Written Answers Nos. 280-299
282. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the advice that his Department is providing to hauliers bringing aid to Ukraine (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12451/22]
View answerMy Department strongly advises against all travel to Ukraine for any purpose. The capacity of the Department of Foreign Affairs to provide consular assistance is extremely limited and our Embassy in Kyiv is no longer operational in-country. Travel advice for Ukraine and neighbouring countries can be found at www.dfa.ie/travel.
The warm generosity people in Ireland have shown towards Ukraine already is remarkable. However, with transport systems under pressure, sending physical goods may add more stress to the situation on the ground. People who would like to help are being encouraged to donate to established Irish and international humanitarian organisations. For example, a complete list of appeals is available through Dóchas, the umbrella organisation for Irish NGOs.
283. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will provide an update on processing times for applications for the foreign births register; the current number of applications that await processing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12454/22]
View answerMy Department is responsible for citizenship by descent through the Foreign Births Register under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended.
The processing of Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) has resumed and will be gradually scaling up in line with the recruitment of additional resources. Due to the complex nature of the Foreign Birth Registration process, the large increase in applications received following the Brexit vote in the UK, and the pause in the Service due to necessary Covid-19 restrictions, applicants should allow approximately 2 years from the receipt of supporting documentation for processing of Foreign Birth Registration applications at this time.
Under the Covid-19 restrictions, and the subsequent reassignment of Foreign Birth Registration staff to assist in the provision of essential passport services, the Foreign Birth Registration Service was paused for nearly 15 months across the 2020-2021 period. There are approximately 33,800 FBR applications on hand for which supporting documentation has been received, and which are awaiting processing.
The FBR service operates a transparent general policy of processing applications in order of receipt. FBR staff continue to provide an emergency service for Foreign Birth Registration in cases of exceptional urgency, such as expectant parents, or stateless persons. Such applicants may continue to contact the Passport Service directly.
My Department is fully committed to the continued allocation of additional resources over the coming period to assist with the processing of the Foreign Birth Registration applications currently on hand and the high volume of new applications anticipated this year.
284. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of staff currently employed by his Department; the current annual salary of the highest and second highest paid persons respectively, employed by his Department; and the various pay scales for persons working in his Department. [12476/22]
View answerMy Department currently employs 2,806 people; 1,962 civil servants and 864 locally engaged staff recruited at our overseas missions.
The annual salary of the highest paid officers in my Department is the Secretary General pay scale at €205,199 per annum. The current salary of the second highest paid officer in my Department is €201,712 per annum.
Civil service staff are engaged on the pay scales as set by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Overseas locally engaged staff salaries are set on country by country basis.
285. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of first-time passport applications still outstanding; and his plans to employ more staff to alleviate the backlog. [12514/22]
View answerThe Passport Service is currently experiencing high demand for first time passports, particularly for children. First time passport applications do take longer to process and there are a number of reasons for this. First time applications are necessarily complex to process. The Passport Service must validate the true identity of the applicant and take measures to confirm the applicant’s entitlement to Irish citizenship. It is the statutory responsibility of the Passport Service to protect the integrity of the Irish passport. Accordingly, a rigorous analysis process is in place to verify the identity and citizenship status of first time applicants. In the case of first time passport applications for children, the consent of guardians must also be thoroughly validated.
Demand for passports continues to be very high with over 156,000 applications received in February. This is the highest number of applications received in any previous month. There are currently 160,000 passport applications in the Passport Service system. Of these, 84,000 are first time applications. While there is a very high volume of applications in the system, this does not represent a backlog. There is a continuous stream of new applications and a continuous dispatch of completed passports happening every day.
Figures show that, of the first time applications, 46,000 (55%) are fully complete and are being processed by the Passport Service. The other 38,000 (45%) applications are incomplete, which means the Passport Service is waiting for the applicant to submit the necessary documentation required. While the Passport Service makes every effort to contact applicants in such circumstances, their experience is that many applicants take weeks and sometimes months to send in the necessary documents.
My Department has been pro-actively planning to ensure the necessary resources are in place to meet the current and expected level of demand in 2022 and is making an unprecedented investment in the Passport Service in terms of additional staff and improvements to the passport processing and customer service systems.
My Department has been working with the Public Appointments Service on a major recruitment drive over the past several months. Since June 2021, over 300 members of staff at all grades have been assigned to the Passport Service. In addition to this, and to complement staffing recruitment through the Public Appointments Service, the Passport Service is running its own recruitment competition for Temporary Clerical Officers with a view to assigning additional staff and to maintain staffing levels to meet the expected demand in the coming months.
