Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I think one can safely say the level of expenditure is lower. Total expenditure this year on the EU Presidency has been about €9 million, half of what it was the last time. This had consequences, with all informal ministerial meetings, for example, being held in Dublin, whereas normally they would been held all over the country. The same applies to expenditure on EU Presidency events, which was much more modest this time because we were in a new reality. Having said that, if one looks at the results of policy-making and decision-making, this has been one of the most successful Irish EU Presidencies ever. The Taoiseach is outlining these achievements today at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. I will let others judge, but from our perspective, we set out our targets in January. We essentially had two priorities and little else - to have the CFP and the CAP finalised. I am relieved and glad to say that both had a good outcome for Ireland, as well as being completed on time. However, that has cost us money. If one looks at the administration figures, one will see a figure of €1.3 million specifically under the heading of EU Presidency. We have had a team of 12 people in Brussels for the whole six months and, to be honest, we could have done with three times that number. In Brussels last week we were joking about the Haddington Road agreement and the weekly working hours of civil servants, which are sometimes criticised. We had the hours worked by the Tuesday. We have received fantastic value from my Department in the past six months, particularly from the group of people who have been dealing with the Irish EU Presidency and the challenges involved. I cannot compliment them enough on their performance, as well as on their commitment and motivation levels, which went way beyond what they were contractually required to do. Nevertheless, we will probably see a slightly higher figure for items such as transport, IT and postal services. The sum of €1.3 million was specifically earmarked for the EU Presidency. We will have a higher figure than we otherwise would have for IT because we know that we will have a new CAP which will have an impact in terms of software development and IT generally. That will not come cheaply because nearly all of the programmers we will need to write the new programmes are on contract and not full-time departmental staff. Some of them are paid more than I am, but one must pay to have that skills set. That was a long answer to a short question.