Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 4: To ask the Taoiseach the projected cost to his Department in 2009 for overseas ministerial travel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35607/09]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 5: To ask the Taoiseach the estimated cost to his Department of planned travel for himself and the Ministers of State in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37273/09]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 6: To ask the Taoiseach the cost to his Department of ministerial travel to date in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44307/09

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 6, inclusive, together.

The 2009 estimate for travel for my Department, including home and foreign travel, is €731,000. Expenditure from January to the end of November 2009 for me and officials in my private office was €148,482. In respect of Minister of State, Deputy Pat Carey, it was €15,014 and in respect of Minister of State, Deputy Dick Roche, it was €6,907. Total expenditure by my Department in the period in question in respect of foreign travel was €324,135. I anticipate that we will achieve savings in this subhead by year end.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I know the Taoiseach keeps an eye on these matters in respect of other Ministers. I note that, arising from a request under the Freedom of Information Act by a national newspaper, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, left out €26,000 of his foreign travel expenses.

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Ceann Comhairle)
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Questions relating to Departments should be directed to the relevant Department.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I am speaking to the Taoiseach of the country. As the Ceann Comhairle knows, if a Minister requires a helicopter to fly down to Kerry or Waterford, as the case may be, authorisation normally comes from the Office of the Taoiseach. In view of all the changed circumstances, I am sure the Taoiseach is cognisant of the need for an effective value-for-money spend. On numerous occasions I listened to the Minister, Deputy Gormley, and his party colleagues referring to value for money and how expenses should be kept down. However, I have outlined a case for the Taoiseach in which the said Minister left €26,000 out of expenses incurred by his Department in a freedom of information request. He spent a further €3,000 of the Taoiseach's money on chauffeuring between terminals at Heathrow Airport and a further €3,600 for a UK trip in a bio-fueled car. This was on top of €2,500 spent on the use of a VIP airport in the past 18 months. I do not understand why he makes a big show of travelling over by ferry to Holyhead and then has a chauffeur driven car to get from London to Holyhead. Surely, there are car hire firms available in Holyhead if people wish to cut down on effective spend.

The same applies in the case of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and a litany of things have been published in this regard as well. I am sure the Taoiseach has issued instructions to his Ministers in Cabinet, in their interest, to be very careful in respect of doing their duty where the public purse is concerned. No one wishes to see Ministers going around in rickshaws but there must be a level above which Ministers understand they should not be. Whether this is done by people in other Departments, the Department of Finance or wherever, the Taoiseach should lay down the law for his Ministers. I am sure they are more than willing not to have such odium hanging around politics. Will the Taoiseach explain if he has issued instructions to Ministers and Ministers of State to be cognisant of this matter? Does he keep an eye on these things from his office in Government Buildings?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Yes. In the last set of questions I dealt with the fact that there are revised travel guidelines in place for the purpose of ensuring that things are done as one would expect. Not alone are facilities made available to the Government, but in certain circumstances they are made available to members of the Opposition where it is appropriate as well, and it is only right that this is the case. I do not know where the matter goes beyond that, only to say that everyone is mindful of the need to maintain public confidence. Ministers or office holders must go about their work in an appropriate way and be mindful of the expenditure that must be necessarily incurred, consistent with the effective discharge of official duties.

As the Deputy will be aware, in many cases transport arrangements in these locations are not made by the Ministers themselves, but by the Department of Foreign Affairs. The Department has also been reminded of the need to recognise the circumstances in which the public purse is funding necessary expenditure in this area and it must be very mindful of all of this. I do not believe there is any issue between anyone in the House. This is an area of which we must be very mindful and careful and, at the same time, we must ensure that things are done appropriately and rightly.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I share the general sentiment. Recently, the world read of a €9,000 charge for a chauffeur-driven limousine to be available to the Tánaiste to travel from a hotel to the conference centre-----

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Ceann Comhairle)
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That is a matter for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I wish simply to make a point arising from what the Taoiseach has said. This is in everyone's interest. I realise the Minister may have had to receive delegations or deputations or had bilateral meetings wherever she was staying. However, her public servants would have been aware of the nature of the meetings she had to attend. From that point of view, why was it necessary to have a limousine on hire all day and for half of the following day if it was only required for a few minutes by the Minister? Surely a conventional taxi would be able to bring any Minister from an hotel to a conference centre.

