Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The travel and subsistence expenditure relates to all the Department's travel costs undertaken by Ministers, Ministers of State and officers of the Department, and includes ministerial drivers, involvement in EU activities generally, including the ECOFIN Councils, travel to World Bank and other International Monetary Fund meetings and other miscellaneous travel costs. The Estimates for 2013 and 2014 reflect the Department's increased interaction at European level. Our strategic target is to enhance engagement with external stakeholders and to improve our influence with relevant ministries, potential investors, rating agencies and so on. We are undertaking an increased EU workload in the financial services area.

Some of the additional external engagement was achieved in tandem with the Presidency meetings during the course of 2013. The additional costs were not as I anticipated for 2014, because travel costs relating to the Presidency were captured under the Presidency subhead for 2013, while they are under the travel and subsidence subhead for 2014.

The administrative consultancies subhead, which is projected at €112,000 for 2014, relates to a particular human resources issue. For privacy reasons, the issue itself must remain confidential, but I can say that it is non-recurring. In other words, it is a once-off human resources issue for which that sum has been set aside to settle it.