Ireland’s Ambassador to Portugal, Ralph Victory told The Portugal News: “It is my great honour to have been Ireland’s Ambassador to Portugal since the summer of 2019, working with an excellent team here in Lisbon.

“A large part of our role is to extend assistance to Irish citizens travelling to Portugal as well as to Irish citizens who are residents in Portugal as they may encounter some problems that require assistance and support from the embassy side. This ranges from anything to whereby they have lost or mislaid their passport and they need travel documentation from us to travel home, or sometimes the nature of the assistance they require is a little bit more substantive and could involve illness or unfortunately, someone passing away.

“The Embassy does extend consular assistance and we aim to provide the very best service that we can and it in this context that we are very pleased to announce that we are inviting Expressions of interest for the position of an Irish Honorary Consul to be based in the Algarve.”

Increase in Irish Residents in Portugal

“Last summer the figures we received from the Portuguese authorities SEF for 2021 stated that there was just over Fifteen hundred permanently resident Irish citizens in the Algarve region and our consensus is that figure will have grown. Many thousands of Irish holiday makers come to the Algarve each year and we estimate that the trend will have increased as well which is also why we are seeking to appoint an honorary consul to better serve our citizens.”

What the Role Entails

The Ambassador explained that “In overall terms, Honorary Consuls are an important element of Ireland’s overall global engagement. We have a network of about 100 Honorary Consuls operating around the world in collaboration with Ireland’s embassies and consulates and like ourselves they offer direct assistance to Irish citizens who, as I have outlined, may find themselves in need of urgent consular support and we ask our Honorary Consuls to help us in promoting Ireland’s economic and other interests abroad.”

The role in the Algarve region is by definition Honorary, so it is not salaried or pensionable. In terms of the essential requirements, The Portugal News was informed that “We are asking for candidates to express interest who are legal residents in the Algarve region. They need to be fluent in both English and Portuguese and they must be in a position to provide a suitable premise in order to be able to carry out the necessary duties of an Honorary Consul member.”

Asides from those requirements, the Ambassador outlined that “Someone who is familiar with both the Portuguese and Irish administrative systems would be favourable and perhaps someone who has some involvement with the Irish community in the region would be very desirable and very helpful if possible.”

Application Process and Deadline

The deadline for these initial Expressions of Interest is Friday, 19th of May. The Ambassador outlined that “We will then carry out a short-listing process based on the Expressions of Interest we receive and then we expect to invite a small number of people for interviews and then the process would carry forward from there. Any appointments would ultimately be subject to approval by the Irish authorities but there is also approval required from the Portuguese authorities, we hope this whole process will be completed during the course of this year as we are hoping to establish the Honorary Consul position as soon as possible.”

To find out more about the role and how to apply, please visit the Embassy’s website https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/portugal/about-us/jobopportunities/expressions-of-interest-sought-honorary-consul-of-ireland-in-the-algarve-region-deadline-19-may-2023-.html

Author

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes