asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will list the number of advisory bodies set up by his Department and give details of the activities of these bodies and the budgetary provisions for each of them.
Ceisteanna—Questions . Oral Answers . - Foreign Affairs Advisory Bodies .
15.
: The advisory bodies associated with the Department for Foreign Affairs are the Cultural Relations Committee and the Advisory Council for Development Co-operation.
The Cultural Relations Committee is a voluntary body appointed annually by me which was first set up in 1948. Its function is to advise on the administration of the annual grant-in-aid voted by the Dáil for the development of cultural relations with other countries and the enhancement of the country's standing abroad. Copies of a report on its activities in 1979 are in the Dáil Library.
The activities recommended by the Committee are funded from the Grant-in-Aid for Cultural Relations of the Vote for Foreign Affairs, the amount of which in the current year is £270,000.
The function of the Advisory Council on Development Co-operation is to provide a forum for a representative discussion of matters relating to development co-operation, and to offer advice to the Government, through the Minister for Foreign Affairs, on such matters. The Council met for the first time on 21 March 1980. Since then a number of meetings have been held and three working groups have been formed. The budgetary provision for 1980 is £25,000.