Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 December 2015
449. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his Department's photography costs since he came into office, inclusive of costs incurred from use of the ministerial allowance, by year in tabular form; the occasions for which photographers were booked; the photographers used; the costs associated with each occasion; the policy in place regarding the booking of photographers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43632/15]
View answerMy Department only avails of the services of external photographic agencies where it is warranted, in particular for major events and State occasions. This is a service which my Department provides so that media can easily and freely avail of photography where their own staff photographers cannot be fully accommodated.
Examples of such events this year included the visit in May of HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, the hosting of the first Global Irish Civic Forum in June and the official launch in October of the Passport Card. In addition, the use of photography services by overseas missions for significant promotional events resulted in positive global coverage of Ireland.
In September 2011, my Department led a collaborative advertised tender process for the procurement of a multi-supplier competitive framework of photographic service providers. This is now available for use by all Government Departments. Details of the framework arrangements and the photographers used are posted on the National Procurement Service website: www.procurement.ie/suppliers/contracts/1298. The purpose of this framework is to ensure Departments' compliance with EU procurement rules and to ensure value for money by having a competitive process for photographic assignments.
In addition, my Department now makes greater use of in-house resources for photography, including, for example, at last month's launch in Iveagh House of the National Report on Global Education in Ireland.
Total expenditure from my entry into office in July 2014 to date is €50,054.65, as detailed in the following table form:
|
July-Dec 2014 events |
Expenditure from July – Dec 2014 |
|
Missions* |
3,335.27 |
|
Visit of President of Mozambique |
3,102.50 |
|
Official visit to New York for United Nations General Assembly and Washington DC |
2,683.78 |
|
Credentials Ceremonies |
1,459.06 |
|
Visit of the Thai Royal Family |
1,377.60 |
|
Presidential Distinguished Service Awards 2014 |
839.89 |
|
National Ploughing Championship |
687.00 |
|
Schools Awareness Programmes |
561.00 |
|
Irish Aid Awards 2014 |
560.88 |
|
Visit of Scottish Minister Fiona Hyslop |
551.04 |
|
Reconciliation Forum |
516.60 |
|
Irish Aid Zero Hunger Event |
398.46 |
|
Unveiling of W.B Yeats Statue |
378.84 |
|
Visit by Canadian Foreign Minister |
378.84 |
|
Launch of Documents in Irish Foreign Policy |
344.40 |
|
Iveagh House Commemorative Lecture by Congressman John Lewis |
327.18 |
|
Irish Aid Fellowships Training Programme |
246.00 |
|
Irish Aid Volunteering Fair |
241.00 |
|
Meeting with Senator Gary Hart |
240.45 |
|
Meeting with representatives of the Orange Halls |
223.81 |
|
Irish Aid Annual Report Launch |
103.00 |
|
Images of Seal of Office |
34.44 |
|
Image of Xi Jinping Visit |
17.22 |
|
Total |
18,608.26 |
*It was not possible to provide a full breakdown in the time available
|
2015 Events – to date |
Expenditure to date |
|
Missions* |
8,873.93 |
|
Credentials Ceremonies |
3,917.54 |
|
The State Visit by the President of Germany |
2,773.65 |
|
Visit of HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall |
2,662.95 |
|
Global Irish Economic Forum |
2,057.83 |
|
Global Island Conference |
2,043.00 |
|
Global Irish Civic Forum |
1,015.98 |
|
Iveagh House Lecture and visit by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon |
998.76 |
|
Iveagh House Christmas Truce Lecture |
895.44 |
|
Official visit to New York for United Nations General Assembly 2015 and Washington DC |
736.41 |
|
The Irish Aid Annual Report launch |
654.36 |
|
Ireland 2016 Diaspora Commemorations Launch |
533.82 |
|
Official launch of the Passport Card |
516.60 |
|
The Iveagh House Lecture by the President of the World Bank Mr. Jim Young Kim |
482.16 |
|
Launch of the Iveagh Scholars Programme for 2016 |
464.94 |
|
The Iveagh House Lecture on the American Civil War |
378.84 |
|
The Iveagh House Lecture by Secretary General of the OSCE |
373.92 |
|
OECD DAC Peer Review |
361.62 |
|
Meeting and lunch in honour of Dr and Mrs Herrema |
344.4 |
|
Iveagh House Scholars Programme |
327.18 |
|
Announcement of the Passport Card |
258.30 |
|
Meeting with members of the Orange Order |
241.08 |
|
The Iveagh House Lecture with Governor of the Bank of England |
206.64 |
|
Diaspora engagement event with Sonia O'Sullivan |
172.20 |
|
Launch of 2015 St Patricks Day Programme at Ding |
137.62 |
|
Congressman John Lewis Lecture Photo |
17.22 |
|
Total |
31,446.39 |
*It was not possible to provide a full breakdown in the time available
