What do the Irish Ambassadors do in foreign countries?

nomull27

What do they do?
Do they just wait for citzens to lose their passports?

oppenheimer1

nomull27 wrote: »

What do they do?
Do they just wait for citzens to lose their passports?

They represent the interests of the Irish government in their host country. They work with the IDA and enterprise Ireland to encourage investment in Ireland for example. They report back to Ireland of the political environment of the host nation. Have a look at the wikileaks cables to see what an ambassador does.

sink

nomull27 wrote: »

What do they do?
Do they just wait for citzens to lose their passports?

Diplomacy perhaps? How do you think countries communicate and coordinate?

StupidLikeAFox

They keep the state informed of the going on in other countries, and act as a first meeting point between the countries

A good insight was given with the release of the wikileaks cables about Ireland from the USA ambassador here. He was basically briefing the US government on what our leaders were like etc. So this year we had Barack and the Queen over, shortly after Enda came into power. Given what was said by the ambassador about Cowen et al, im sure neither head of state would want to be associated with such an unpopular government. So I would imagine they were advised to hold off their visits until somebody more competent was in charge (Just my opinion)

Apart from that they provide all the consular assistance they can to Irish citizens out foreign. For instance in Libya when the **** hit the fan they were responsible for getting in touch with Irish citizens and getting them out of there.

In general, they are just a bridge between governments, and it means that if somethings happening in a certain country Ireland won't be caught off guard - they have a man on the ground monitoring things.

On a larger scale, have a read of this to have a bit of insight how the US Embassy kept tabs on DeVore! (its a good read)

Hootanany

:rolleyes:

ColHol wrote: »

They keep the state informed of the going on in other countries, and act as a first meeting point between the countries

A good insight was given with the release of the wikileaks cables about Ireland from the USA ambassador here. He was basically briefing the US government on what our leaders were like etc. So this year we had Barack and the Queen over, shortly after Enda came into power. Given what was said by the ambassador about Cowen et al, im sure neither head of state would want to be associated with such an unpopular government. So I would imagine they were advised to hold off their visits until somebody more competent was in charge (Just my opinion)

Apart from that they provide all the consular assistance they can to Irish citizens out foreign. For instance in Libya when the **** hit the fan they were responsible for getting in touch with Irish citizens and getting them out of there.

In general, they are just a bridge between governments, and it means that if somethings happening in a certain country Ireland won't be caught off guard - they have a man on the ground monitoring things.

On a larger scale, have a read of this to have a bit of insight how the US Embassy kept tabs on DeVore! (its a good read)

RMD

Represent the country and it's interests abroad, encourage investment and business ventures, represent ex-patriots in the country and act as a source of information / communication for the government.

Hootanany

Sell Passports to Middle Eastern business men And Women.

later12

Establish sustainable export markets for cattle, butter and young people.

Manic Moran

There are certainly some perks, particularly in some countries which are more regimented than others, but it must be said that it can't be categorized as ' the high life.' Unlike American ambassadors who are often just politicians friends, Irish ones actually have to earn their positions and then work when they get them. The schedule can be brutal (so can the food, it's un diplomatic to refuse to eat the host's delicacy, even if it is half-developed birds still in the egg (philippines), and you can't afford a single slip up or by definition you have an international incident on your hands.

NTM

bijapos

The Ambassador iss essentially the official representative of your countrys government in another country. They are responsible for contacts between governments and for the general running of the Embassy.

Amongst european countries some of its functions have fallen by the wayside with the heightenend personal communications between ministers of EU member states.

The Irish citizen will go to the Consul, not the Ambassador if they have a problem such as a lost passport, problem with police/courts, repatriation etc.

Trade links are dealt with by a Trade Emissary and so on.

Its not an easy job and is probably a world away from providing guns and Aston Martins to James Bond types, i knew a couple of Ambassadors when I lived in Africa and their schedule was more than hectic to say the least.

Obviously the Ambassador in a small embassy will take on some or all of the above jobs, I've seen embassies of EU countries in some countries with a staff of 2 essentially the ambassador and a secretary, the staff of the US in the UK is probably several hundred if not more.

Richard

nomull27 wrote: »

What do they do?
Do they just wait for citzens to lose their passports?

Eat Ferrero Rocher.

Fratton Fred

I don't know about Ambassadors, but I have a friend who was in consular services for a consulate in Mumbai during the attacks (Not the Irish one) and to be honest, what he went through then could well affect the rest of his life.

I would guess people went through the same in a lot of other countries as well, such as Libya recently.

I always thought it wasa a cushy number until he told me what he had to do and despite the fact he may face the trauma of an official function (read piss up) or a harrowing game of tennis against his Spanish counterpart, there are a lot of very very hard aspects to his job as well.

ILikeBananas

Richard wrote: »

Eat Ferrero Rocher.

Damn, I came here to post that!

Son Of A Vidic

Richard wrote: »

Eat Ferrero Rocher.

And usually when the shít hits the fan, direct Irish citizens to the nearest British consulate/embassy for help.

anymore

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

They represent the interests of the Irish government in their host country. They work with the IDA and enterprise Ireland to encourage investment in Ireland for example. They report back to Ireland of the political environment of the host nation. Have a look at the wikileaks cables to see what an ambassador does.

The number of countries who have made serious investment in Ireland is quite small relatievely speaking.

anymore

" He said that economic sovereignty is in question today and the country is looking to the diplomatic service to restore it. "
This is a quote from Gilmore's statement to a meeting of Irish Ambassadors.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0601/gilmoree.html
Where are the issues relating to Ireland's economic sovereignty decided ?Paraguay, Canada, New Zealand, Ghana, Egypt etc ?
Or in Brussels ?

Sticky_Fingers

Any one interested in the Irish Foreign Service should read this book, it gives a very good account of what Irish diplomats actually do and gives some excellent insights into the machinations of the UN and the NI peace process.

The blurb on the back:

'An Accidental Diplomat: My Years in the Irish Foreign Service 1987-1995' is by Eamon Delaney, who started in the Department of Foreign Affairs at the tender age of twenty-four. It was 1987, the eve of Charles Haughey's triumphant return to power. Tense times for the diplomats of Iveagh House. From lonely nights at the Soviet Desk to glamorous soirées during Ireland's presidency of the emerging European Union, Eamon Delaney kept his ear to the ground - a useful skill when wedged precariously between Iran, Iraq and Israel at the UN General Assembly. And more useful still when, at the Irish Consulate, he travelled the strange world of Irish America, doing battle with radical nationalists and having to indulge in a painful amount of céilí dancing... And then there was Northern Ireland, and the Peace Process of 1993-1995, where no amount of dining, spying and manipulation was spared in the pursuit of the ultimate goal - the greater good of officialdom.