It is a priority for the Passport Service to improve processing times for first time applications in 2022. Along with increased staffing, the Passport Service is implementing a number of further measures that will positively impact the current turnaround times and improve customer service:
- Intensive training of new staff and upskilling of existing staff is underway to increase the resources that can process complex applications.
- Passport Service staff are working overtime with a focus on prioritising first time applications with a view to reducing the current turnaround time.
- A new document management process has been put in place that allows for a much quicker turnaround time when an applicant is asked to submit additional documents. Once these documents are received, they will be prioritised and complete applications will be processed in 3 weeks. This will greatly reduce the waiting time for applicants who are missing documents in their initial application.
My Department is confident that the measures that have been implemented will help to reduce passport turnaround times in the course of 2022, particularly for first time applications, and will assist the Passport Service in meeting the high demand forecast for this year.
I strongly urge anyone who is considering travelling overseas this year, particularly families with young children, to check the validity of their passports before booking travel and to apply for their passports online in plenty of time.
287. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if a passport application by a person (details supplied) will be examined and expedited given the trip is of a medical nature; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12535/22]
View answerWith regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has contacted the applicant's parent directly to provide an update on the status of the application and to advise on the requirements for expediting the application for medical reasons.
289. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when additional paperwork as part of a passport application will be processed in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12619/22]
View answerThe Passport Service contacted the applicant’s parent directly on 4 March 2022 to advise as to the status of the application and to advise that the supporting documents have been received. The passport application is being processed in line with current processing times. The current processing time for fully complete first time applications is 40 working days. Processing time begins from when the Passport Service receives the required supporting documentation for the application. The supporting documents for this application were received on 4 February 2022.
290. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 404 of 22 February 2022, the update given to the person; if a request by the person to have their passport in time for travel is being met; if every effort is being made to ensure that the passport will issue to avoid incurring unnecessary expense to the family; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12637/22]
View answerThe Passport Service contacted the applicant’s parent directly on 21 February 2022 to advise as to the status of the application. The passport application is being processed in line with current processing times. The current processing time for fully complete first time applications is 40 working days. Processing time begins from when the Passport Service receives the required supporting documentation for the application. The supporting documents for this application were received on 10 February.
291. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 399 of 22 February 2022, the status of the passport application; if the passport will issue in time for travel (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12639/22]
View answerThe Passport Service contacted the applicants' parent directly on 18 February 2022 to advise as to the status of the application. The passport applications are being processed in line with current processing times. The current processing time for fully complete first time applications is 40 working days. Processing time begins from when the Passport Service receives the required supporting documentation for the application. The supporting documents for these applications were received on 10 February and 11 February.
292. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give guidance to persons wishing to donate privately for humanitarian relief in Ukraine; if a list of suitable aid organisations can be prepared including the organisations in which donations qualify for tax relief; the non-governmental organisations that the Government will contribute to in order to alleviate distress in Ukraine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12690/22]
View answerThe generosity of people in Ireland towards the Ukrainian people, the impulse to help those in need, and the strong solidarity with Ukraine, is very welcome and is to be commended.
Building on the €10 million in Irish Aid funding already provided in humanitarian aid to partners already working on the ground, including Ukrainian civil society, the Taoiseach last weekend announced a further €10 million in Irish Aid funding in response to the humanitarian crisis. This is in addition to prepositioned Irish Aid funding, including the Red Cross movement, UNHCR, and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (to which Ireland is the eighth largest donor). Irish Aid is supporting Irish NGO efforts through the Emergency Response Fund Scheme (ERFS), designed to support timely and effective responses to sudden onset humanitarian crises. Medical supplies have also been sent from Ireland in coordination with the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
From a practical perspective, the most effective way to deliver relief supplies is through broad, streamlined, and coordinated efforts. People in Ireland who would like to assist are advised to send funds, rather than goods. This can be done through donating to established Irish and international humanitarian organisations. Dóchas, the umbrella organisation for Irish NGOs, has made available a list of entities which have launched Ukraine appeals. Their websites can be accessed at: www.dochas.ie/whats-new/ukraine-how-you-can-help/.
Additionally, the World Health Organisation has launched an emergency appeal for Ukraine, and this can be accessed here: who-emergency-appeal---ukraine-and-neighbouring-countries.pdf.
With regard to the question of tax relief, there is provision in Irish legislation for tax relief in respect of charitable donations to approved bodies. More information is available on the website of the Revenue Commissioners here: Charitable Donation Scheme (revenue.ie) More generally, tax policy is a matter for the Department of Finance.
293. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if Ireland will propose to the United Nations Security Council a resolution calling for the immediate establishment of a reconstruction, reparation, and redevelopment fund for Ukraine which would be financed initially by the immediate confiscation worldwide of the assets of those oligarchs who have accumulated wealth by their ties to the Russian regime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12866/22]
View answerSince the illegal, unprovoked and unjustified further invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces on 24 February, Ireland has stood in unwavering solidarity with the people and government of Ukraine.
In recent days, the EU has imposed a series of sanctions in response to Russia’s aggression, including by closing EU airspace to all Russian aircraft; freezing the assets of the Russian Central Bank in the EU; expelling key Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) system; sanctioning more than 500 individual oligarchs, Government Ministers, senior army and security officials, and heads of state institutions; and sanctioning key figures and Russian media outlets that are disseminating disinformation across the EU.
The principal rationale of these actions is to incentivise Russia to find a political solution to the conflict that President Putin has created, and to reduce the funding available to Russia to continue its illegal actions in Ukraine.
There has been widespread reporting of certain very visible assets, such as superyachts, being confiscated by authorities in some EU Member states. Without knowing the full facts of these incidents, if these seizures have taken place in order to comply with EU sanctions, this is because the sanctions require that the assets of those on the sanctions list be frozen with immediate effect. Intangible assets such as bank accounts will have been frozen across the EU also. Such asset freezing measures do not permit the appropriation of assets by EU Member States, but rather require that listed persons or entities do not have access to their assets for so long as a sanctions regime persists. EU sanctions are not intended to be permanent, but rather are designed to incentivise a change in behaviour that will ultimately lead to sanctions being lifted.
Separately, Ireland has provided €10 million in humanitarian aid and medical supplies for those affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In addition, the EU has agreed a package of €500 million in military assistance for Ukraine under the European Peace Facility; €450 million for lethal equipment and €50 million for non-lethal equipment. Ireland constructively abstained on the lethal equipment package. We will pay our full share (approx €10 million) and our funding will go only to non-lethal elements.
We will continue to engage with European Union, United Nations and other partners to provide assistance to Ukraine.
295. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if a passport will issue to a person (details supplied) in time for their travel plans considering that it is a renewal application received by the Passport Office on 24 January 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12931/22]
View answerWith regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has provided an update on the status of the passport application to the applicant. This is a Passport Express application submitted through An Post. The current processing time for fully complete Passport Express applications is 8 weeks.
296. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will consider sending a large delegation of experienced and trained election observers to observe the elections in Hungary in April 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12948/22]
View answerThe Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has requested Member States to nominate candidates for the position of Observers for the OSCE ODIHR Election Observation Mission to Hungary for the Parliamentary elections and referendum which are scheduled to take place on 3 April 2022.
This followed the OSCE ODIHR Assessment Mission visit to Budapest at the end of January 2022 and the publication of its report on 4 February 2022 which recommended a full Election Observation Mission with 18 Long-Term Observers and 200 Short-Term Observers.
The Department has agreed to the nomination of up to three Short-Term Observers from the Department’s Election Observation Roster. This is in line with commitments made by fellow EU Member States in supporting this mission.
Members of the volunteer election observation roster have been notified by my Department and officials will process applications as these are received. The deadline for nominations by Member States is 8 March 2022. The final selection of nominated candidates will be made by the OSCE ODIHR.
As a member of the likeminded group of EU Member States on the rule of law, Ireland supports the democratic process in Hungary and joins with other likeminded EU Member States in supporting the OSCE ODIHR mission.
297. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if a passport can be returned to facilitate booked travel at the end of March 2022 in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12994/22]
View answerWith regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service contacted the applicant on 4 March 2022 to provide an update as to the status of the application. The passport application is being processed in line with current processing times. The current processing time for fully complete first time applications is 40 working days. Processing time begins from when the Passport Service receives the required supporting documentation for the application. The supporting documents for this application were received on 15 February 2022.
298. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 395 of 1 March 2022, the details of the update furnished to the person; if a specific response will issue to this parliamentary question; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12996/22]
View answerThe Passport Service contacted the applicant’s parent directly on 22 February 2022 to advise as to the status of the application. The Passport Service has since issued the passport to the applicant. The passport application was processed in line with current processing times. The current processing time for fully complete first time applications is 40 working days. Processing time begins from when the Passport Service receives the required supporting documentation for the application. The supporting documents for this application were received on 27 January 2022.
299. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 398 of 1 March 2022, the details of the update furnished to the person; if a specific response will issue to this parliamentary question; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12997/22]
View answerThe Passport Service contacted the applicants' parent directly on 21 February 2022 to advise as to the status of the applications. The passport applications are being processed in line with current processing times. The current processing time for fully complete first time applications is 40 working days. Processing time begins from when the Passport Service receives the required supporting documentation for the application. The supporting documents for these applications were received on 8 February 2022.
