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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 12 Mar 1996

Vol. 462 No. 8

Written Answers. - EU Meetings Outside Dublin.

Peter Barry

Ceist:

58 Mr. Barry asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the EU ministerial committees that will hold meetings outside Dublin during Ireland's Presidency of the EU in the second half of 1996; the arrangements, if any, that are needed to complete Ireland's preparations, especially those that may be necessary to cater for the major influx of foreign journalists covering specific events; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5663/96]

A draft calendar of meetings of the Council of Ministers has been drawn up which indicates the dates of all formal and informal Council meetings during the forthcoming Irish Presidency. All formal meetings of the Council will be held in either Brussels of Luxembourg. The calendar includes the venues of the seven informal Council meetings, scheduled to take place in Ireland. Of the seven informal Council meetings, two will be held outside Dublin: one in Killarney and one in Tralee. It is of course the responsibility of each Minister to decide the venue of each individual informal Council meeting the or she will be holding. A copy of the draft calendar of Council meetings was lodged in the Oireachtas Library in February.

In addition to the seven informal Council meetings, arrangements are currently in train for a range of meetings, seminars and colloquia to be held in Ireland at both ministerial and official level during the Presidency. These meetings will be held in a variety of locations around the country. For instance, to date, five meetings have been scheduled for Cork.
My Department is continuing to consult other Departments about their intentions with regard to hosting meetings. I have lodged in the Oireachtas Library today an updated provisional draft list of all meetings scheduled to take place in Ireland to date. When a full list of meetings is available, I will arrange to have it lodged in the Library.
The organisation of each informal Council meeting, seminar and colloquium is the responsibility of each individual Minister and his or her Department. With regard to the informal ministerial meeting in Tralee, which is being organised by my Department, appropriate arrangements are being put in train to facilitate both the meeting itself and the media covering the event.
Extensive press facilities for foreign and domestic media will be available throughout the Irish Presidency in Dublin Castle. Dublin Castle, which will be the venue of the European Council, has been developed by the State as a location for international conferences and has proven to be well able to cope with the demands imposed by large numbers of journalists covering major events.
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