Wednesday, 12 Apr 2017

Written Answers Nos. 219 - 232

Maternity Benefit Data

Questions (219)

Kathleen Funchion

Question:

219. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of extending maternity leave by a further two weeks in one budgetary year. [18669/17]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

Maternity benefit is paid for 26 weeks at a rate of €235 per week. The 2017 Estimates for my Department provide for expenditure of approximately €266 million on maternity benefit.

The estimated additional cost of extending the duration of maternity benefit by two weeks in one budgetary year is approximately €20 million. This estimate is on a full year basis and assumes that the increase in duration is implemented at the beginning of the year. It should be noted that this costing is subject to change over the coming months in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2017.

Any changes to the rate or duration of maternity benefit could also have implications for adoptive benefit; health and safety benefit; and paternity benefit. Revised figures for these schemes are not included in the costings above.

Any increase would have to be considered in the overall budgetary context.

Rural Social Scheme

Questions (220, 221)

Carol Nolan

Question:

220. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason supervisors under the rural social scheme have been informed of a change in their terms and conditions; if his Department intends that this scheme will focus on job activation; if this is the reason for the increase in places under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18677/17]

Carol Nolan

Question:

221. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if a representative from his Department and the local development network will be in attendance at the Workplace Relations Commission hearing on 24 April 2017 regarding the rural social scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18681/17]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 220 and 221 together.

The Government recognises the benefits the Rural Social Scheme (RSS) provides for participants and their families, as well as the valuable contribution the scheme is making to the provision of services in communities across Ireland. Participants also have the opportunity to improve existing skills, or develop new skills, while performing valuable work in their local communities. The scheme has also played an important role in sustaining rural communities.

The purpose of the RSS is to provide income support to farmers and fishermen and women who have an entitlement to specified social protection payments and who are underemployed in their primary occupation. The scheme was established as a supplementary income support scheme and is not designed as an employment activation scheme.

I would like to reiterate my support, and that of the Government, for the RSS. In recognition of the important work undertaken in rural communities under the Scheme, I announced, as part of budget 2017, an additional 500 places to be made available under the scheme in 2017. These additional places were rolled out with effect from1st Feb 2017 increasing the overall number of places to 3,100. This measure, allied to my reversal of the previous cuts to Farm Assist, is evidence of this Government’s commitment to rural Ireland.

The RSS is managed by 35 Local Development Companies (LDCs) and by Údarás Na Gaeltachta who are the employers of the supervisors and participants. The setting of terms and conditions of supervisors employed to support RSS participants are matters for each LDC whose representative body is the Irish Local Development Network (ILDN). Each supervisor will have a contract of employment with the partnership company, in line with statutory requirements. Any issues regarding the terms and conditions of RSS supervisors are a matter for discussion with the ILDN and the LDCs.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Passport Applications

Questions (222)

Niamh Smyth

Question:

222. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will review a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18377/17]

Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

The target turnaround time is fifteen working days for renewal applications submitted via Passport Express as operated in partnership with An Post. This is advised on my Department’s website and via all An Post promotional materials and on their website.

As a matter of best practice and to avoid delays in the event of incomplete applications or insufficient supporting documentation, the Passport Service advises that applicants allow at least six weeks for passport processing. Applicants are advised in notes accompanying the application form not to book travel until they are in possession of a valid passport and that doing otherwise is at the applicant’s own risk.

These notes also advise that current turnaround times can be consulted at www.dfa.ie/passport and that those with insufficient time to apply through Passport Express should avail of the online passport appointments service to submit an application in person at the Passport Office in either Cork or Dublin. This appointments service was introduced to facilitate applicants with urgent travel plans, i.e. those travelling in under fifteen working days. The Passport Service also provides a limited number of appointments for a Rapid Renewal Service through which applicants, subject to certain terms and conditions, can receive a passport in under three working days.

It is very important that the applicant decide at the outset on the most appropriate channel through which to submit an application.

I am informed that the fifteenth working day after receipt of the application referred to by the Deputy was 10 April and that the passport was dispatched on that date.

Human Rights

Questions (223)

Noel Rock

Question:

223. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has read the recently published report by a charity (details supplied) regarding European Union police brutality against migrants; the actions he will take regarding same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18465/17]

Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

I am aware of the report referred to by the Deputy. Human rights and humanitarian values are at the core of the approach of the EU and Member States to addressing the migration crisis and the EU is committed to enhancing human rights safeguards in all negotiations on migration and mobility with third countries.

