Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 March 2023
338. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the total costs of accommodation and travel expenses associated with his recent foreign trip, or foreign trips by Ministers for State at his Department, for St Patrick’s Day; and if a breakdown can be provided on travel costs, accommodation costs, country/state visited, number of departmental staff accompanying him, and the duration of the trip, in tabular form. [14742/23]
View answerEach of the three visits by the Ministers in my Department, in common with all visits for St Patrick’s Day, involved a programme of outreach to promote Ireland’s economic interests, connect with our Diaspora and engage with key interlocutors in the countries visited.
For my own part, I travelled to New York and Boston from 11-18 March. Minister of State Burke travelled to Milan, Bologna and Rome from 15-18 March. Minister of State Fleming travelled to São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia from 11-17 March.
The total cost for all three visits came to €12,665. The breakdown of this total for each Minister associated with the St Patrick’s Day ministerial visits is set out in the table below.
|
- |
Ministerial Travel (flights to and from)€ |
Ministerial Internal travel(Rail, US and Italy; air, Brazil) |
Ministerial Accommodation€ |
Country/state visited |
No of accompanying staff |
Duration of the Visit |
|
Tánaiste |
3,702 |
209 |
1,794 |
US - New YorkUS - Massachusetts |
4*3** |
7 days |
|
Minister of State Burke |
465 |
113 |
778 |
ItalyThe Holy See |
2*** |
4 days |
|
Minister of State Fleming |
4,135 |
523 |
946 |
Brazil |
2**** |
6 days |
|
Totals |
8,302 |
845 |
3,518 |
* 2 DFA officials + 2 Special Advisers
** 1 DFA official + 2 Special Advisers
*** 1 DFA official + 1 Special Adviser
**** 2 DFA officials
