Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the percentage expenditure allocated to the Department that has been freed up through the implementation of efficiency measures such as improved information and communications technology systems, over the past ten years. [9505/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My Department implements efficiency measures on an on-going basis to enable the Department operate more effectively, to improve the delivery of services to the public and to achieve better value for money from the Department's administrative budget. These improvements take place against a background of shifting demand. For example, the number of passports issued in 2008 (577,000) represented an increase of 49% on the number issued in 2000 (388,000). At the same time, improvements in the quality of the service means that citizens can now monitor the progress of their passport application on-line and can receive their passport within a predictable and short time-frame. Likewise, the number of consular cases dealt with by my Department continues to rise. In 2009 my Department dealt with more than 1,350 serious consular emergencies, including deaths, arrests, kidnaps, accidents and hospitalisations. The corresponding figure for 2008 was significantly less, standing at 1,200.

Given the nature of my Department, and the global distribution of our diplomatic missions, an effective and efficient communications system is of vital importance. With this in mind my Department has rolled out a global data network linking together the Department's headquarters and all our missions. This enables the use of videoconferencing systems that improve the efficiency and quality of our communication within the Department and cuts down on travel costs and the associated loss of time. The same network is also used to route telephone calls between missions, thereby reducing expenditure on international telecommunications.

All of these improvements and enhancements have been carried out against a background where the administrative budget for Vote 28 (which covers all the Department's activities except Irish Aid) in 2010 is virtually unchanged from that of 2004, and where the corresponding staff numbers have increased by less than 9% since 2000. In the current budgetary climate, I can assure the Deputy that my Department continues to examine opportunities for enhanced efficiencies in its operations wherever possible.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 162: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the average cost of accommodation and hotels per head for civil servants working in his Department. [9507/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is not possible, in the time allocated and within the constraints imposed by the accounting system, to calculate the average cost of accommodation per civil servant. However, as the Deputy will appreciate, officers at my Department, by the nature of its responsibilities, are obliged to undertake a significant amount of official travel overseas.

In relation to accommodation costs, my Department's guidelines direct that officers should stay at moderately priced hotels, that early booking should be pursued where possible, and that Missions should maintain up-to-date lists of suitable hotels and should seek price reductions where the numbers to be accommodated or the frequency or duration of stay may warrant this. My Department is fully compliant with the Department of Finance guidelines on domestic and foreign travel. Given the essential nature of travel to my Department and in light of the significant expenditure which it incurs, my Department also operates its own detailed internal travel guidelines and practices which ensure cost effective travel practices, both in Headquarters and throughout our network of 75 Diplomatic Missions abroad.