Head of diplomatic corps defends overseas allowances of embassy staff

THE HEAD of Ireland’s diplomatic corps has defended overseas allowances paid to embassy staff by saying they have to “tog out smarter” than domestic civil servants.

David Cooney, secretary general of the Department of Foreign Affairs, said diplomats had to be “presentable” and had to spend more on clothing than civil servants at home.

Mr Cooney told the Joint Oireachtas public accounts committee that while he meant no disrespect to other civil servants, it cost more for diplomats to live abroad. Houses had to be maintained which could be used for entertainment purposes, he said.

He was answering questions from TDs about foreign service allowances, which accounted for €7.9 million of the department’s €98 million wage bill in 2008.

These allowances were paid on the basis that diplomats received the same treatment abroad as they would at home and involved no extra pay, he said. The money was paid to compensate for the extra costs of living abroad, and the more expensive living costs of some destinations.

Diplomats also receive an allowance for the education of their children in English or Irish. Mr Cooney said his children’s academic progress had been affected by his postings abroad and in London there wasn’t the slightest possibility of turning up and getting accepted in schools used by other ambassadors or state schools.

He told TDs there was no question of part of these allowances being voluntarily surrendered, in the same manner as judges are making a contribution in lieu of the pension scheme, because that would involve officials putting their hands in their pockets to compensate for the costs of working abroad.

Irish embassies around Europe are to be slimmed down as part of a cost-cutting exercise, he told the committee. The department was reviewing its structures and planned to introduce a “lighter structure” at diplomatic missions in some EU countries.

Mr Cooney said there were no plans to close missions as each member state had a say in the formulation of European laws which applied in Ireland and it was important to have someone “on the ground”.

However, some missions would be cut back to one-person operations, and savings would also be made by cutting back on the use of government-owned cars and using smaller residences for diplomats.

He said revised guidelines had been issued to embassies on the organisation of foreign travel arrangements for Ministers and officials. Hotel suites were no longer reserved for Ministers and limousines were not routinely used. When transport is required an embassy car was now the standard and when there was a need to rent transport people carriers were hired.

No arrangements were made without making the Minister fully aware of the full cost of each element of any visit, he added.

He said there had been a dramatic increase in consular work as young Irish people abroad engaged in activities that put themselves “in harm’s way”.

Mr Cooney said the department did not agree with the findings of the McCarthy report, which recommended a substantial cut in diplomatic representation abroad.

“In the current situation, where we’re trying to get out of the recession with export-led growth, this is not the time to be cutting back on your diplomatic representation,” he said.

Brendan Rogers, director of the Development Co-operation Division, said Ireland had donated €20 million from emergency funding to UN agencies to help with the disaster in Haiti, and a further €3 million had been found in “new money” from other sources.

SWEDEN CLOSES EMBASSY:

Sweden’s government is to close its Dublin embassy in August after a presence of more than 60 years. It is expected the Londonembassy will handle Irish affairs.

The closure is part of a broader Swedish effort to shift diplomatic resources towards developing countries where it has long-term aid programmes.

The embassy, on Harcourt Road, currently has a staff of eight, including three diplomats.

Swedish embassies in Bratislava, Ljubljana, Luxembourg and Sofia will also close.