The Department of Foreign Affairs has spent nearly €1.4 million over the past two years on diplomatic bags – secure pouches typically used for transporting documents and other materials between embassies, reports Breaking News.
Scrutiny around the use of these bags arose in 2022 after it was revealed they were used to send novelty socks and empty gift bags from Dublin to New York, leading the department to remind staff about their “appropriate use”.
Despite this, spending on sending diplomatic pouches between the department and overseas embassies has continued to climb, reports Breaking News.
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act initially indicated that over €2 million had been spent on diplomatic bags in 2023 and 2024. However, the department later clarified that this was due to a “clerical error” and corrected the amount to just under €1.4 million.
Diplomatic bags are protected by international law, which ensures they cannot be opened or detained by authorities in other nations. Couriers carrying them also benefit from diplomatic protections, reports Breaking News.
Concerns were raised about the cost of using this service after 22 empty gift bags were sent from Dublin to Ireland’s UN mission in New York as part of the campaign for a Security Council seat.
Interestingly, those same gift bags had originally been sent from a New York-based supplier to Iveagh House in Dublin, reports Breaking News.
Back then, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy pointed to a major increase in spending tied to the Security Council campaign and criticised the shipment of novelty socks, claiming it “had cost the public €100,000”.
He urged that “much stricter rules” be introduced to make sure the bags are reserved for “necessary official work”.
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson explained that the diplomatic pouch system is used for transporting mail, official documents, and equipment to and from Ireland’s 103 diplomatic and consular missions around the world, reports Breaking News.
“The diplomatic bag is used for official purposes only and generally includes items such as citizens’ passports, return of official documents to citizens, visas, ICT equipment, diplomatic mail, etc.,” the spokesperson said, reports Breaking News.
They described diplomatic bags as “an essential and confidential service” governed by the Vienna Convention, which prohibits inspection of the bags to protect the secrecy of their contents.
“On an annual basis, an average of 5,000 diplomatic bags are sent and received by the department’s registry team based at HQ… The cost in 2023 was €670,757 and in 2024 was €725,430,” they added, noting that the previously released figures included a “clerical error,” reports Breaking News.
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