Increased Irish Representation Abroad Vital Part of Post-Brexit Planning

Chambers Ireland today (22 August 2017) welcomes the announcement from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar that he intends to double Ireland’s presence on the international stage within the next decade, as part of a new policy initiative, “Ireland’s Global Footprint 2025”.

Speaking this afternoon, Chambers Ireland Director of Policy and Communications Sarah Freeman said, “The UK’s exit from the EU in 2019 will require us to focus on building new trade links, increasing investment and growing tourism into Ireland. The CETA agreement and the recently concluded EU-Japan trade deal hold many benefits for Irish business. Therefore it’s very welcome to see the Government committing to increasing the resources of our embassies and agencies like the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Tourism Ireland operating in key markets”.

“We need more trade, not less, especially in the wake of the UK’s exit from the EU and the likely challenges that will bring. As part of our submission on Budget 2018 we called on Government to invest in our embassy network and in state agencies operating abroad. The Taoiseach’s comments are a welcome step and we urge Government to ensure that this ambition is properly funded as part of Budget 2018.”