asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he now intends to agree to the Israeli request to establish an embassy in Dublin.

I have nothing to add to the reply given by my predecessor to a similar question on 21 November 1979. On that occasion it was stated that it would be inappropriate and contrary to international practice to speculate publicly on the exchange of resident Ambassadors between Ireland and Israel or indeed any other country where we do not already maintain a resident embassy as this would be a matter for discussion between the Irish Government and the other Government concerned.

I would also repeat that the exchange of resident embassies with other countries is a matter which is kept under continuous review in the light of our international interests and the availability of the necessary resources. We have, of course, diplomatic relations with Israel on a non-residential basis.

Would the Minister accept that, because of the current situation and the difficulties we have with that country, having a ready line of communication with them would be of benefit to us?

It would be beneficial to have resident embassies everywhere, but we have to cut our cloth according to our measure. That basically is the criterion we apply in locating residential embassies. The matter is being examined.