Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 9 Mar 1999

Vol. 501 No. 6

Written Answers. - EU Meetings.

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

315 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the name of the European Council of Ministers, if any, relevant to her Department; the number of Council meetings she has attended since taking office; the number of meetings attended by an official or permanent representative in her absence; the number of meetings she has had with her equivalent European Ministers outside the Council of Ministers format since taking office; if officials from her Department meet regularly with Commission or other national officials; if so, the regularity with which they meet; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6731/99]

Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (Miss de Valera)

The Council of the European Union relevant to my Department is the Council for Cultural and Audiovisual Affairs. There have been four formal meetings of that Council since my appointment, two of which I attended. There have been two informal meetings, one of which I was able to attend. I was represented at official level in the instances in which it was not possible for me to attend the meetings in person.

Officials from my Department regularly attend a variety of meetings with officials from the Commission and other member states. The principal fora for such meetings are set out below. While the regularity of meetings varies, as it is normally driven by the agenda of the member state holding the Presidency, an indication is given below of the average number of meetings held in the period referred to.

Meeting	Number of meetings
Cultural Affairs Committee	10 per annum
Management Committees of the current EU Cultural programmes – Kaleidoscope, Ariane and Raphael	2 per programme per annum
Working Group on Audiovisual Matters	8 scheduled for first half of 1999
Contact Committee established under the Television without Frontiers Directive	8 held since July 1997
MEDIA 11 Programme	Monthly
Habitats Directive Committee	Twice yearly
LIFE Committee	Twice yearly
Birds Directive Committee	Twice yearly
CITES Management Committee	Quarterly

Officials of my Department also as the need arises attend other meetings organised by institutions of the European Union or by the member state holding the Presidency of the Council; and meet bilaterally with officials of other member states and with officials of institutions of the European Union.

The scheduled meetings of the EUad hoc group on biological diversity, normally some six meetings per annum, and other meetings relating to biodiversity issues are also attended by officials of my Department as required. However, such issues are dealt with at ministerial level through the European Council of Ministers for the Environment.