Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It would be hard not to applaud the Tánaiste and the Government from the Taoiseach down on the wonderful job they did in handling the Presidency. In that I include the officials. The COSAC meeting that we attended was mentioned. The praise we received would be embarrassing if it was not deserved. An astonishing number of international politicians and administrators praised this country for the outstanding work it has done.

If €10 million can be saved out of a budget of €60 million, perhaps that €10 million can be left for other functions within the Department. The Tánaiste mentioned all the trade missions and obviously they are all very important. Does the Tánaiste think there is a proper marrying of the role of trade in his Department with the function and role of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade? In my opinion we do not deal sufficiently with trade because it is handled by various Departments. I do know how many of us would have been aware that all of the trade missions mentioned had actually taken place. Does the Tánaiste think he has sufficiently merged the foreign affairs side, which most politicians are excellent at, with trade, which is not necessarily the immediate remit of politicians?

My second question is about the crazy decentralisation policy of the previous Government, which scattered the Department around the country, including down to Limerick. Given what has just been achieved by the Presidency in handling Europe from Dublin Castle or the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, there must be substantial savings to be made by merging the various units back to a base in Dublin, which is the seat of the Parliament and the site of the Department's headquarters. Has this issue been given consideration with a view to potential savings in administrative costs?