Diplomatic Representation
Dail Éireann — 2021-05-11
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Cathal Berry (IND), Kildare South

I thank the Minister for that very useful response. More than €1 million seems like quite a large outlay for such a bespoke service. Has any consideration been given to resourcing and tasking the Defence Forces to provide such a service on a more permanent basis rather than just on an ad hoc basis? I ask that for a number of reasons. First, Irish embassies overseas are sovereign Irish territory and many other countries use their militaries, even in Dublin, to secure their embassies. Given we do not have a dedicated diplomatic protection agency and the fact we are looking to increase our diplomatic footprint overseas, what are the Minister's thoughts on that? Would he consider resourcing and tasking the Defence Forces on a more standing arrangement?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2021-05-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:49:16+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-05-11