Remarks at Foreign Affairs Committee, 2 July 2014

Remarks at Foreign Affairs Committee, 2 July 2014

Thank you, Chairman and members for the invitation to speak here today. Over the years, I have spoken in parliaments in other countries, but it is a special honour for me today to speak, for the first time, in our own

Oireachtas.

I have worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for 35 years, serving in 7 different cities - New Delhi, Vienna (OSCE), Brussels (EU), Edinburgh, Kuala Lumpur, Berlin and London.

One of the big changes I have witnessed during my time in Foreign Affairs has been the progressive increase in the emphasis given to economic promotion. Today, I would say that this has become a leading priority. Personally, I see nothing more important than contributing in every possible way to Ireland's economic recovery.

In my experience, each posting brings its own distinctive challenges and opportunities. I would like to say a few words about my first two Ambassadorial postings before turning to my current assignment in London.

In Kuala Lumpur, our Embassy shared an office with Enterprise Ireland and this meant that I had the closest of co-operation with those who represented EI in KL during my time there. Wherever I have been, I have valued cooperation with the State Agencies, who do a great job in supporting our economic wellbeing.

A feature of that posting was the extent to which educational promotion played an important role. Ireland was an important destination for Malaysian students and places in our medical faculties were especially prized. The Embassy had an important role to play in working with Irish universities who derived significant benefit from hosting Malaysian students.

I was also heavily involved in our consular response to the Asian tsunami of 2004. When Irish citizens are in need of support, they become an Embassy's absolute priority and I spent three weeks in Phuket seeking to trace Irish people who were caught up in the tsunami.

Germany was a very different proposition. I arrived there in October 2009 as the economic clouds over our country were darkening. A key priority during my four years in Berlin was to defend Ireland's reputation which, in the early years of my time there, was under considerable threat as a result of the economic reversals we had suffered.

It was at that time that I began circulating my own newsletter 'Ireland's Road to Economic Recovery' and using social media to spread key positive messages about the Irish economy, highlighting developments that would not necessarily be covered by the German media. I now have my own official Twitter Account, @DanMulhall, which I use as a communications and promotional tool.

In particular, I availed of opportunities that arose during our 2013 EU Presidency when I undertook 64 speaking engagements all over Germany. My speeches and Q&A sessions dealt at least as much with Ireland's recovery as with the priorities of our Presidency.

Our Embassy in London has a different character from any other mission in which I have served. This is because our relations with the UK are deeper, more diverse and more intensive than elsewhere. The best illustration of this is to be found in our economic ties. 40% of the exports of Irish-owned companies go to our neighbouring island. 40% of all visitors to Ireland come from Britain. And 40% of our food and beverage exports, €4 billion in all last year, cross the Irish Sea. Moreover, Irish people are to be found in every walk of life in Britain.

I would like to describe the Embassy's work in promoting Ireland under four headings. First, we work very closely with the Irish Agencies in promoting Ireland's economic interests. We meet regularly to coordinate our efforts. I frequently host events at the Embassy on behalf of the Agencies. Let me give you a few examples.

A few weeks ago, I hosted a dinner for on behalf of Enterprise Ireland in support of Irish companies providing products and services to the aviation sector. This was attended by representatives of Irish companies and their UK-based clients. Our guest speaker that evening was Minister Joe Costello. During the past year, it has been a pleasure to host the

Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and a majority of Government Ministers. Such visits are vital promotional opportunities for Ireland. Every year, we host a dinner for senior executives from the IDA's target companies and a business breakfast around St. Patrick's Day. In the food sector, we host an annual Bord Bia reception for 400 guests - Irish food and drinks companies and their British contacts. We recently held a promotion of Irish beef, which was attended by prestige chefs who are members of Bord Bia's Chefs Irish Beef Club, and by food buyers from significant UK companies.

In conjunction with Tourism Ireland, last autumn we organised a meeting of Gathering Enablers, which was attended by Minister Varadkar and hosted a dinner on the occasion of the World Travel Market, when Minister Ring was our guest of honour.

