2023 Global Ireland Summit
- Published on: 23 October 2023
- Last updated on: 12 April 2025
**Note: Media can register to attend by emailing press.registrations@dfa.ie
The 2023 Global Ireland Summit takes place in Dublin Castle tomorrow, Tuesday 24 October.
The annual gathering brings together leaders from across Government, the public service, business, state agencies, culture and the community and civil society sectors, together with Ireland’s international diplomatic network and wider stakeholders from locations around the world. The Summit explores progress and opportunities under Global Ireland, the government’s strategy to double the scope and impact of Ireland’s global footprint by 2025.
The Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin, will host the Summit and deliver the keynote address.
A diverse range of speakers at the Summit will include the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, and the European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly.
The Summit is the highlight of a four-day series of events and engagements beginning on Monday, 23 October, with the department’s annual Heads of Mission conference and concluding on Thursday, 26 October, with the Global Schools programme in which Heads of Mission and Peacekeepers from the Defence Forces will visit secondary schools in different parts of Ireland to discuss their work.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will address the Heads of Mission and the Summit. The Taoiseach said:
"The Global Ireland Strategy shows an Ireland that is engaged and active in the world. Looking back to 2018 and the launch of the Global Ireland strategy, it was evident that to achieve what we wanted to in the world, we needed to take a generational leap forward in the scale and depth of Ireland’s global presence, engagement, and capacity to influence world affairs.
"In the period since, we have seen an unprecedented expansion in new embassies, consulates and agency offices and staff around the world; increased our international development budget; and we have been elected to the UN Security Council and served with distinction.
"We have instituted a strong Team-Ireland collaborative approach all around the world, and have developed tailored strategies for its different regions. We have taken a whole-of-government approach, mobilising every government department and State agency to make its contribution. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has played a part.”
The Tánaiste Micheál Martin said:
"I am really pleased to have the opportunity to attend the Global Ireland Summit. This summit offers an important opportunity to discuss the implementation of the Global Ireland strategy and I look forward to meeting attendees and engaging on the significant work being carried out to increase Ireland’s footprint and influence around the world.
"A stronger, wider and deeper Global Ireland network will continue to help Ireland take on global economic, political and environmental challenges. It will protect our economic interests, promote our values and build stronger bridges to our diaspora. Team Ireland is government departments and agencies working together - as one team at home and increasingly under one roof overseas - to deliver for the Irish public.”
The recent Review of the Global Ireland Strategy 2018 – 2025 confirmed that delivery of the strategy is on target. The opening or announcement of 22 new Embassies or Consulates (19 new Missions opened - 10 Embassies, 9 Consulates; 3 new Missions announced - Embassy Islamabad and Consulates in Munich and Milan) has given Ireland a stronger platform to win jobs and investment, promote our values and our culture, and reach out to our diaspora. Investment by IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Board Bia, Tourism Ireland, Culture Ireland, and Screen Ireland in order to expand their networks is bringing the best of Irish goods and produce further in the world and bringing jobs, investment and visitors to Ireland.
In addition to the 22 missions opened since the launch of the Strategy, Ireland will open four additional overseas missions before 2025. They are currently 20 Ireland Houses where the Embassy and State agencies are co-located and additional flagship Ireland Houses will be developed and opened in Tokyo, London and New York before 2025.
A full list of the priority actions that are agreed by Government will be implemented to deliver the Global Ireland strategy for 2024/25 are listed below.
