Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 April 2013
156. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will confirm the cost of the Irish heritage certificate scheme to date and specifically the amount paid to date to scheme operator, Fexco; and the projected amounts overall to be paid to Fexco to the end of its contract. [18433/13]
View answer158. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will confirm the number of Irish heritage certificates issued to date. [18435/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 156 and 158 together.
With the vast majority of the global diaspora no longer eligible for Irish citizenship, the Certificate of Irish Heritage was introduced to recognise descendents of previous generations of Irish citizens in an official way and to give greater practical expression to the sense of Irish identity felt by many around the world. Following a public tender in April, 2010, Fexco were awarded the contract to operate the Certificate of Irish Heritage on behalf of the Department.Under the terms of the contract, Fexco developed the web systems and necessary software. Fexco also process applications, issue certificates and are the initial point of contact for all customer enquiries. To date, 1794 Certificates of Irish Heritage have been issued. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has spent €3,163 to date on the Certificate of Irish Heritage. These costs are mainly on technical issues relating to the websites which the Department owns (registering domains and security validation procedures etc.) as well as travel costs to meetings with Fexco in Killorglin and some photographs at the launch in New York. No payments have been made to date to Fexco nor are any expected to be made during the contract period. Under the terms of the contract, the Department is not liable to Fexco for any costs associated with the establishment or operation of the scheme.
