Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 April 2009
217 Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the proportion of the corporate entertainment budget spent on formal lunches and dinners, including wines and beverages since the last Cabinet shuffle and prior to that Cabinet shuffle in tabular form. [14519/09]
View answer218 Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount of his budget spent on corporate entertainment hosted by the Minister of State at his Department in 2007, 2008 and 2009. [14520/09]
View answer219 Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the budget for his Department for corporate entertainment in 2007, 2008 and 2009; and the amount of this budget associated with events, functions, receptions, dinners, lunches, launches, diplomatic accreditation ceremonies or other activities and events hosted by him in tabular form. [14521/09]
View answer220 Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has taken all reasonable measures to ensure that the costs incurred by the taxpayer for corporate entertainment are maintained at an absolute minimum. [14522/09]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 217 to 220, inclusive, together.
I have set out, in tabular form, figures for entertainment incurred by my Department in Ireland. As requested by the Deputy, the figures have been presented to reflect the period prior to, and since, the most recent Cabinet changes.
In the time available, it has not been possible to provide a breakdown of the overall figures in the particular format as requested by the Deputy. In my Department, entertainment costs, incurred in Ireland, fall into two distinct areas: general entertainment and State/Official entertainment.
The State/Official Entertainment budget includes the costs of official entertainment hosted by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Ministers of State at my Department as well as costs associated with the presentation of credentials by the Diplomatic Corps. The budget also covers expenditure associated with State and Official visits to Ireland by Heads of State, costs associated with Official or State Visits abroad by the President, certain costs associated with official visits abroad by the Taoiseach and miscellaneous expenditure associated with visits and events such as printing of invitations and the purchase of flags.
The General Entertainment budget is provided for various types of official entertaining carried out by Divisions of my Department including entertainment costs incurred in relation to the Irish Aid programme.
|
2007 |
January-May 2008 |
June-December 2008 |
2009 to date |
|
|
€ |
€ |
€ |
€ |
|
|
General Entertainment |
182,418 |
63,071 |
113,190 |
9,087 |
|
State/Official Entertainment |
1,369,784 |
306,572 |
609,871 |
94,001 |
|
Total |
1,552,202 |
369,643 |
723,061 |
103,088 |
Most events, which I host in my capacity as Minister of Foreign Affairs, are held in Iveagh House which results in significant cost savings compared to the equivalent event being held in a hotel or restaurant.
It is not possible to extract comprehensive figures for costs associated with specific events hosted by Ministers, as many costs are general in nature and the Department will often purchase in bulk to achieve economies of scale, rather than assign costs to particular events or to the person hosting that event. However, in the following table, I have provided detail of a number of examples of events which have been hosted by me and by the Ministers of State at my Department.
|
Date |
Official Hospitality |
Host |
Cost |
|
€ |
|||
|
14/09/08 |
Working lunch with Mr. David Miliband, British Foreign Secretary |
Mr. Micheál Martin T.D., Minister for Foreign Affairs |
1,549 |
|
18/11/08 |
Networking Reception for Business Leaders |
Mr. Micheál Martin T.D., Minister for Foreign Affairs & Ms. Margaret Sweeny, Dublin Chamber of Commerce |
3,950 |
|
18/02/09 |
Working lunch with Minister Cecilia Malmstrom, Swedish Minister for European Affairs |
Mr. Dick Roche, Minister of State for European Affairs |
1,225 |
|
25/05/08 |
Reception held for 200 people to launch Africa Day |
Mr. Peter Power T.D., Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid |
3,485 |
My Department will normally incur significant costs in this area in any given year, given the pivotal role which official entertainment plays in the promotion of a positive image of Ireland internationally and in the further development and strengthening of bilateral, economic and cultural links with other countries.
The Department of Foreign Affairs takes all appropriate measures to ensure that costs are kept as low as possible. The Department's practice with regard to the appropriate level of entertainment provided is based on agreed EU Guidelines and on reciprocity. Costs savings are sought wherever possible and, to this end, the panel of caterers used by the Department has recently been expanded, resulting in greater competitiveness and reductions in cost. Business is allocated on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender for each individual assignment. In addition, in accordance with our procurement guidelines, separate requests for tender are issued for any event with a total cost in excess of €5,000, directed at keeping the costs down through selecting a company that provides best value for money, as well as high quality service.
There have been significant reductions in the budgets assigned for general and state entertainment in my Department for 2009. The current 2009 budget for entertainment reflects an 11% reduction on the 2008 figure and every effort is being made to reduce these costs and budgets further.
221 Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the cost of providing mobile telephony and PDA services for him in each of the years since 2002, broken down by handset purchase costs, rental and call costs, and other costs; the amount of money which was refunded by him in connection with personal use of these phones, PDAs and Blackberries in each year since 2002 in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14533/09]
View answerThe table sets out the costs relating to my official mobile telephony service since I was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in May 2008.
|
Rental |
Calls |
Handset Purchase |
Other Costs |
Refunds |
PDAs |
Blackberries |
|
|
2008 |
€57.06 |
€980.00 |
nil |
€13.31 Car charger |
nil |
nil |
nil |
|
2009 to Date |
nil |
€182.25 |
nil |
nil |
nil |
nil |
nil |
My Department avails of the Department of Finance Central Framework for the provision of mobile telephony services. Under the terms of this contract, in place since last October, the monthly rate for my mobile telephony service is €60.75. This rate covers rental, all calls (including roaming charges), and all national text and data charges.
