FOI reveals 1 million reasons why Irish embassy in Ukraine is a mirage.

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A little over two months ago I decided to undertake some investigation into the Irish embassy in Ukraine. Specifically, I entered a Freedom of information request with the following three questions.

1. The total amount spent by the Dept of Foreign Affairs on capital/rental/refurbishment works on all of Ireland's Ukrainian embassy in 2021.

2. Invoices and other relevant procurement documents in relation to the above works

3. All e-mail correspondence between Minister Simon Coveney and the Irish Embassy in Ukraine from September 1st 2021 and March 1st 2022.

Can you advise if it is possible to secure this information?

The initial response from the Department of Foreign Affairs was some somewhat bizarre. The department claims that no monies were spent on rent, refurbishment or other works in relation to the setting up of our Irish embassy in Kiev in 2021. FOI response extract below.

I refer also to the acknowledgement of your request which was sent to you on 30 March 2023. As outlined in the acknowledgement email, searches for records within the scope of your request were undertaken by our Property Management Unit, and also by the Office of the Minister. They advised that;

- There was no capital or refurbishment works or associated procurement carried out at Ireland’s Embassy in Ukraine in 2021, nor is the Embassy premises leased.

- There is no record of any email correspondence between Minister Simon Coveney and the Irish Embassy in Ukraine between September 1st 2021 and March 1st 2022.

So, unsurprisingly, this response gave me pause for a little thought. The Irish embassy in Kiev has been much heralded by state and media since its “opening” in 2021. Both Coveney and the current incumbent, Micheal Martin have spoken to its alleged Irish importance ( Irish pop in Ukraine < 500 ) yet the paper trail points to almost no Irish spending on an embassy or embassy services and security in Kiev. In addition, the ambassador to Ukraine has been interviewed a number of times but according to the above response the Irish government has left no financial footprint. I decided to ask a follow up question.

For over a month I received no reply to the follow up question. Until, last Friday, May 19th. You might say it was well worth the wait. I am going to reprint the correspondence here in full.

Dear Mr. O’Neill,

Further to the query you raised on foot of the freedom of information request (FOI/Req/23/040) response, I now provide you with the following information in relation to our embassy in Kyiv.

The Embassy of Ireland in Kyiv is currently co-located in a small temporary office facilitated in a building with the European External Action Service (which is the diplomatic service of the European Union).  For this reason, no expenditure was incurred in relation to capital/refurbishment works.  While the Department of Foreign Affairs has not concluded a commercial lease, the department makes a contribution to the EEAS toward the costs the EEAS incurs, including its rental costs and related costs.  During 2022, reimbursements totalling €947,958 were paid by the department to the EEAS.  

I hope that you might find this information helpful.  Should there be anything further that you require, then please do let me know. 

With best regards

Ireland is using the diplomatic services of the European Union in Ukraine. It would seem we no longer have the facility to open, maintain and manage our own embassies without EU help/interference. For this dubious luxury the Irish taxpayer is paying 1 million euro to the EEAS diplomatic services for a small temporary office in Ukraine.

Remind me again why Ireland needed a “ small temporary office “ in the EEAS in Kiev, Ukraine in 2021, pre the war ?

I guess we just send an Irish ambassador to where ever the EU commission dictates we need one.

Gosh, it’s almost like all these people knew something big was going to happen in 2022.

Go Figure.

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