The theme of the Global Ireland Summit is Community, Creativity and Transformation: Collaborating to deliver Global Impact. Discussions will reflect and expand on several areas including:
- Ireland's Global Voice: priorities for young Irish people
- technology and artificial Intelligence
- climate and energy
- future of Europe
Notes
A: The following are the priority Global Ireland actions agreed by Government to deliver over 2024-2025:
- open three new missions in Milan, Munich, and Islamabad and make a decision on further mission openings
- expand the number of Ireland Houses including developing the new flagship Ireland Houses in Tokyo, New York, and London
- expand assistance for promoting Irish arts and culture internationally – implementing Culture Ireland’s 2022-2025 strategy, appointing Cultural Officers in seven new locations, furthering international cultural capital projects, holding an Irish cultural season in Germany 2024
- deliver a comprehensive programme for Ireland at Expo 2025 Osaka as a platform to promote Ireland in Japan and the wider Asia Pacific region
- develop a new regional strategy for the Middle East and North Africa by end 2023
- develop a cross-government attaché programme placing experts in targeted missions around the world, including new health attaché posts in Brussels and Geneva to step up our engagement in EU and WHO global health planning and coordination
- implement international communication strategy with Ireland.ie as the primary digital platform
- achieve the ambition to double the total value of Enterprise Ireland client exports outside the UK from the 2015 baseline by 2025; double Eurozone exports by 2025; and increase the diversification of client exports into new markets, with at least 70% of exports going beyond the UK by 2025 with a value of €21 billion
- progress implementation of the new trade and investment strategy Value for Ireland, Values for the World (2022-2026), including:
o a collaborative joined-up approach to country engagement with refreshed ‘Local Market Teams’ covering 35 key markets across the world; and
o an annual Global Ireland ‘all of government’ trade missions, 2023-2025
- achieve diversification of FDI source markets, doubling growth in IDA-assisted project investments from non-US markets from a 2018 baseline
- diversify international markets and achieve export growth targets set out in the Food Vision 2030 strategy
- launch a new International Education, Research, and Innovation strategy (2023)
- review Government of Ireland and other Scholarship schemes
- work with third level partners in the teaching and promotion of the Irish language overseas
- implement New Tourism Strategy resetting our tourism targets, including with new ambitions for sustainable tourism and for emerging markets
- attract major sporting events to Ireland and ensure Team Ireland benefits and linkages
- build on the legacy of our United Nations Security Council term and Council of Europe presidency, including:
o by seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2027-2029 term; and
o through our leadership role as co-facilitator for the negotiations on the political declaration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit in September 2023
- enhance Ireland’s impact in shaping the future direction of EU policies, budgets, programmes, and legislation, particularly in preparation for Ireland’s presidency of the EU in 2026, via our presidency of the Eurogroup, and through increased representation of Irish citizens in the EU institutions
- consolidate the strong foundations already in place for Irish as an official language of the EU and raise awareness about the opportunities arising from this status for the language among the public, officials and elected representatives
- contribute an additional €50 million to combat child wasting over three years (2022-24)
- more than double overall Climate Finance spend to at least €225 million per year by 2025
B: The following have been achieved since the adoption of the Global Ireland Strategy in 2018:
- successful 2021-2022 term on the UN Security Council and leadership role as co-facilitator for the negotiations on the political declaration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit in September 2023
- successful Presidency of the Council of Europe in 2022
- new Irish Arts Center in New York, funding for the redevelopment of the London Irish Centre, and new strategic plan for the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris
- 22 new Embassies or Consulates around the world
- 8 new Enterprise Ireland offices, 1 new Bord Bia office, IDA Ireland presence in 10 new locations
- new Screen Ireland & Tourism Ireland offices in USA
- new Agriculture, Trade, Culture, and Finance attachés appointed
- Global Ireland regional strategies for engaging with Asia-Pacific, Africa, the Nordic region, Latin America/Caribbean and the US/Canada have been launched
- observer membership of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries
- confirmation that Ireland will co-host Euro 2028 football championships
- comprehensive programme of events to mark 50th anniversary of EU membership (2022-2023)
- launch of A Career for EU strategy (May 2021)
- trade and investment missions in 2022 to West Coast USA; Portugal; US and Mexico; Spain; France, the Netherlands and Germany; the UK; Singapore; and Denmark
- Irish language initiatives overseas including the Massive Open Online Course Fáilte ar line, and a ‘cyber-Gaeltacht’
- progress made on delivering economic impact of €2.38 billion from international education over the lifetime of the Irish Educated – Globally Connected strategy
- introduction of Lithuanian, Mandarin Chinese, Polish and Portuguese as Leaving Certificate subjects and a new draft Primary Curriculum Framework which will introduce foreign languages in senior classes at primary level
- new Global Ireland Diaspora Strategy
- more than 550 Defence Forces personnel deployed to peacekeeping missions (2022)
- Overseas Development Assistance allocation over €1 billion for first time (Budget 2022) - increased to €1.23 billion (Budget 2023)