Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 191: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the total cost of foreign travel, including flights, accommodation, food, subsistence, travel and other incidental costs, incurred by the Minister and Ministers of State at his Department in 2007, 2008 and to date in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36396/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, Ministers serving at my Department, by the nature of its responsibilities, are obliged to undertake a significant amount of official travel overseas. In regard to official travel overseas, I have included below, in tabular form, the total costs incurred on accommodation, commercial flights and travel subsistence for 2007, 2008 and 2009 (January - August) in regard to each Minister and Minister of State who has served in my Department in this period. In addition to these Ministerial costs, there may be other incidental costs incurred at the destination, by the delegation as a whole; such costs are not collated centrally.

My Department is fully compliant with the Department of Finance guidelines on foreign travel. My Department also operates its own detailed internal travel guidelines and practises which ensure cost effective travel practises, both in Headquarters and throughout our network of 75 diplomatic missions abroad. The central aim of the Departmental travel policy, which applies to both Ministers and officials, is to minimise official travel costs and to achieve value for money for expenditure necessarily incurred, consistent with the effective discharge of official duties. Minister for Foreign Affairs Travel Costs 2007-2009

Ministers of State

Travel Costs 2007-2009

· It should be noted that MoS Dick Roche is also a Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and that other travel costs may be a charge on that Department.

· It should also be noted that Ministers of State generally do not use the Government Jet and avail of scheduled flights in most instances.