No cuts in Ferrero Rochers supplies as embassies staff keep €8m expenses

THE ambassador’s receptions are noted in society for their host’s exquisite taste. And Irish embassies around the world will not have to cut back on the Ferrero Rochers as their allowance and expenses bill, amounting to €8 million a year, escapes public sector cutbacks.

The secretary general of the Department of Foreign Affairs, David Cooney, rejected calls for a voluntary surrender of part of allowances by diplomatic staff in 75 overseas missions, similar to a voluntary pay cut arrangement for the country’s judges.

“Frankly, you have to show a bit of form,” said Mr Cooney, explaining the importance of good clothes and parties in diplomacy.

“If you’re going to represent your country abroad, you have to be presentable. You are going to spend more money on clothing. You have to tog out smarter than you would do if you were a civil servant operating at home, no disrespect to colleagues at home,” he said. “If you are going to maintain a home that is capable of being used for entertainment purposes, which is why we pay to have presentable accommodation abroad, you have to make sure it’s properly cleaned and maintained. Therefore people have to make sure that they hire in people,” he told the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday.

The Foreign Service Allowance amounts to €8m, or 10% of the total staff costs for overseas missions. Mr Cooney pointed out that staff “don’t get paid anything extra for going abroad” and, along with their family, have to make big sacrifices.

However Mr Cooney said that the use of limousines, expensive hotel suites and VIP lounges by ministers on foreign trips has been replaced with the use of embassy cars, people carriers and standard rooms.

Seven circulars have been released on the issue since Mr Cooney took up his position 12 months ago and missions have been warned not to commit to any costs on behalf of a visiting minister, without his or her “express approval”.

But while ministers are being very economical about travel, Mr Cooney said he was “slightly worried that people are afraid to travel at the moment because of the publicity attached to it”.

He said: “The days when everybody wants to come to Ireland to take a look at the Celtic Tiger and find out how we did it are long since gone. We’ve got to go out and market ourselves.”

He said: “As a country that lives by exports, we have to travel. The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Government are very committed to doing their travel as economically as possible.”

Committee chairman, Bernard Allen TD said: “An appropriate balance must be struck between making arrangements which allow those who represent us abroad to carry out their tasks satisfactorily and not wasting taxpayers’ money on unnecessary costs.”