Some of our EU partners have had to face disproportionate pressures during the course of the migration crisis but it is nonetheless of the utmost importance that all actions by authorities in any EU Member State respect and reflect the high human rights standards we in Europe expect and require of each other. I have expressed this view to my EU colleagues in the past and will continue to do so.

Passport Applications

Questions (224)

Martin Heydon

Question:

224. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the impact the introduction of a new online passport processing facility will have on processing times for all passport applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18571/17]

Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

I launched the Online Passport Application Service on 30 March. The service is safe, fast and convenient and it allows adult Irish citizens to renew their passports from anywhere in the world on their personal computers, tablets or mobile phones. They can do so twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The target turnaround time for online applications is ten working days plus postage. This is five working days under the Passport Express target of fifteen working days.

The response to the online service has been very positive and as of 10 April approximately 7,000 applications had been received through this channel. This is a relatively small proportion of the 72,000 passport applications currently in the system but as more applicants avail of the online service, the efficiency gains will help improve processing times more generally. Current turnaround times for all categories of application will continue to be available for consultation on my Department’s website. These are updated weekly.

I would urge Deputies to encourage eligible applicants to make use of the Online Passport Application Service as a secure and convenient way to renew their passports. Furthermore, citizens can also avail of the free passport renewal reminder service at https://www.eforms.gov.ie/en/reminder/passport/.

Passport Services

Questions (225)

Eugene Murphy

Question:

225. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will consider Roscommon town as a potential location for a new passport office to serve the west and midlands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18608/17]

Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

The large majority of passport applications are currently submitted through the Post Office networks on this island. This includes more than seventy Post Offices in Northern Ireland and more than one thousand Post Offices in this state. With the availability of both the online passport renewal service for adults and the An Post Passport Express service, very few applicants in Ireland are required to travel a significant distance in order to apply for their passport. In the relatively small number of cases where citizens need to travel very urgently and do not have a valid passport, the Passport Offices in Dublin and Cork offer an appointment service. These appointments must be made online.

The introduction of the online passport application service which I launched on 30 March will greatly assist in managing current and future passport demand. The service is for adults who are renewing their existing passport, whether they live in Ireland or overseas and it is available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The target turnaround time for applications submitted through the online service is ten working days plus postage. Since the launch over six thousand online applications for passport books and/or passport cards have been received.

The introduction of the service will result in reduced turnaround times and fewer demands over time on the Passport Offices in Dublin and Cork. The service will be extended to all applicants, including first-time applicants and children, by 2019. People who cannot or do not wish to apply online will continue to be able to apply through a service provider with an extensive network of contact points throughout the country.

The rationale for the opening of additional Passport Offices, particularly given the range of service options available to applicants, is not clear. Any office would in any case need to have the capacity to provide a rapid renewal service to applicants with urgent travel such as that available through the Passport Office in Dublin. This would require an on-site passport production machine in a specially controlled and secure environment. The purchase cost of a new passport printing machine alone would be approximately €1.7 million. This is without security, technical, fit-out, staffing and rental costs. An outreach office without production facilities could not offer a significantly faster service than the online option and it would duplicate the Passport Express service offered through local Post Offices.

I am satisfied overall that the range of service options meets the current needs of passport applicants and that the service improvements, both those recently introduced as well as those planned, will allow the Passport Service provide citizen focused services in an efficient and effective manner.

Diaspora Policy

Questions (226)

Seán Crowe

Question:

226. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason his Department cancelled the USA birthright programme; the amount the programme was expected to cost annually; the number of persons that were expected to be part of the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18624/17]

Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

The ‘Global Irish Summer Camp’ Progamme was trialled in 2016 and allowed for 20 Irish-American students, who would ordinarily have never got the chance to visit Ireland, to travel here for a short immersive programme that incorporated educational and heritage elements. The cost of the Programme in 2016 was €100,000.

I am aware of suggestions that this programme has been ‘cancelled’. This is not the case. The programme was run as a trial in 2016 and this was made clear at the time. It was always our intention to review the pilot this year, to evaluate it and other pilot initiatives and to draw guidance from this for our future engagement with our diaspora. If it is to be dynamic and meaningful, our diaspora programme has to be willing to test and evaluate new initiatives and new forms of engagement. But because our funding and resources are finite, we also have a responsibility to evaluate them carefully to ensure that they are both effective in achieving the desired outcomes and efficient in their use of resources. That process is now underway – not behind closed doors but in close consultation with the communities abroad whose interests we serve.