My experience is that these Embassy events are very effective. The response from Irish companies is invariably hugely positive. Senior people, who will not accept an invitation to a function at a local hotel, are frequently delighted to attend an Embassy event. My wife and I greet all of our guests at the top of the stairs and we are struck by how many people tell us that they have never before been at an Embassy and how pleased they are to have been invited.

It is a great advantage in London that we have colleagues on secondment from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Agriculture and Food, who work closely with me on economic promotion. All of us, including the colleagues from the State agencies, see ourselves as part of Team Ireland in Britain. I want to pay tribute to our team at the Embassy, which I believe does a first class job for Ireland. We receive significant support also from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Second, we engage with the large and diverse Irish community in Britain, who are, I believe, a valuable resource for Ireland, but, more important, they are part of our Irish family. Our Irish community work has broadly two elements. The first is the engagement with our community through the many welfare organisations that serve the needs of vulnerable Irish people throughout Britain. More than 100 such organisations receive funding from the Emigrant Support Programme each year, about £5.3 million in 2013. At the Embassy, we maintain close contact with these groups and I pay frequent visits to them in order to see first hand the great work they do.

The second aspect of our community work is our contact with, and support for, the range of Irish business and professional networks in Britain. We estimate that there around 20 such groups in London alone - for example, the Irish International Business Network, the London Irish Business Society, the Women's Irish Network, the London Irish Graduates Network as well as professional networks involving engineers, architects, lawyers etc. These networks are a valuable source of influence as many of their members occupy influential positions in a British society. For example, about 40 members of the Government's Global Irish Network are based in Britain.

A third aspect of our work is what I would call public and cultural diplomacy. Over the years, I have realised that our culture is an important calling card for Ireland. For a country of our size, there is exceptional international interest in Irish music, dance, literature and the arts. Throughout my career, I have tried to capitalise on this fact. The best example of the appeal of our culture came during the historic State Visit when we put on a wonderful concert, Ceiliúradh, which met with an enthusiastic response from all who experienced it.

We support a range of Irish cultural bodies in Britain and I have delivered a number of recent public lectures - on Ulysses at the York Festival of Ideas, on Sean O'Casey at St. Mary's University and on Commemorations at the University of Liverpool. My recent speeches are available on our Embassy website and I now produce a regular blog.

Last night, we held a function at the Embassy marking the centenary of the Home Rule Act. Journalist Fergal Keane moderated a discussion involving Lord Paul Bew, Prof. Michael Laffan, former Taoiseach, John Bruton, and British historian, Prof. Toye. The event was opened by Minister Jimmy Deenihan. This attracted a very good attendance and was filmed by BBC for broadcast this coming Saturday at 9pm on BBC Parliament.

The final point I want to make concerns the Embassy's role in connecting our two countries. This involves maintaining contact with a wide range of people within the British system - Government Ministers, politicians, senior officials, opinion makers, journalists, business groups, trade unions etc. We take full advantage of London’s status as a global city and maintain contact with International media based there in order to spread the word about Irish recovery.

With this in mind, I attend the annual political party conferences and keep up a dialogue with key contracts with regard to Northern Ireland, the European Union, Ireland's economic recovery. Our aim is to ensure that our position is understood in Britain and that we understand where they are coming from on those issues that concern both our countries.

There were two particular highlights during my first year in London. One was St. Patrick's Day, which is a superb promotional opportunity for Ireland, of which we try to take full advantage. I had the honour this year, accompanied by Minister Rabbitte, of leading the St. Patrick's Day parade through the Streets of London on a sunny Sunday in March. I could not help recalling the words of Percy French, 'and the whole population of a London looked on' as we walked through some of the city's main streets on our way to Trafalgar Square. There was a full programme of promotional events organised in collaboration with the State Agencies.

The President's visit was not just a highlight of the year. It was for me a career highlight. President Higgins impressed everyone who met him and the visit has brought our relations with Britain to a new high. It will be my privilege to help build on this hugely positive platform in the years ahead.

Thank you for your kind attention

Dan Mulhall

Ambassador of Ireland,

London