Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 101: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of appointments made in his capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs that had to be cancelled or postponed as a direct result of his activities as an envoy for the Secretary General of the United Nations Organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29908/05]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of journeys he has made to date as a direct result of his role as an envoy for the Secretary General of the United Nations; the arrangements by which the State will be reimbursed by the United Nations Organisation for the cost of these journeys; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29909/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 101 and 102 together.

I accepted the mandate from the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, as part of the preparations for the recent UN summit, to act as one of five envoys to represent and promote his recommendations on UN reform because of the central position of the United Nations in Ireland's foreign policy and in light of Ireland's strong interest in an efficient and effective United Nations Organisation.

I met a total of 46 Foreign Minister colleagues in my capacity as envoy, 22 of them in their own capitals. In four cases I also met the head of government. I held consultations with European Commissioner for External Relations Ferrero-Waldner and with High Representative — Secretary-General Solana. I attended and addressed four international conferences on behalf of the UN Secretary General. I regularly briefed my EU colleagues, at meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council, on progress in the preparations for the September summit. On visits to capitals and at conferences, I took the opportunity, in press conferences and briefings to engage the local media on issues relating to the reform of the United Nations.

In the course of my activities I attended two sets of consultations in New York with Mr. Annan and my fellow envoys and with key officials in the UN Secretariat. Finally, I attended the summit in my capacity as envoy.

When I accepted the mandate, I told the Secretary General, Mr. Annan that, while I would accord priority to my duties as envoy to the extent possible, there would be occasions when my responsibilities as Foreign Minister, particularly in respect of Northern Ireland, would take precedence, which he fully understood.

No appointments were cancelled or postponed as a result of my activities as envoy. I would probably have been present in my national capacity at the international conferences I attended as envoy. At these conferences, and at meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council, I took the opportunity to hold separate consultations as envoy with 24 Foreign Minister colleagues, which was highly efficient in terms of time and resources.

In visiting capitals, I combined wherever possible several different visits in the same itinerary. I combined my visits to New York for consultations as envoy with obligations I had to undertake in any case, such as attendance at the review of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and engaging in consultations on issues related to Irish immigrants in the United States.

In the course of my contacts, I took the opportunity in almost all cases to raise bilateral and regional issues of concern to Ireland. These contacts raised the level and intensity of our engagement with many of the governments in question, and will have been of considerable benefit to the pursuit of our national foreign policy.

In these circumstances, but also given Ireland's deep and long-standing commitment to the United Nations, it would have been inappropriate to have sought the reimbursement of expenses incurred in the course of my activities as envoy. As a result, I had made it clear at the outset to the UN Secretary General, and our international partners, that the Government would neither seek nor accept such reimbursement.