Central to this review process and to the Government’s broader engagement with the diaspora is the upcoming Second Global Irish Civic Forum, which will bring together Irish community leaders and members from around the world. Some 200 individuals working with or on behalf of Irish communities worldwide are scheduled to attend at Dublin Castle on 4-5 May. The Civic Forum will provide a very valuable opportunity for face to face engagement for organisations abroad facing similar challenges, and for dialogue between these groups and the Government.

My Department has developed a programme for the Civic Forum that will be future-focused so that our diaspora can contribute to the evolution of our vision for the future direction of engagement with the Irish abroad. This will help inform and shape the kinds of projects and initiatives that Government can best allocate funding towards to ensure maximum impact in meeting our key objectives of supporting and engaging our diaspora. These discussions will include the extremely important question of how best to engage with the next generation, and future generations, of our communities abroad. Of course, in relation to the Global Irish Summer Camp, it may be the case that the result of these discussions and the wider review underway could be that a different model or models would be identified as having greater potential for engaging more effectively, or with larger numbers of young people.

As Minister for the Diaspora I remain absolutely committed to promoting and facilitating meaningful, inclusive engagement with all generations of the global Irish diaspora. While the nature of specific projects and initiatives that the Government funds may evolve over time, and will always require review to ensure that we achieve maximum impact and value for the Irish taxpayer, our steadfast commitment endures to foster and facilitate a vibrant, diverse global Irish community, connected to Ireland and to each other.

Trade Strategy

Questions (227)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

227. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the way he and his Department through the various embassies abroad continue to establish trade links and trading partners in anticipation of the effects of Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18639/17]

Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

My Department, working with state agencies, is working to support Irish businesses diversify into new markets, products and services, as well as intensifying our efforts in existing markets. The Government’s new trade and investment strategy, Ireland Connected: Trading and Investing in a Dynamic World, sets out our priorities and the actions to achieve these.

Local Market Teams, which are chaired by the relevant Ambassador, comprise the representatives of the Embassy and relevant State agencies. These teams submit annual market plans to the Export Trade Council, which I chair, bringing together Ministers and heads of agencies with a focus on Ireland’s trade and investment. In addition, as part of the new economic diplomacy initiative, commercial attachés based in our Embassies in Jakarta, Mexico, Buenos Aires, Bucharest, offer local market insights to agencies and to business. A similar role is undertaken by economic development officers based in Nairobi and Abuja.

All Embassies, as underlined in Ireland Connected, facilitate the pursuit of trade opportunities in every location, promoting Ireland as a great place to live, study, visit and do business. Our 80-strong network of Embassies and Consulates also work in close co-operation with state agencies to deliver trade and investment missions. The overall number of ministerial-led trade missions has increased substantially in recent years. These high level missions, led by a range of Ministers across all Departments, complement the ongoing year-round work of our Embassy network and agencies in-market, including Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland, in promoting awareness of and confidence in Ireland as a place to invest and do business and in showcasing Ireland’s unique strengths.

We are committed to intensifying the number, focus, alignment, and market reach of trade and investment missions and events in 2017, in order to deepen existing relationships, open new doors to trade and investment, and forge new opportunities.

United Nations

Questions (228)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

228. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on whether it is time for the UN to regroup, reorganise and focus on the major trouble spots globally with a view to meeting the challenges of war, famine, ethnic cleansing, genocide and people trafficking; if steps are being taken to alert the global community with a view to addressing the issue in the short term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18640/17]

Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

The number and scale of current humanitarian crises is shocking and presents an enormous challenge for the international community. In this respect the United Nations has recently been loudly sounding the alarm call. Its warning last month of its need for assistance in reducing the risk of starvation and famine in South Sudan, Yemen, Somalia and northeast Nigeria was a stark reminder of the problems confronting civilian populations in many parts of the world. And last week the UN Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres, speaking at the Brussels Conference on supporting Syrians and the region, reminded us that the need for humanitarian aid and the protection of Syrian civilians has never been greater. Mr. Guterres added that the UN is determined to reach everyone in need through all possible means. He has made it clear more generally that conflict prevention and protection of civilians will be his priority during his term of office that started in January.

The UN has a vital role in promoting the resolution of armed conflicts which cause so much of the misery faced by civilian populations. It does this primarily through the UN Security Council which has, under the UN Charter, primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Ireland remains a strong supporter of the rules-based international system, with the UN at its centre. At the same time, we recognise that it must work better for the people whose lives it has been designed to protect and improve. It is clear that the Security Council must work with greater unity. It is also clear, as Ireland has consistently stated, that the Council needs to become more representative, more transparent and more efficient.

