Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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Question 93: To ask the Minister for Finance 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. [8842/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Preparations for the Irish Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2013 are well advanced in my Department. A steering Committee has been established to coordinate the preparation of the Department's Presidency programme for the Ecofin Council and the organization of the Informal Ecofin meeting in Dublin. The Management Advisory Committee is updated regularly on progress to date. A budget in the order of 2m euros approximately has been allocated in my Department for Presidency-related activities in 2012. This will mainly be accounted for in additional staffing costs and increased travel on Presidency planning with our Trio partners (Lithuania and Greece), the preceding Presidencies (Denmark and Cyprus) and the EU Institutions. To date no Presidency-related additional expenditure has been identified. The 2013 Presidency budget for Department of Finance has not yet been finalized.

Recently the Government made a decision regarding the overall cost of Ireland's Presidency. The current overall budget for the Presidency foresees approximately 25m euros 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 precise figure will emerge in the coming months as the preparations progress. During the Presidency itself, it is foreseen that a further sum in the order of 35m euros will be required to support the Presidency across all Departments. In addition a further sum will be required to meet security costs. The amount needed for security will be determined when the scale of the Presidency programme has been finalised. The total budget for the Presidency is at the lower end of the range of Presidency costs in recent years.

The staff requirements of the Department of Finance are still under consideration and will represent a temporary increase in headcount for the duration of the Presidency and for some months before and after the first half of 2013. It will be important that an adequate complement of appropriately skilled staff is available to ensure that Ireland's Presidency of the EU is businesslike and successful.

This will be the 7th EU Presidency that Ireland has presided over and our record from previous Presidencies has been that we get the business done in an efficient and effective manner. The Government is determined that Ireland's 7th Presidency of the European Union will enhance our reputation and standing at EU level. The hosting of a successful and businesslike Presidency of the EU will demonstrate to our European colleagues that we are committed to the European project and that we have much to contribute in resolving the crisis in the Euro area and the wider EU. In addition, every effort will be made to control EU Presidency-related expenditure and to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.