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy Kenny should submit a question to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I say that in the interests of the Taoiseach being able to demonstrate that his Ministers use the public purse effectively and get value.

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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It must have been a stretch limousine.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Practices existed in the past on how those issues were handled. The question arises about their appropriateness at any time, but they are not part of the arrangements, given the current circumstances. It is not the case that Ministers make those arrangements for themselves. The arrangements are made, the Ministers go about their business and do their job. The important thing is that it is done in a way that is cost-effective and correct.

I note the record of the incumbent in that Department, and any of her predecessors, in terms of her mindfulness of the need to spend taxpayers' money carefully in those areas. The record will show that she was mindful of that. I said previously that other arrangements are no longer relevant or necessary and are not appropriate. Those changes have been made in the revised travel arrangements that are now in place.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The Taoiseach has said on a couple of occasions in reply both to this question and the previous question that new guidelines are now in place. Will he tell the House what are the guidelines, for example, in respect of overnight accommodation? Do the guidelines make it plain that the era of the €900 a night room is over and that accommodation has to be arranged on a more modest basis in terms of cost?

In view of limousine travel, for example, do our embassies in various countries not have transport facilities attached to them and to ambassadors? Is it not possible to make arrangements in order that those transport facilities might be used appropriately to ferry around visiting Ministers who are attending appropriate events? Surely it is possible to obtain appropriate transport at a lot less cost than the €9,000 arrangement we heard about for the limousine that was on stand-by.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Those arrangements were made by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Speaking for my Department, there is a policy based on guidelines laid down by the Department of Finance that is applicable to all staff. It sets out the policy regarding appropriate class of air travel, standard of hotels to be used and use of own transport. The aims of that policy are to minimise official travel costs and achieve value for money for expenditure necessarily incurred consistent with the effective discharge of official duties.

In regard to the question about procurement arrangements for sourcing hotel accommodation, the central contract with travel booking services for Government officials includes provision for making hotel reservations. That contract was awarded following a European Union-wide advertisement procurement process conducted under the lead of the Department of Finance earlier this year.

Hotel bookings are centrally co-ordinated. For example, in my Department, the finance unit ensures that the travel policy and Department's guidelines are complied with. A person has responsibility for making bookings on the basis of a decision by the Department on the options put forward by the company that has the contract on behalf of the State. Where Department officials book their own hotel accommodation they are required to adhere to the travel policy. I agree with what was said. All of those issues are being carefully considered.

On the question of transport hire, again, it is the responsibility of the overseas missions of the Department of Foreign Affairs to recommend transport arrangements for visiting official delegations. More appropriate arrangements are being put in place, rightly so, on the availability of car hire. All of that is being done. Sanction by my Department's officials is given if they are satisfied that best value for money is to be achieved. The control and review mechanisms are in place because we have to learn from those lessons.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I understand there is a requirement in the Cabinet handbook that Ministers who wish to bring a spouse or a partner with them on a foreign trip must consult the Taoiseach and his Department before they have permission to do so. I asked a parliamentary question about this and was advised that the number of requests to bring a spouse or a partner had declined in the past number of years. However, I was not able to get proper information on the number of occasions the Taoiseach or his Department refused permission for a Minister to bring his or her spouse or partner on a foreign trip.

On how many occasions has the Taoiseach refused permission for somebody to bring his or her spouse? What criteria are used to decide whether a Minister may or may not travel with a spouse? In view of the civil partnership legislation going through the House, does the Taoiseach propose to extend the option for people to bring their spouse or partner to girlfriends, fiancees or civil partners?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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There may be an assumption behind the Deputy's questions which suggests that I receive many requests and he asked me how many I refused. I receive very few requests. I cannot-----

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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It is 27 so far this year.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Is that right? The Deputy is obviously keeping a closer eye on it than I am.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Somebody must keep an eye on the Cabinet.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The guidelines are complied with in that respect. For example, there are occasions when Ministers accompany the President on foreign visits. That would be an occasion when the spouse of a Minister would be authorised to travel. It is where representational duties would require it. It is done far more sparingly than perhaps the Deputy might think.