Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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62. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her Department’s plans to expand Ireland’s diplomatic presence across Canada and the United States; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66710/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Maintaining and strengthening bilateral relations with the US and Canada is a top priority for this Government. This is reflected in our level of investment in the relationships.

In the US, Ireland has nine diplomatic missions, including our Embassy in Washington DC and eight Consulates General. This network of diplomatic missions has been expanded under the Global Ireland Strategy, with the opening of new Consulates General in Los Angeles and Miami. They complement the established network of Consulates General in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, New York and San Francisco. In Canada, we have opened Consulates General in Vancouver and Toronto to support the work of our Embassy in Ottawa. In September, the Tánaiste opened our new Embassy building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. and the Taoiseach opened the new Embassy building in Ottawa.

This diplomatic network works in a highly collaborative way with the state agencies, as one Team Ireland, to advance Irish interests. Many of our missions operate in a Ireland House format, with the diplomatic and state agency teams working under one roof.

As well as expanding our mission network, we have deepened our expertise in the US and Canada with the presence of two Talent and Innovation Attachés, three Cultural Officers, and a dedicated Francophone Officer to advance Ireland's outreach and engagement to French speaking Canadians.

While there are no current plans to establish new diplomatic missions in the U.S. or Canada, the 2026 Budget included a new allocation of €2.5 million to reinforce Ireland’s Embassy and Consulates General across the U.S. and strengthen Ireland’s presence in key locations around the world as part of the Government’s Market Diversification Strategy. In the new year, I will bring forward a new strategy for our relations with the U.S.