Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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Question 245: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the preparations he has undertaken for the Irish Presidency of the EU Council in January 2013; the amount of money spent on EU Council Presidency related activities to date in 2012; the estimated expenditure up to December 2012; the budget for the six month Presidency specifically; the additional staff he has undertaken; the number of re-assigned staff he has undertaken; the estimated future staff requirements for the Presidency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8835/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Preparation for Ireland's Presidency of the European Union is underway in my Department and significant progress has been made in setting out what our Presidency priorities will be. At a practical level the Government has taken a number of decisions with a view to putting in place an efficient and cost-effective Presidency. The Presidency is an important opportunity for Ireland to rebuild its positive image as a credible, effective and trustworthy international player.

The Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have established various working groups and officials from my Department are participating fully in these preparations. In addition, I and my officials are in regular contact with the Danish Presidency, the forthcoming Cypriot Presidency and our trio partners Lithuania and Greece and with the EU institutions to monitor existing agenda items and develop our work plan for 2013.

In addition to the full range of meetings of the Council at Ministerial and official level and formal engagements with the European Parliament, there will also be a number of meetings taking place in Ireland. The calendar of events is being compiled at present.

My Department has incurred some minor incidental expenses to date as current Presidency activities at EU level are organised around existing meeting requirements. The bulk of expenditure will arise towards the latter part of 2012 and in 2013. Costs in the region of €320,000 for 2012 and €1.875m for 2013 have been factored into the annual estimates to cover Presidency related expenditure including costs associated with hosting meetings in Ireland.

In terms of human resources, no additional staff have been assigned to the Presidency to date in 2012. As the year progresses and the work required for logistical arrangements intensify, additional staff will be assigned to work on Presidency related matters as required.