The Ambassador and the individual sections
The Ambassador - Dr. Eckhard Lübkemeier
The political section
The Political Section maintains contact with the government, parliament, the different parties and numerous non-governmental organisations. It observes Irish foreign and domestic policy and keeps the official Irish departments informed about developments in Germany, in particular the Federal German Government's foreign and European policy.
The economics section
The Economic Section is one of the three pillars supporting Germany's promotion of foreign trade; the other two being the Federal Bureau for Foreign Trade Information (BfAI) and the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce Abroad (AHK). The main emphasis of the daily work schedule is placed on German-Irish economic relations and economic relations to third countries.
The consular section
The Legal and Consular Section supports and advises German citizens within the bounds of its possibilities. This comprises such duties as are taken care of in Germany by passport offices and public authorities in charge of nationality matters, notary publics, the courts of law, registry offices and social services. Any Germans who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in an emergency situation in the host country are given assistance by the Embassy so that they are able to help themselves. Foreign nationals who are usually resident in Ireland can apply here for a visa to Germany and the Schengen member states.
The cultural section
The Cultural Section coordinates the foreign cultural policy measures of the German Federal Government and its intermediary organisations in Ireland with the aim of promoting bilateral relations in the fields of education and culture. These relations cover numerous aspects including exhibitions, German film weeks and guest appearances by German musicians and theatres as well as pupil and student exchanges and German language teaching.
The press section
The Press and Public Relations Office maintains contact with the media and informs them about Germany. It deals with written and telephone enquiries made by journalists as well as those made by pupils, teachers and businesses. The aim of this public relations work is to convey a comprehensive, realistic and up-to-date picture of Germany. The Press Office publishes press releases to inform the media and therefore the public about current events and political developments in Germany and in the bilateral relations.
Contact press section
Maritime transport and rail transport each accounted for 6% of the transport modes.
There were about 678.000 births in Germany in 2010.
The ongoing rapid retreat of Arctic sea ice is often interpreted as the canary in the mine for anthropogenic climate change. In a new study, scientists have now systematically examined the validity of this claim. They find that neither natural fluctuations nor self-acceleration can explain the observed Arctic sea-ice retreat. Instead, the recent evolution of Arctic sea ice shows a strong, physically plausible correlation with the increasing greenhouse gas concentration. For Antarctic sea ice, no such link is found - for a good reason.