Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Question 133: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a report on the Earth Summit at Rio de Janerio; the commitments made and the way in which these commitments will be met [31329/12]

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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Question 134: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the total cost of his attendance at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro; the details of his flight, accommodation, and other expenses; the names and roles of those who travelled; the accommodation at which he and his officials stayed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31358/12]

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour)
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Question 141: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide details on the total costs of his recent visit to the Rio+20 Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31084/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 133, 134 and 141 together.

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) took place in Rio de Janeiro from 13 to 22 June, 2012. The High Level Segment of the conference, which I attended, took place over the last three days of the meeting. The following delegation of five people from my Department also attended the conference:

* High Level Segment only

A number of officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, encompassing officials based in Ireland, in the Irish Permanent Mission to the UN in New York and in the Irish Embassy to Brazil, also attended the conference. The main role of the Irish delegation was to attend and participate at the conference meetings and negotiations at both EU and UN level, to provide support for bilateral and outreach meetings outlined below and to provide media support.

The conference focused on two themes: the transition to a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and the institutional framework for sustainable development. The overall objectives of the conference were to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assess progress made to date and address new and emerging challenges.

I addressed the conference, during the High Level Segment, on the key themes of Rio+20 and I also spoke at a high level round table discussion on the implementation of the expected outcomes of the conference. In addition, I had bilateral meetings with Ms Mary Robinson, Director of the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice, and with Irish non-governmental organizations to discuss their views on the outcome of the conference and how best the implementation agenda might be carried forward.

I also met with the new Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Ms. Ertharin Cousin. We discussed the forthcoming Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Climate Justice, which the Government is organising in cooperation with the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice and the WFP. Ms. Cousin plans to attend this conference which takes place in Dublin next April.

I also took the opportunity at the Conference to seek support for Ireland's candidature of the UN Human Rights Council. In that context, I had meetings with representatives of 8 countries, including Malawi, Vanuatu, Micronesia, St Lucia, Samoa, Dominica, Tonga and Belize. In regard to the Malawi meeting, I also discussed the priorities of the new Government of Malawi and the ongoing support which Ireland is providing in the areas of food security, smallholder farmers and agricultural research. Malawi is one of the nine priority countries for Ireland's aid programme. In addition, I met with the Prime Minister of Bhutan about their UN-supported initiative on Well-Being and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm which relates to the need for well-being indicators that look beyond economic indicators as measurements of progress; new national accounting systems that count natural and social capital; and incentives for sustainable production. I also met with the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, Ms Jacqueline McGlade, to discuss a number of issues including the forthcoming Irish EU Presidency. In addition, I completed a number of media engagements on the margins of the conference.

As well as participating in the Rio+20 Conference, I also signed, on behalf of Ireland, major education and research agreements with two Brazilian State agencies. These agreements will allow Ireland to access Brazil's Science without Borders Programme (Ciência sem Fronteiras), and could see up to 1,500 scholarship students from Brazil come to Ireland over the next four years to study and undertake research in Irish higher education institutions, with a particular focus on science and technology. This agreement will make a significant contribution to the Government's target of doubling international student numbers and could contribute up to €25m to the Irish economy in terms of fees and living expenses.

The main outcome of the Rio+20 Conference was the adoption of an agreed document The Future We Want which provides recognition for the important role of the green economy in sustainable development and in the fight against poverty and hunger. While the EU would have hoped to achieve more from the conference, the agreement reached is significant, nonetheless, and will be important in influencing future policy and actions to enhance our environment and improve societal well-being globally. A key element of The Future We Want is the commitment to commence a process to develop Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While I would have wished for greater ambition in this area, what has been achieved provides clear guidance for the SDG process, which should now be advanced urgently in a coherent and efficient manner. In the area of institutional reform, the conference secured the basis for a strengthened UN Environment Programme within the UN system. An intergovernmental high level political Forum will also be established, which will ultimately replace the Commission on Sustainable Development. A consultation process to define the format and organisational structure of this Forum will take place later this year with the aim of convening its first session at the UN General Assembly in 2014.

Ireland will input to the implementation processes provided for in the Rio outcome document through its participation in EU working party structures. Ireland will also be actively engaged at UN level though our Permanent Mission in New York and during our forthcoming EU Presidency, we will play a central role in progressing the work required to deliver on the outcomes agreed at Rio.

Full details of final costs of attending the conference are not yet available. The only costs incurred by my Department so far relate to airfares, which totalled some €8,800.

Hotel accommodation arrangements were managed by the Brazilian Organising Committee and the hotel allocated to the Irish Delegation was the Sheraton Rio. Within the constraints of the fact that a specific hotel was allocated to the Delegation, every effort was made to keep accommodation costs as low as possible. All members of the Irish delegation were accommodated in standard rooms and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through the Irish Embassy to Brazil, engaged in lengthy negotiations with the Brazilian authorities to achieve a price reduction. On foot of this, the price to be charged per room is expected to be R$868 Brazilian Reais, which at current rates, translates as €340 approximately per room per night. As accommodation costs will be met in the first instance by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and recoupment of the appropriate element of these costs will then be sought from my Department, a final figure for accommodation costs is not yet available. Subsistence payments for members of the delegation, when claimed, will be governed by the normal Civil Service rules.