Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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Question 202: To ask the Minister for Defence the cost incurred by his Department, for this year's overseas travel programme for St Patrick's Day, which saw the Taoiseach and eight Ministers heading abroad for the holiday; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17324/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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As I did not travel abroad for St. Patrick's Day in my capacity as Minister for Defence no costs were incurred by the Department of Defence. The Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Defence, Paul Kehoe T.D., visited Irish troops serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon from 15 March - 19 March. He was accompanied by two officials from my Department. The final costs cannot be confirmed until the final invoices are received in respect of this visit. The costs incurred to date are set out in the table below:

The Taoiseach availed of the Ministerial Air Transport Service provided by the Air Corps for his trip to the U.S.A. for St Patrick's Day as follows:

My Department follows the normal practice in the aviation business of costing aircraft by reference to the cost per flying hour under either of two headings:

· The direct cost which includes costs which are additional to those associated with having the aircraft and which only arise when the aircraft is flown including maintenance, fuel and support services such as catering costs, cleaning services and airport handling charges.

· The total cost which is the direct cost plus the costs associated with having the aircraft and includes depreciation and personnel costs.

The average direct cost per hour for the Gulfstream is €3,270. The average total cost per hour for the Gulfstream is €3,790. These are average costs which take a number of variables into account. It is not possible to assign an exact cost to any particular mission

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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Question 203: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the cost incurred by his Department, for this year's overseas travel programme for St Patrick's Day, which saw the Taoiseach and eight Ministers heading abroad for the holiday; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17320/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I participated in St Patrick's Day activities in Luxembourg and The Netherlands before travelling on to Brussels. I was accompanied by my Private Secretary. The 3 day itinerary included 15 separate engagements across a broad spectrum of activities including State agency related events, media briefings, Irish Community engagements and a bilateral engagement with an EU counterpart. Total costs of €2,070 were incurred in respect of flights and hotel accommodation. This amount does not include any subsistence costs which have not yet been processed. All local transport was provided by the respective embassies using embassy vehicles.