Written answer
EU Presidency
Druids Glen was deemed Wicklow’s most suitable venue; final costs await bills, and Garda security details were not provided.
207. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total financial cost and security assessment criteria behind choosing a location (details supplied) for the recent EU Defence and Foreign Affairs Ministers' meetings; the reasons a civilian community was selected over secluded venues; the total number of Defence Forces and Garda personnel deployed; the level of maritime and aviation restrictions; if local community and business disruptions were assessed; and if standard guidelines exist for Garda interaction with local workers, such as beekeepers, during security lockdowns. [74179/26]
Comment on this
The Programme for Government included a commitment to bring some of the high-level meetings of the EU Presidency to cities and counties across Ireland, ensuring the entire country benefits from the profile the Presidency brings. In addition to a range of official level meetings taking place across the country, it was decided by Government that 6 of the 22 informal Ministerial meetings would take place outside of Dublin as follows:
In all of these cases, the Office of Public Works, as official provider of conference services for the EU Presidency, conducted a detailed assessment to determine the most suitable available venue in the relevant area taking into account the specific delivery requirements of the particular meeting. An Garda Síochána conducted risk assessments in relation to security considerations.
In the case of the FAC Defence and Gymnich meetings, Druids Glen emerged from the assessment process as the most suitable venue available in Wicklow to host both meetings which are traditionally held back to back at the end of August.
Given the centralised approach taken to the organisation of logistical and operational supports for informal Ministerial meetings from an efficiency and cost-effectiveness perspective, final costs will not be known until the meeting programme is concluded and final bills are paid.
The operational security matters raised by the Deputy are the responsibility of An Garda Síochána and it is therefore not possible for me to comment.