Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will outline in tabular form the total cost to the Exchequer of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Summit in Doha including accommodation, cost per person and the number of person's attending from the Irish delegation, and flights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54562/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Participation in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change process is an important element of Ireland’s, and the EU’s, engagement in international environmental issues. This is especially so in the context of Ireland’s role as incoming EU Presidency, during which we will be responsible for leading the EU’s follow-up work to the Doha Conference of the Parties over the course of the first half of 2013. As incoming Presidency, we are already involved in a large number of additional engagements in Doha, working with the current Presidency (Cyprus), the Council Secretariat and the European Commission, as they conduct bilateral engagements with key delegations from other Parties and regional groupings.

Insofar as my Department’s element of the Irish delegation is concerned, in addition to my own participation in the High-Level Segment, a total of nine officials from my Department are attending part or all of the two-weeks involved, with four officials attending the full conference (and EU preparatory meetings). During the High Level Segment, I also intend to take the opportunity to hold pre-Presidency Ministerial bi-laterals with Ministers from other EU Member States.

The Department’s full delegation will be staying at the Kempinski Hotel. This was chosen on the basis that the current EU Presidency, the European Commission and the Council Secretariat are all staying there and, as incoming Presidency, it is useful to co-locate with others forming part of the overall EU delegation to facilitate close co-operation and, where necessary, allow for easy arrangement of early morning/late night meetings at short notice. In all cases, the bookings are for the lowest of three available categories of accommodation in the hotel. The total cost of accommodation for my Department’s attendance at the conference (a total of 108 person nights of accommodation) is approximately €16,000 (subject to exchange rate variations) or an average of approximately €149 per person per night. All flights to/from Doha for the Department’s delegation are in economy class, with an aggregate cost to the Department of just over €5,000, or an average of approximately €500 per person.