The cost of foreign travel undertaken by the staff of my Department in 2011 was €415,027. In addition, expenditure on Foreign Delegates Allowance in 2011 was €73,487. Foreign travel costs to date in 2012 are €503,730 from a budget of €636,000 for the full year. Foreign Delegates Allowance cost €84,014 to date in 2012; however expenditure under this allowance will cease, as it has been abolished under the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Review of Allowances in the Public Sector. 2012 expenditure includes additional foreign travel undertaken at both at EU and international level arising from increased activity and workload in the lead up to Ireland’s Presidency of the EU which commences on 1 January, 2013. Delivering effectively on our Presidency responsibilities will involve a significant increase in foreign travel during this period.
The majority of foreign travel undertaken by my Department involves attending European Union related meetings, usually in Brussels. Other foreign travel, including that in relation to United Nations commitments, is undertaken as necessary to attend meetings in Geneva, Bonn, Paris, New York, Nairobi and elsewhere on matters that are under the remit of my Department. At all times my Department seeks to minimise the costs of such travel and will also recoup an element of this expenditure, where possible, from the EU in due course.
Further details of foreign travel costs are not readily available and, given the extent of international business conducted by my Department, would require a disproportionate amount of staff time and resources to compile.
