Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the full cost to the Exchequer in the previous 12 months for his Department staff attending conferences including registration fees and travel. [47148/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Fees of €48,222 were incurred by the Department in connection with staff attending conferences since 21 October 2011. Details of travel costs relating specifically to attendance at conferences are not readily available and, given the extent of business conducted by my Department, would require a disproportionate amount of staff time and resources to compile. An officer may be reimbursed expenditure necessarily incurred in the course of official duty. It is departmental policy that public transport should be used wherever possible if it is deemed necessary to travel for business purposes. The current travel and subsistence rates for staff on domestic and foreign official business are set out in the Department of Finance Circulars 07/2009 of 5 March 2009 and 04/2010 of 25 January 2010, respectively.