Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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93. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of conferences staff of his Department have attended in each of the years 2017, 2018 and to date in 2019, in tabular form; the number of staff who attended each conference; the cost of same in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9170/19]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Due to the nature of the work of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, a significant number of staff are expected to attend conferences relating to their roles and responsibilities. Staff must consult with and receive approval from line managers for attendance at conferences. Approval of payment of fees for conferences is in accordance with standard departmental limits for the authorisation of payments. Participation by staff in headquarters and across our network of missions overseas at conferences is not recorded centrally.

The Training and Development Unit of my Department supported attendance at a number of conferences in Ireland in 2017, 2018 and to date in 2019, details of which are supplied below. Conference attendance related to development aid is supported through Vote 27 (the number of staff attending is unavailable).