Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 1028: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of staff in his Department currently earning the national minimum wage; the number of staff in his Department currently earning not more than one euro per hour more than the minimum wage; the number of staff in his Department's agencies currently earning the national minimum wage; the number of staff in his Department's agencies currently earning not more than one euro per hour more than the minimum wage; the number of staff who are employed by contractors to his Department currently earning the national minimum wage; the number employed by contractors of his Department currently earning not more than one euro per hour more than the minimum wage; the number of staff in his Department currently earning less than the national minimum wage, including those earning the sub-minimum wage as defined by Sections 15 and 16 of the National Minimum Wage Act 2000; the number of staff in his Department's agencies currently earning less than the national minimum wage, including those earning the sub-minimum wage as defined by Sections 15 and 16 of the National Minimum Wage Act 2000; the number of staff who are employed by contractors to his Department currently earning less than the national minimum wage, including those earning the sub-minimum wage as defined by Sections 15 and 16 of the National Minimum Wage Act 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43757/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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All staff employed in Ireland by the Department of Foreign Affairs, or by bodies under its aegis, currently earn more than one Euro per hour above the national minimum wage. This also applies to staff on posting at Irish Missions abroad. The practice followed by the Department in relation to locally employed staff abroad is to provide salaries and conditions of employment in accordance with local legal requirements, and on terms which correspond to the prevailing market rate for such forms of employment. Salaries are set at levels which comply with any local statutory minimum wage requirements, where such provisions apply, and are usually benchmarked against remuneration paid by other EU Embassies in the relevant capital.

Bearing in mind the breadth of its activities worldwide, the Department does not have specific details on the remuneration of staff employed by contractors to it but would emphasise that, through its public procurement activities, it will comply fully with Section 20 of the Social Partnership Agreement "Towards 2016" to support the maintenance of employment standards, including in respect of wage levels, while also ensuring competitive tendering and value for money in public expenditure.