Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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Question 77: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade 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. [8843/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Preparations for Ireland's EU Presidency are under way in all Departments 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. However, the need for financial discipline means that expenditure for the Irish Presidency will be tightly controlled. As with previous Presidencies, our 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 at the Representation will increase temporarily in 2012 and preparations are currently underway to manage this process.

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 programme of events taking place in Ireland. The calendar of events is being compiled at present and currently stands at approximately 150 events. This is smaller than during our previous presidency in 2004 and is similar to the scale of programme currently hosted in Presidency countries. During the Presidency, extra responsibilities will also be assumed by Ireland in a number of other multilateral organisations. Consequently, Ireland's representation in these organisations will also be strengthened in the coming months.

As an important cost-containment measure, the Government has decided that Dublin Castle and other State-owned properties in the Dublin area will be the default venues for all Presidency-related events in Ireland. In spite of this, the responsibility of hosting the Presidency entails considerable unavoidable cost. To date, the amount of money spent directly on Presidency preparations by my Department totals €31,000. The current overall budget for the Presidency foresees approximately €25 million being spent during 2012 in areas such as additional staff costs, preparation of the venues to host meetings during the Presidency and procurement of a range of goods and services normally associated with a programme of this size and importance. The final 2012 allocations will be included in the 2012 Revised Estimates Volume.

In terms of staffing, Departments are already deploying staff internally to meet the increased Presidency responsibilities. As that process concludes, it will be necessary to assign a number of extra staff to meet the needs of the Presidency. This will be done in the most cost-effective way possible and will include a number of further redeployments between Departments and agencies as well as some targeted recruitment, including of interns, on a strict time-limited basis to ensure that the policy priorities of the Presidency are supported in full.

During the Presidency itself, it is foreseen that a further sum in the order of €35 million will be required to support the Presidency. In addition a further sum will be required to meet security costs. The amount needed will be determined by the Government when the scale of the proposed Presidency programme has been finalised, and to the extent that these costs cannot be met from within the normal provision, additional funding will be found. The final 2013 allocations will be included in the 2013 Revised Estimates Volume. The total budget for the Presidency is at the lower end of the range of Presidency costs in other EU member States in recent years.