Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 July 2014
43. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if certain applicants for Ireland’s election roster submitted curriculum vitae and obtained marks as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31869/14]
View answerInternational election monitoring missions play an important role in the promotion of democracy and human rights. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains and administers a roster of 200 observers for such missions. The aim is to ensure that, when requested, Ireland is represented at an appropriate level in international observation missions for elections and constitutional referendums. The Department carried out a comprehensive review of its election observation roster in 2013. A public call for applications to the roster was issued through the Irish Aid website. All applicants were required to submit a detailed application form, setting out relevant qualifications, knowledge and experience in a number of areas. These areas included: experience of election processes and election observation; knowledge of human rights and / or governance issues; experience of living in challenging environments and language and computer skills. An independent appraisal of all 263 eligible applications was undertaken by two assessors external to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Following this appraisal, the 200 individuals who achieved the highest scores in these areas were appointed to the new election observation roster. This new roster came into effect on 15 May 2013. My officials have confirmed that a small number of applicants submitted Curricula Vitae along with their application form, but that this had no impact on the final selection of the 200 roster members.
