State spends €66m on Irish embassies

The State spent more than €66m on staffing and rental costs for its embassies around the world last year, figures released by the Department of Foreign Affairs have confirmed.

More than €8m of that total was spent on rent, with the premises in Brussels alone costing more than €1m to lease each year.

By far the most costly Irish embassy is in London. It cost the State more than €6.3m in 2015, €680,000 of which was spent on rent. Other high-cost locations include Paris (€3m), Washington (€2.2m), and Tokyo (€1.8m). Last year’s €1.9m cost of the embassy in Maputo, capital of Mozambique, excludes rent as the Irish State owns the building, which has a value of €2.8m.