Vol. 577 No. 1
38 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the additional staff or resources his Department has acquired or will require in order to meet Ireland's obligations as President of the EU during the first six months of 2004; the additional costs which will accrue to his Department arising from the Presidency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30494/03]
The Department of Foreign Affairs has approval from the Department of Finance for a total of 140 additional temporary Presidency related posts at headquarters and abroad. Seventy of the temporary posts are based in the political division and the European Union division of the Department. These divisions have the task of ensuring that the EU's internal and external agendas are managed successfully during Ireland's Presidency. An additional 30 officers have also been temporarily assigned to the permanent representation to the EU in Brussels, in addition to approximately 40 officers assigned there for the Presidency by other Departments. A number of other divisions and missions abroad have received additional staff for Presidency related tasks.
Many of the temporary posts have been filled by officers on Civil Service Commission promotion panels who are awaiting new permanent assignments. After the Presidency, they will be appointed to their new Departments or, if they have not been assigned in the meantime, will return to their parent Departments. Other temporary posts have been filled by officers who have been permanently or temporarily redeployed to the Department from other Departments and offices, by interns or temporary clerical staff at headquarters or locally employed by missions and by officers who have returned from career breaks or special leave.
The Department of Foreign Affairs budget for 2003 includes a provision of €12 million for Presidency related commitments. The Presidency budget for the Department for 2004 will be €25 million.
