Irish Distillers has expressed "dissatisfaction" that the Republic's honorary consul in Bucharest, Romania, is working as a consultant with one of its competitors, Seagram of Canada.

The company says Mr Barry Mulligan, who has been the Irish consul in the area for more than two years, should not be working for a company which is competing against an Irish product.

The regional manager for Irish Distillers in the area, Mr Michael Borre said, it was "ironic" that an individual retained by Department of Foreign Affairs should be assisting a company which is competing against Irish Distillers "while being paid by the Irish taxpayer".

Mr Mulligan also works with Enterprise Ireland in the area as a trade consultant, and Mr Borre said these agencies are there to promote Irish products, not their competitors.

The issue of Mr Mulligan's work with Seagram, whose Chivas Regal competes directly with Irish Distillers' Jameson brand in Romania, features in this week's edition of the Bucharest Business Week, an English language business newspaper.

Mr Mulligan, speaking to The Irish Times last night, said that, as a businessman, he has several commercial interests, among them several research consultancies in Romania.

"I work for all kinds of people and am not in this country solely to promote Irish products," he said. He added that if he only worked on Irish projects he would "find it hard to make a living".

Enterprise Ireland uses Mr Mulligan's company, Mercury SA, to carry out certain research projects in Romania and a spokesman said that his role as a consul was "totally separate".

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said Mr Mulligan's work for the department concerns "looking after the Irish community in the country and facilitating business people visiting there".