Vol. 445 No. 6
117 Miss Harney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of official trips abroad he has made since he took office; the number of persons that accompanied him on each of these trips; and the cost of the various trips. [771/94]
Since my appointment as Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs in January 1993 I have fulfilled 33 European Union ministerial commitments abroad, eight Anglo Irish related ministerial commitments and four other commitments in relation to UN General Assembly, OECD and Stability Pact Conference. I have also undertaken ten other official trips abroad. Those arose in connection with State visits abroad by President Robinson and recommended official bilateral visits.
Details of the trips undertaken by me in the periods 31 January-4 October 1993 and 1 January-27 March 1994 have already been supplied to the House in replies to parliamentary questions on 7 October 1993 (Questions Nos. 16 and 23) and 29 March 1994 (Question No. 86). Details of the other official visits abroad during the period October-December 1993 and from April 1994 to date are given in the following tables. In so far as the most recent trips are concerned, actual costs arising for my Department have not yet been brought fully to account. However, the estimated total cost arising for my Department of the trips listed in both tables, inclusive of the costs of those accompanying me, amounts to approximately £127,000.
Every effort continues to be made to keep the costs of visits to the minimum consistent with the appropriate discharge of my responsibilities as Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs. Since my appointment I have been conscious of the need to keep expenditure on ministerial travel to a minimum. To this effect I arranged for my travel budget to be reduced by approximately 12 per cent for 1993 and I am hopeful that this reduction can be maintained in 1994.
