Written answers

Tuesday, 17 December 2013

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Decentralisation Programme Expenditure

Photo of Kevin HumphreysKevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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124. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline what offices relevant to his Department are located or have been decentralised outside of Dublin; if he will provide the total number of staff in his Department and the number of staff based outside County Dublin as of 2013; the annual cost incurred in 2012 and 2013, respectively, for decentralised staff travelling to meetings in Dublin; the number of times staff travelled to individual meetings in Dublin in each of those years; the costs those staff will be reimbursed for; and if his Department has procedures or mechanisms in place such as video conferencing to reduce the cost of travelling for each unit based outside Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53995/13]

Photo of Eamon GilmoreEamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is based in various locations, including in Dublin, Limerick and Cork. The decentralisation to Limerick of the Development Cooperation Division of the Department was formally completed in late 2008 and the majority of the officers assigned to the Division, which manages the aid programme, Irish Aid, are based there. The Development Cooperation Division also has responsibility for our overall political and trade promotion relations with sub-Saharan Africa and a number of countries in Asia where we have an aid programme. The Passport Office in Cork city is part of the Passport Service of Ireland. It has a public office and also accepts passport express applications from nine counties. It produces 25% of the total number of passports delivered annually in Ireland. Certain consular services are also available at this office, including the authentication of documents for use in Ireland or abroad, foreign births registration, and the issuing of certificates of freedom to marry abroad .

Of the total 1378.1 whole time equivalent staff of my Department, 80 are based in Limerick and 76.6 are based in the Passport Office in Cork.

The nature of the work of my Department, including interaction with the Oireachtas and the broader Government system, necessitates travel by officials between locations. My Department operates its own detailed internal travel guidelines and practices which ensure cost effective travel, both at Headquarters and at other offices. The central aim of the Departmental travel policy, which embraces Ministers and officials, is to minimise official travel costs and achieve value for money for expenditure necessarily incurred, consistent with the effective discharge of official duties. To deliver significant savings on travel costs, video-conferencing facilities are available at all offices of the Department. Video-conferencing among the Department’s offices in Cork (Passport Office) and Limerick (Irish Aid) and its offices in Dublin takes place on a daily basis. Over the past twelve months there have been over 640 video conferences between these offices and Dublin.

The table below details the annual cost incurred in 2012 and 2013 by staff travelling from Limerick and Cork to meetings in Dublin and the number of travel claims made in each of those years. The costs include subsistence and reimbursement for expenditure incurred by staff including hotel, rail, bus and taxi fares, as appropriate.

-
2012
2013
Total costs in euro
125,194
116,472
Number of claims made
429
518

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