Ireland has one of the most open small economies in the world, whether measured by imports plus exports as a proportion of gross national product, or by international investment. In recent years social and political openness have matched the economic performance. Irish people have travelled all over the world on business and as tourists, Ireland's affairs have become much better known, and people of Irish background overseas have identified increasingly with this island.
Compared to this international involvement the level and scale of Irish diplomatic representation is highly effective but very thinly spread. We have the smallest diplomatic service in the European Union and in several parts of the world are lamentably under-represented compared to the actual or potential economic and political benefits of closer contacts. This is most obviously the case in Latin America. But it is nearly as true of the Asian region, especially when full account is taken of the growing wealth and huge population of that region.
Although Ireland's representation in Asia has increased in recent years, following the opening of an embassy in Malaysia and marginal increases of personnel in China, it is nowhere nearly adequate to the opportunities available. That is why the report in this newspaper today that an inter-departmental committee is recommending a substantial upgrading of representation in China, an awareness campaign about this country in the Asian region and an easing of visa restrictions on Asians visiting Ireland is so welcome. It has yet to be considered by the Cabinet, but it bears the stamp of the Taoiseach's conviction after his visit to China last September that much more needs to be done. It deserves to be implemented promptly.
The overall pattern of Irish representation in trade, commercial and diplomatic terms has historically been concentrated in the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States. In recent years representation in Africa has increased, in line with the concentration of Ireland's development assistance programmes there. While this distribution of resources has certainly reflected the bulk of Ireland's economic and political direct engagement internationally it has not been at all adequate to anticipate major economic and political trends in what is becoming a smaller and more interconnected world.
The very success of the Irish economy in recent years has exposed the limitations of the existing distribution, especially in Asia. The capacity to take opportunities is closely related to levels of expertise and representation, as the Taoiseach recognised in China. Over the last year the Asian economic crisis has exposed even more closely than before how vulnerable the whole world economy is to events there.
For Ireland's diplomacy to be most effective it needs to have the capacity to absorb and act upon information coming both directly and from multilateral settings such as the EU. This document demonstrates conclusively how understaffed this State is in the Asian region compared to other smaller EU member-states. In the long run a more sophisticated and even more open Irish economic and political system will suffer if it does not close these gaps.