In 2015, the former UN Secretary General initiated three major review exercises which were aimed at improving the overall effectiveness of the UN’s response to conflict. The findings from the high level policy reviews on (1) UN Peace Operations, (2) Peacebuilding Architecture and (3) Women, Peace and Security were published and are in the process of being implemented. Each of these reviews offer recommendations on how the UN can improve and reform its functions and structures particularly in relation to the global challenge presented by conflict and war. Ireland engaged fully with all three reviews, calling for the recommendations to be discussed and implemented as part of our broader calls for UN reform.

Other efforts to increase the UN’s effectiveness in meeting its current challenges are ongoing. These include the development of a Global Compact on Refugees, arising from the High-Level Summit on large movements of refugees and migrants which took place at the UN in New York in September 2016, and which was co-facilitated by Ireland. The Global Compact will set out a framework to improve the way in which the international community responds to large movements of refugees and migrants, as well as to protracted refugee situations.

Discussions on improvements to the effectiveness and accountability of UN peacekeeping missions are also taking place at the UN, most recently in a UN Security Council thematic debate on 6 April at which UN Secretary General Guterres set out plans for a review process which will make recommendations on improvements to the UN’s peace and security architecture by June of this year.

Ireland is a consistent and strong contributor to the UN’s peacekeeping operations. It is in our interest for peacekeeping operations to receive clear, realistic and up-to-date mandates from the Security Council. We support the establishment by Mr. Guterres of a small Executive Committee at UNHQ to provide more coordinated planning, control and leadership of the UN’s operations and strategy. Progress in these areas can only help to address the humanitarian crises we currently face.

In addition to participating in the ongoing discussions and reviews, Ireland will continue to advocate for reform of the UN’s structures and systems to ensure that it is equipped to respond to the challenges of the twenty-first century and fulfil its critical role in the maintenance of international peace and security.

Humanitarian Aid Provision

Questions (229)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

229. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts being made to address the refugee crisis in Syria and Iraq; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18641/17]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Ireland continues to respond to the unprecedented levels of humanitarian need resulting from ongoing conflict and violence in Syria and Iraq, including through support to neighbouring countries, which are hosting huge numbers of refugees.

Since 2012, we have provided a total of €76.5 million in humanitarian assistance for the Syria crisis. At the conference co-chaired by the EU and the UN in Brussels last week, I promised that Ireland would provide at least €25 million this year to support those affected by the crisis. A further €5.75 million has been provided in for Iraq, including €3 million in 2016.

Our funding is channeled through a range of partners, including UN organisations, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, and NGOs, who are best placed to respond. These partners provide humanitarian supplies and urgently-needed health, education, water and sanitation services, as well as protection for children and vulnerable families. On my recent visit to Jordan and Lebanon, I saw how Ireland’s assistance is helping refugees to meet their daily requirements, and I heard how their ambition is to return in safety to their homes.

Through our annual contributions to the EU, Ireland is supporting the EU’s humanitarian response in Syria and Iraq, including the Turkey Refugee Facility. Funding from the Facility has been used to launch the largest humanitarian programme in EU history, the Emergency Social Safety Net, which provides direct monthly cash transfers to the most vulnerable refugee families in Turkey.

Since 2012, we have also deployed 43 experts through our Rapid Response Corps to the Balkans and Middle East, to work with UN agencies responding to migration challenges resulting from the Syrian conflict.

Given the volatile situation in Iraq, we expect to provide additional funds to the UN’s Iraq humanitarian operation this year, focusing on the needs of the displaced.

We are continuing to monitor developments in the region very closely and will work with partners to ensure that our assistance helps to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, including displaced and refugee communities.

Humanitarian Aid Provision

Questions (230)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

230. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on whether the international community has focused and is successful in achieving targets in respect of the provision of safe drinking water to areas suffering from war, starvation and famine such as countries in the Horn of Africa, Yemen, Somalia and Nigeria; his views on whether the campaign to provide such drinking water has been successfully developed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18642/17]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

In 2016, Ireland provided over €190 million globally in humanitarian assistance to people affected by crisis and conflict, including in the Horn of Africa, Yemen and Nigeria. The funding is directed towards the provision of life-saving assistance including food support, shelter, and the provision of basic services including health, education and water and sanitation.

In 2016, we also provided €7.5 million in core funding to UNICEF, the UN Agency which leads the work globally to provide clean drinking water in humanitarian crises. Water is a basic need and fundamental human right, but many people around the world, including in the Horn of Africa, Yemen and Nigeria, lack access to a safe, uncontaminated and local water supply. Access to a safe, sufficient, clean water supply is particularly difficult in conflict situations, due to displacement, lack of resources and disruption of services by armed groups.

