Vol. 469 No. 3
231 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for the Marine the number of persons employed by him on a full-time, part-time and contract basis for the duration of the Irish Presidency of the EU; the total costs involved in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17235/96]
The Department of the Marine has appointed a member of staff to the position of EU Presidency Co-ordinator. The post carries a special allowance which amounts to £2,283.
In addition, a former officer of the Department has been retained on a consultancy basis to represent Ireland at a series of external fisheries negotiations which take place at this time of year between the Community and third countries and international organisations and which entails co-ordination of the Community position by the Presidency. The costs are expected to be of the order of £1,500 exclusive of travel and subsistence expenses. The travel costs involved cannot be definitively quantified at this stage as the locations for some of the negotiation rounds have yet to be fixed.
