Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 1038: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number, type and purchasing and leasing cost and CO2 emissions of vehicles acquired by his Department for each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29554/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Vehicles for use by Ireland's diplomatic missions, including the Irish Aid programme, are purchased in line with State procurement guidelines, with particular regard to the overriding principles of safety and security. Vehicles purchased by Irish Aid for use in the developing countries in which they operate, are of necessity mostly all-terrain, 4-wheel drive vehicles, such as the Toyota Landcruiser. Vehicles purchased for head of mission use elsewhere tend to be mid-range, standard, executive saloon cars with a strong preference for diesel models, where appropriate to local conditions and circumstances. In addition, there are also three vans in use by my Department in Dublin. The following table details the numbers and costs of official vehicles purchased by my Department in 2006, 2007 and 2008 to date:

Since the beginning of 2006, carbon emissions have been taken into account in vehicle purchases made by the Department. In the time available, it has not been possible to compile a complete list of the carbon dioxide emissions of the Department's official vehicles abroad. In June of this year, to take account of the wider availability of new technologies, my Department issued an updated policy on the purchase of official vehicles worldwide. This will ensure that environmental considerations are taken fully into account as existing vehicles are replaced, which is normally done at four year intervals. This revised policy will enable us to record the carbon dioxide emissions of all official vehicle purchases in the future. One vehicle purchase has been made since the introduction of the new policy: a BMW 525IA with carbon dioxide emissions of 174g\km, for the official use of our embassy in Singapore. Our vehicle procurement policy is kept under regular review and will be refined as needed, to ensure we keep pace with technological developments and best practice in the area of vehicle emissions.