AN IRISH Senator has called on the Government to commit to its diplomatic presence in Britain by anchoring a new 'Ireland House.'
Fine Gael Senator Neale Richmond made the comments as An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar made a commitment to double Ireland's global footprint by 2025.
The remarks will be welcomed by the Irish in Britain outside of London who do not have a diplomatic representative in their local areas.
The senator said:“As relations between the UK and Ireland are set to change drastically post Brexit, it is vital that the Government increases its footprint on the ground in the regions of the UK to maintain and build vital business and people-to-people links with our closest neighbour.
“As it stands, we have a busy and dynamic Embassy in London and an excellent Consulate in Edinburgh but there is huge scope to expand our presence as we have done in other key partner countries, notably the USA in recent years."
Senator Richmond said along with the 'traditional' diplomatic and consular responsibilities, the Government is right to increase the roles of key agencies, including the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland.
"All of these agencies are active in the UK and there is huge scope to build on this with a new Consulate to anchor new “Ireland House” operations which bring diplomats and State agencies together into one powerful and effective office."
The Senator advised the obvious option would be to expand the Irish presence in northern England and Scotland.
“With over 800,000 Irish people now resident in Great Britain, and bearing in mind the vital trade and tourism interests, an obvious move would be to increase our presence in critical locations such as the so-called Northern Powerhouse region which takes in cities across the north of England including Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds.
"The English Midlands boasts many key commercial centres with large Irish communities in Birmingham and Coventry."
He also said an obvious location for a Consulate would be in Wales.
“Cardiff is another obvious location for a Consulate and a new mission there would deepen our connections with Wales and build on the work undertaken by the Taoiseach through the British-Irish Council.”
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