action Plan approved last March while early next year we will open our 18th mission in the Asia Pacific region with a new Consulate in Melbourne. 2025 has also seen Ireland’s participation in the World Expo in Osaka.

To sustain this level of delivery we have continued to invest in our people the systems that support them. The Department now has over 3,000 staff serving in over 100 locations around the world and increasingly staff are required to operate in complex and challenging environments. I think particularly of the experience of our teams in Kyiv, Tel Aviv, Ramallah and Tehran in recent months.

Finally, I will shortly publish a new Statement of Strategy for my Department which will set out how we will deliver on behalf of Irish citizens in, at home and abroad, in the period ahead.