Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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55.To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount his Department spent on purchasing State-owned vehicles for official business from Irish embassies and consulate general offices worldwide in the years 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024; and the amount that was actually spent in the years 2022 and 2023, in tabular form.[35088/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs purchases motor vehicles to facilitate the efficient functioning and smooth operations of HQ and its Missions abroad. In particular, Mission staff are required to undertake a significant volume of travel in the performance of their official functions. This ranges from city journeys during the working day and in the evening, to long journeys of up to several hundred kilometres by road. In addition, there are can also be challenges related to limited availability of public transport, security considerations and location specific issues. Official vehicles also provide an important logistical support to Missions.

Motor vehicles are used for as long as they can be operated in a safe and efficient manner without excessive maintenance costs or substantial reduction in their trade-in value. In general, sanction to replace an official vehicle is given where is a business need for vehicle; where there are security, safety or environmental considerations; or when the costs of maintenance or operating the vehicle are increasing to an extent that maintaining the vehicle is no longer economical. When sanctioning the purchase of vehicles for Missions abroad, consideration is given to the safety, security, environmental, climate, terrain, and specific issues which prevail in country.

Vehicle purchases must comply with the Department’s Green Foreign Ministry policy of minimising our carbon footprint. The Department is committed to procuring vehicles with a reduced environmental impact throughout their life-cycle and focuses on more fuel-efficient models. Factors like pollutant emissions, fuel efficiency and economy are taken into account when considering vehicle specifications. The procurement process initially reviews the feasibility of electric vehicles. Then it considers hybrid options and finally vehicles with low carbon emissions. It should be noted that some Missions operate in difficult environments where security and health and safety issues will be a significant factor when deciding on an official vehicle.

The following is a table showing the expenditure by the Department on official vehicles for the years 2022, 2023 and to date 2024.