Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 3: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of public servants in his Department as of 1 January 2000; the number as of 1 October 2008; the reason for the increase or decrease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34359/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The number of staff employed by my Department on 1 October 2008 is 1,545. This includes 320 permanent staff who are working in the Passport Office in Ireland and approximately 300 local staff currently employed at missions abroad. The equivalent figure as of 1 January 2000 was 1,385. The increase of 160 staff during the intervening period was focused on two main areas: the Passport Office and Ireland's development aid programme, Irish Aid.

In the case of the Passport Office, a total of 120 additional staff were recruited since 2006 in response to significant annual increases in the demand for passports over recent years and the introduction of the new e-passport, featuring a biometric chip. This increase in the permanent staff enabled the Passport Office to maintain a high level of customer service while also significantly reducing the number of temporary clerical staff engaged in the lead up to and during the busy summer period, as well as its reliance on overtime during this peak season.

The recruitment of additional staff for Irish Aid was directly related to the rapid expansion in the scale and scope of the development assistance programme which has seen the aid budget increase from €255 million in 2000 to €769 million in 2008.

It should also be noted that, since 2000, my Department has overseen the opening of 19 new missions overseas. These included embassies in the capitals of nine member states who have joined the European Union since 2004 and four missions linked to the expansion of the aid programme. The establishment of these new missions was achieved in large measure from within existing staffing resources.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Can the Minister give the number for the staff increase in Irish Aid for the period? He gave the monetary increase but not the staff increase.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The budget increased from €255 million in 2000 to €769 million in 2008.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am asking about the number of personnel in Irish Aid.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I did not give that figure.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Even if the Minister cannot give the figure for the increased staff, irrespective of how the budget increases, it should not lead to a substantial increase in personnel. How many people are working for Irish Aid in Limerick? How does this compare to the figures before it was decentralised? I have also looked at the numbers of staff working in the Minister's office. I know it is populist to attack Ministers for the staff numbers in their own offices. The Minister has approximately 15. The Minister of State, Deputy Roche has 13.3. The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Power, has——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The idea is to ask questions, not answer them.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In order to ask the question I need to give the Minister the figures in case he does not have them. What do the people in his office do? How many of them are involved in working on constituency matters as opposed to departmental matters? While I do not expect him to answer for the two Ministers of State, I am sure it is similar for them.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Since 2000, some 76 additional posts have been sanctioned for Irish Aid. A total of 16 posts previously attached to the National Committee for Development Education and APSO were integrated into the Department. Given the scale of the increase, 76 additional posts in Irish Aid——

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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It is understaffed.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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The Minister is very worried. He should not let the economy dislodge him so badly.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is good to have a countervailing view to the right wing orthodoxy that is emerging from the Fine Gael Party. It is always nice to have such a palliative intervention. There are some issues in terms of value for money, accountability and managing an expanded programme.

I do not know where Deputy Timmins got his figure for staff numbers, which obviously embraces the broader office.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The figure is 15.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There are not 15 people in my constituency office. There are three and while they largely deal with constituency issues, they also deal with non-constituency items.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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They take calls from the US Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We do have a relationship with the United States and it would be odd if they did not take calls from its Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Deputy Timmins asked the question.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Is there liaison between the Minister and Deputy Higgins?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Last night, a private secretary in my private office worked until 11 p.m. Opposition Members never refer to that. It is all very well to publish figures about numbers of staff. Many people in the public service work late hours, above and beyond the call of duty, and do not get the acknowledgement for that kind of engagement.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that the public service can be an easy target. I am simply affording the Minister an opportunity to explain to the public. I have a response to a parliamentary question, which refers to 16 people in the Minister's own office. I do not doubt the work they do. I take exception to the Minister's reference to the new right wing orthodoxy in Fine Gael. We continually get lambasted over the fact that we are beginning to ape Fianna Fáil. I do not know where we should go.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Obviously the US-India civil nuclear co-operation deal is contentious.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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They needed to work very late.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We did actually.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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While this is all very collegiate, these are Priority Questions and the only person who may ask questions is the person in whose name they are placed on the Order Paper.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The question related to staffing generally. The Department has shown a commendable efficiency in how it has expanded its work and in reducing overtime and temporary workers. The vast majority of increased staff actually effected a significant reduction in temporary contracted staff in the Passport Office. The number of passport applications has greatly increased owing to additional applications from Northern Ireland and for children etc. The queries we get from all over the country that my private office needs to attend to on an ongoing basis are very fundamental ones relating to people who are abroad facing various challenges and difficulties. We are often the first port of call to help our citizens overseas. After approximately six months in the job, my observation is that the majority of calls relate to those kinds of inquiries.