Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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83. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the position regarding the Irish delegation to the World Trade Organisation; the allocation of staff and other resources that are given by his Department to the delegation; the number of meetings the delegation were required or requested to attend in 2012; the number of meetings that were attended; his views on whether member states of the European Union still require their own national delegations to the WTO in view of the EU's competence in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19515/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation allocates three staff to the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations (PMUN) in Geneva to cover WTO and other matters relevant to the Department, including the development of international rules and standards in labour and intellectual property affairs. The Department’s staff are the official national representatives interfacing with the International Labour Office (ILO) and World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) as well as the WTO.

In addition to WTO related duties, the Department’s Geneva officials represent Ireland at the WIPO and ILO when officials from Dublin are unable to attend or where it would be more cost effective for Geneva based personnel to service meetings. In the case of ILO there are significant time commitments during meetings of the Governing Body (Spring and Autumn) and the International Labour Conference (three weeks each June).

The staff complement servicing the national interest at these three organisations comprises 1 Principal Officer (PO), 1 Higher Executive Officer (HEO) and 1 Clerical Officer. Offices and other facilities are shared with the PMUN. During 2012 there was considerable work involved in preparing for the current Irish Presidency of the European Council. To assist with the additional obligations that Ireland is required to meet, in the latter half of 2012 two additional staff were seconded to Geneva until July 2013.

In 2012 over 550 WTO related meetings were attended by the Department's officials. These included EU coordination and related meetings, as well as numerous WTO working sessions. These working sessions include key themes of trade liberalisation (Non Agricultural Market Access, Services and Agriculture) under the current Round of global trade talks known as the Doha Round and the broader WTO’s work involving Trade Facilitation, Technical Barriers to Trade, Trade Policy Reviews, Disputes, and the international Technology Agreement as well as the start of talks on a new international agreement covering trade in international services. Furthermore this year also sees a significant increase in WTO activity as a range of items are advanced for consideration at the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference in December.

In total there are about 40 different working groups and specialist thematic sub groups that Ireland is required to service where possible. In addition, senior staff are required to participate in extensive networking and interaction outside the EU group in Geneva and to actively promote the Department's interests in both the ILO and WIPO.

All EU Member States maintain Permanent Missions in Geneva with dedicated WTO teams and will continue to do so.

On the matter of competence, the EU Commission does not have exclusive competence across the broad span of WTO trade activity/negotiations. In addition, like all other EU MS, Ireland is a WTO member in its own right, unlike the EU, which is not a WTO Member. Furthermore, the issue of competence is not clearcut in either the ILO or WIPO where a mixture of arrangements are in place. I believe therefore that it is vital that our presence is maintained in Geneva to ensure that Ireland's particular interests in the International Institutions that set global rules for trade, intellectual property and labour law are both promoted and protected; and that Ireland can play its part along with other Member States in forming EU Trade Policy.

In 2012 Ireland’s contribution to the operating costs of the WTO is CHF 2,205,826 or approximately €1,823,000, calculated by reference to the proportion of Irish trade to global trade.