Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 July 2014
457. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will provide in tabular form the amount of money spent on trips as part of foreign delegations for each of the past four years; the proposed expenditure for 2014, providing detailed aims and objectives of the trip. [29948/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe expenditure incurred by my Department in respect of overseas travel for each of the last four years, broken down by subsistence and transport costs (including airfares) is set out in the table below:
|
Costs |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 to date |
|
Transport costs (including airfares) |
€108,839 |
€180,077 |
€155,174 |
€60,218 |
|
Subsistence |
€67,620 |
€128,644 |
€99,169 |
€24,128 |
All such expenditure relates exclusively to official business on behalf of my Department or the Government, and has been incurred in full conformity with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidance on such matters.
In 2014, an overall allocation of €1.463m has been provided in respect of the cost of travel and subsistence expenses of the Minister, Minister of State and staff of my Department on official business, including both domestic and foreign travel. As the Deputy will appreciate, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of expenditure on foreign delegations for the remainder of the year, as this will depend on the specific trips required for the period in question.
The work required to compile and collate the detailed aims and objectives of each trip, as sought by the Deputy, could not be undertaken in the time available for replying to this Parliamentary Question. However, if the Deputy has any specific queries relating to a particular trip which has been undertaken, I would be glad to seek to provide her with relevant information in that regard.
