Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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Question 304: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport 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. [8849/12]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Preparations for Ireland's EU Presidency are well underway in my Department. A separate EU Coordination and Presidency Planning Unit was established last Autumn, with a Dublin-based staff complement of two. A Presidency Planning Group, comprising relevant officials from the Irish Permanent Representation in Brussels together with key Departmental staff, is in place and has already met on a number of occasions. The focus to date has been on tracking legislative and non-legislative priorities, planning the official calendar of Councils and events and making sure that the appropriate resources, training and business planning is in place to ensure an efficient and cost-effective Presidency.

Minister of State Ring and I have met with our European Commission counterparts and with representatives of the relevant European Parliament Committees. These and other contacts will intensify in the rundown to the Presidency.

As with previous Presidencies, the Irish Permanent Representation to the EU will be responsible for the day to day management of the Presidency. In preparation for this work, the number of staff working in the Representation will increase temporarily in 2012 and arrangements are underway to manage this process.

To date, the amount of money spent directly on Presidency preparations by my Department has been very small and confined to some training and travel costs. It is estimated that we will have additional staff costs of up to €150k per annum in each of the years 2012 and 2013 and additional administrative costs for travel, training etc. of up to €70k per annum over the same period. I understand that estimates for the overall budget for the Presidency are contained in the reply to a similar Question from the Deputy to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. The precise figures will emerge in the coming months as the preparations progress.