The latest UNICEF figures on water and sanitation in emergencies show that, despite progress in many areas, significant work is still required to ensure that people in humanitarian situations can access sufficient water safely for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene.

Specifically, Irish Aid works with partner organisations to meet the water, sanitation and hygiene needs of those affected by conflict and violence, as well as other humanitarian crises. Since the start of 2016, 7 water, sanitation and hygiene specialists from Ireland’s Rapid Response Corps have been deployed to support UNICEF’s and UNHCR’s humanitarian and emergency responses. We have also supported the UN to provide vulnerable communities with access to safe water in Yemen and elsewhere. The provision of safe, sufficient, regular and clean water supply is also a priority for the International Committee of the Red Cross, a key humanitarian partner for Ireland. ICRC water teams work in over 80 countries, including in Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen, providing water for populations affected by conflict and violence

Through such partnerships and through our engagement at international level on our humanitarian and development programmes, Ireland continues to support the rights of every man, woman and child to the essential resource of water.

International Terrorism

Questions (231)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

231. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on whether the international community is meeting the challenges of Boko Haram and Al Shabab; the degree to which international aid is being interfered with by such organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18643/17]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

The Government has consistently condemned the human rights abuses being perpetrated by Al Shabaab and by Boko Haram, which remain a threat to the peace, stability and prosperity of Somalia and Nigeria respectively, and neighbouring countries.

In Somalia, progress has been made in containing the threat of Al Shabaab. The Somali Government is supported by the African Union, and the EU and UN, in working to improve security. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), the African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and EU support for Somali army training and maritime security are vital to this work. Ireland has contributed €31 million in humanitarian assistance, since 2012, including almost €6 million last year. Last month, we contributed a further €3 million to the UN-managed Somalia Humanitarian Fund. Later this week, we are airlifting over 100 tonnes of Ireland’s stockpiled humanitarian relief supplies into Somalia. The airlift, worth over €600,000, will be dispatched from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai.

In 2016 the EU pledged up to €50 million in support of the Multinational Joint Taskforce, which supports 8,700 troops from Nigeria and other West African countries. Since 2015 Ireland has provided over €3 million in humanitarian funding for those affected by the crisis in North East Nigeria and the wider region. We have also deployed six personnel to various UN partners in the region under the Irish Aid Rapid Response Initiative.

Al Shabaab and Boko Haram create an environment of insecurity resulting humanitarian crises that make it difficult to meet humanitarian needs. Every effort is taken to ensure that international aid is not interfered with by such groups. The presence of AMISOM troops and the Somalia National Army helps ensure that humanitarian assistance is delivered to those communities that are most in need, but the task remains a challenging one.

We are continuing to monitor developments in relation to both Al Shabaab and Boko Haram, and to work with the relevant Governments, regional authorities and other key partners to address the humanitarian crisis through diplomatic engagement and humanitarian funding.

International Terrorism

Questions (232)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

232. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which women and girls held hostage by Boko Haram or other similar organisations remain the focus of the international community with a view to ensuring their release; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18644/17]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

I am deeply concerned by the human rights abuses being perpetrated by Boko Haram, including the taking hostage of women and girls.

We, and the broader international community, have consistently called on all parties to ensure that abductions and kidnappings by Boko Haram and other groups cease and that all those who have been taken hostage are released.

The UN estimates that, since 2012, thousands of women and girls have been abducted by Boko Haram. During this time, more than 1,000 child abductees have escaped or been rescued. The risk of abduction in the north-east of Nigeria remains high and there have been further abductions this year.

Since they were abducted by Boko Haram in April 2014, Ireland has consistently called for the release of the Chibok schoolgirls. I welcomed the news in October 2016 of the release of 21 girls following talks facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss Government.

The international community remains engaged in dialogue with the Nigerian Government on how to enhance security and build safe communities. In order to assist the Nigerian Government in creating a safe and secure environment for its people, the EU and UN have continued to provide assistance. Last year, the EU pledged support of up to €50 million in support of the Multinational Joint Taskforce, which supports 8,700 troops from Nigeria and other West African countries. Since 2014 the EU has also contributed over €74 million in humanitarian assistance to Nigeria.

Ireland will continue to monitor developments closely through our embassy in Abuja, which remains in close contact with the Nigerian authorities on the threat posed by Boko Haram.