Gaeilge

Search gov.ie

Press release

Global Ireland strategy has helped Ireland to deal more effectively with international challenges

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste Micheál Martin, and Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Transport, Eamon Ryan, have launched a review of the government’s Global Ireland strategy which shows it has helped Ireland to deal with recent global challenges more effectively.

The Taoiseach published the Global Ireland strategy in 2018 with the aim of doubling the scope and impact of Ireland’s global engagement in the period to 2025. It represents the most ambitious renewal and expansion of Ireland’s international presence ever undertaken in terms of diplomacy, culture, business, overseas development assistance, tourism and trade.

Since then, Ireland was elected to the United Nations Security Council, and has opened 22 new missions around the world, as well as eight new Enterprise Ireland offices, a new Bord Bia office, and expanded the IDA Ireland to ten new locations.

The Strategy focuses on growing and diversifying export markets, inward investment and tourism. It aims to ensure that Ireland is well positioned to build the alliances necessary to advance our interests and defend our positions in international settings. The Strategy means that Ireland is better able to advocate for and achieve our foreign policy objectives, including international development, peace, disarmament and democratic security, while strengthening our engagement with our 70 million-strong diaspora and bringing our rich culture and heritage to wider audiences.

The Review examined the objectives set in 2018 and considered whether they remain effective. It found that implementation of the Global Ireland 2025 strategy has brought benefits to the country, including equipping us to better withstand the challenges of recent years; positioning us to make effective contributions on issues of national and global concern, and supporting a diversification in markets and international alliances. The review also identified areas for greater focus and action in the period ahead.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said:

"I remember launching this Strategy alongside then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney in 2018. I was determined to increase Ireland's diplomatic and agency footprint on the ground around the world. I am so happy at what has been achieved since with new embassies and enterprise agency offices in places like LA, Mumbai, Miami, Manchester, Frankfurt and Wellington. It's hard to believe we did not have a physical presence in these cities before.

“We were also elected to a seat on the UN Security Council, have increased our International Development programme budget to over €1 billion a year, became founders of PESCO, the EU's structured co-operation on defence and security, and there are now Irish people in several top European roles. In 100 years of statehood, I don't think Ireland's global influence has ever been so heavy. Trade and investment levels broke all records in 2022. But we must not rest on our laurels, we need to consolidate what has been achieved and build on it.

“Global Ireland is a statement of ambition. An ambition for Ireland to be more visible, more active and more successful in promoting our interests and values around the world. In publishing this report, the government is showing our determination to meet the target we set in 2018 to double Ireland’s international footprint.

“The Global Ireland strategy is as important today as when it was launched in 2018. At that time the world was already becoming a much more uncertain place. That uncertainty has only increased since then. Because we have a wider and deeper presence in the world, Ireland has been better equipped to respond to major global events like Brexit, the pandemic and Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine.

“By having a stronger international presence, and by diversifying supply chains and markets for our exports and investments, we are making our economy stronger and more resilient to global challenges. Our higher profile and deeper engagement around the world gives us a platform to win more jobs, more investment and more tourism to Ireland.”

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Micheál Martin, said:

“Team Ireland has become a living reality with government departments and agencies working together, and increasingly under one roof overseas, to deliver economic benefits for the Irish public. The Global Ireland network matters. Having an Embassy in Kyiv when Russia launched a war on Ukraine and being on the UN Security Council when humanitarian aid to the Syrian people was on the line, are two real world examples of this in action.”

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Transport, Eamon Ryan, said:

“The period since the Global Ireland strategy was adopted in 2018 has also seen Ireland becoming an increasingly important voice on climate internationally. Our Climate Act is recognised as one of the most ambitious in the world, while we are also making great strides in terms of switching to a circular economy and moving on from the “take, make, waste” model. Government’s adoption of the Global Ireland Review shows our commitment right across government to make sure that Ireland has the means to make its voice heard, to be trusted to listen to the voices of other states in often sensitive negotiations, and to advance our values, including our commitment to climate and social justice.”

Work on implementation of the Global Ireland strategy will continue with a focus on the new and renewed objectives identified in this Review. The government will undertake a final review of the Strategy following its conclusion at the end of 2025.

The following have been achieved since the adoption of the Global Ireland Strategy in 2018:

  • successful 2021-2022 term on the UN Security Council
  • 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 missions around the world
  • 8 new Enterprise Ireland offices, 1 new Bord Bia office, IDA Ireland presence in 10 new locations
  • new Screen Ireland and 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
  • 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)

Between now and the end of 2025, the primary objectives are as follows:

  • 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
  • implement new Tourism Strategy (2023) 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:

- by seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2027-2029 term; and

- through our leadership role as co-facilitator for the negotiations on the political declaration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit in September 2023.

  • 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
  • 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
  • work with third level partners in the teaching and promotion of the Irish language overseas
  • progress implementation of the new trade and investment strategy Value for Ireland, Values for the World (2022-2026), including:

- a collaborative joined-up approach to country engagement with refreshed ‘Local Market Teams’ covering 35 key markets across the world; and

- an annual Global Ireland ‘all of government’ trade missions, 2023-2025.

  • 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
  • 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
  • deliver a comprehensive programme for Ireland at Expo 2025 Osaka as a platform to promote Ireland in Japan and the wider Asia Pacific region
  • launch a new International Education, Research, and Innovation strategy (2023)
  • review Government of Ireland and other Scholarship schemes
  • 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
  • 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

Part of

Campaigns