Written Answers Nos. 720-739
720. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of persons employed by his Department and bodies under the aegis of his Department with a rate of pay below the living wage of €12.30; the role that those persons occupy within his Department or relevant body; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19629/22]
View answerThe remuneration of directly employed staff in my Department is sanctioned by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in line with Government policy. There are currently 2 officers within the Department of Foreign Affairs who earn less than €12.30 per hour on the basis of a net 37 hour week. These officers operate as Cleaners at point 1 of the Civil Service PPC scale.
721. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will consider amending children's passports to include the full name of the child's parents or guardians given that the changing nature of family composition and the reduction in women adopting a married name means that many children do not share the surname of their parent which in turn creates difficulty for travel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19674/22]
View answerA passport is an internationally recognised travel document which attests to the identity and nationality of the bearer. All passport applications are subject to the terms of the Passports Act, 2008, as amended (“the Act“). The Act provides a legal basis for the various policies and procedures that are applied by the Passport Service in the issue of passports.
Section 10 of the Act provides that a passport will issue in the name of a citizen as it appears on his/her birth certificate or naturalisation certificate.
The Passport Service does not have any plans to expand the purpose of a passport to indicate a parental relationship between a child and his/her parent(s).
Parents are encouraged to complete the emergency contact details page at the back of their child’s passport which may assist in this matter, in particular for those parents and children with different surnames.
723. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if consideration is being given to reducing the two-year waiting time on compassionate grounds for a person (details supplied) to change their name on their passport after having their name changed by deed poll; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19683/22]
View answerAll passport applications are subject to the terms of the Passports Act, 2008, as amended (“the Act“). The Act provides a legal basis for the various policies and procedures that are applied by the Passport Service in the issue of passports.
Section 10 of the Act provides that a passport will issue in the name of a citizen as it appears on his/her birth certificate or naturalisation certificate. However, a name change for a passport from that which appears on a person’s birth certificate is permitted under the Act in situations such as marriage, civil partnership etc. where civil, or legal documents are available to verify this change
In cases where name change arises, other than by marriage or civil partnership etc, the Act requires evidence of the use of this new name over a two year period.
The question of what a person’s name is at any given moment in time depends upon its usage and the evidence to support the constant and sustained use of this new identity. Evidence of this for at least two years’ through documentation such as bills/bank statements/official correspondence is required as a deed poll is not adequate evidence of the constant use of a new name. This policy seeks to protect the integrity and security of the Irish passports against passport and identity fraud while allowing for genuine cases where name changes have occurred. The Passport Service takes its responsibility to protect the integrity of the Irish passport very seriously. The Irish passport has a strong international reputation due to the strength of the security features within the passport book and the robust processes involved in its issuance. The Irish passport was recently ranked 5th in the Henley Global Passport Index as it provides our citizens with visa-free access to 187 countries.
725. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if an application (details supplied) can be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19709/22]
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 FBR 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 two years from the receipt of supporting documentation for processing of FBR applications at this time. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, and the subsequent reassignment of FBR staff to assist in the provision of essential passport services, the FBR Service was paused for nearly 15 months across the 2020-2021 period.
The application referenced was registered on 24 September 2020, and is being stored in a secure environment.
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. For other applications, the FBR service operates a transparent general policy of processing applications in order of receipt.
My Department is fully committed to the continued allocation of additional resources over the coming period to assist with the processing of the FBR applications currently on hand and the high volume of new applications anticipated this year.
726. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if a passport application by a person (details supplied) will be reviewed; if the passport of the applicant’s parent will be returned to them without affecting the processing of their child’s application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19730/22]
View answerWith regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has returned the requested documents to the applicant's parents.
727. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the salaries and expenses paid to advisers, Ministers and or Ministers of State in his Department in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [19746/22]
View answerMy salary, and the salaries of the Ministers of State serving in my Department, are paid in accordance with the relevant public service pay agreements, currently 'Building Momentum, a new Public Service Agreement 2021-2022'.
My Special Advisers, Chris Donoghue and Laura McGonigle, are paid on the Principal Officer payscale.
Special Advisers to Ministers of State are paid at the Assistant Principal Officer payscale.
Minister of State Thomas Byrne's Special Adviser was Charlotte Simpson, with Marguerite O’Loughlin as interim Special Advisor from 07/12/20- 28/08/21. Ms. Simpson concluded her role as Special Adviser to Minister of State Byrne on 21/03/22.
Minister of State Helen McEntee's Special Adviser was Paul Fox.
Ministers of State Colm Brophy and Ciaran Cannon did not have Special Advisers.
My expenses, and those of the Ministers of State and Special Advisers, that were claimed through the Travel and Subsistence system, following the Department of Public Expenditure rules, for the years in question are set out below. There were no claims for travel and subsistence made by Mr. Fox through my Department.
Flight costs are usually paid directly by my Department in line with standard procedures for arranging official travel. It is standard procedure that accommodation costs are paid directly by my Department. Occasionally, those on official travel may be required to cover costs directly and seek reimbursement. This is done on a vouched basis.
|
Minister, Simon Coveney |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Subsistence (less meal deductions by claimant) |
1,068.70 |
3,208.69 |
875.80 |
|
Taxis (receipted) |
437.79 |
0 |
0 |
|
Flights (receipted) |
228.29 |
0 |
0 |
|
Minister of State, Ciaran Cannon |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Subsistence (less meal deductions by claimant) |
110.95 |
0 |
0 |
|
Mileage |
3,614.95 |
0 |
0 |
|
Minister of State, Colm Brophy |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Subsistence (less meal deductions by claimant) |
0 |
465.04 |
600.45 |
|
Mileage |
5,030.23 |
6,133.76 |
678.16 |
|
Incidental Expenses/Inoculations/Medical (receipted) |
0 |
79.00 |
177.00 |
|
Minister of State, Helen McEntee |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Subsistence (less meal deductions by claimant) |
504.48 |
0 |
0 |
|
Mileage |
697.95 |
0 |
0 |
|
Incidental Expenses/Inoculations/Medical (receipted) |
100.26 |
0 |
0 |
|
Minister of State, Thomas Byrne |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Subsistence (less meal deductions by claimant) |
957.23 |
5,887.39 |
1,633.97 |
|
Mileage |
6,361.16 |
15,854.89 |
6,504.73 |
|
Incidental Expenses/Inoculations/Medical (receipted) |
388.40 |
1,092.91 |
298.90 |
|
Charlotte Simpson |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Subsistence (less meal deductions by claimant) |
0 |
2,799.35 |
248.00 |
|
Incidental Expenses/Inoculations/Medical (receipted) |
0 |
69.00 |
0 |
|
Chris Donoghue |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Subsistence (less meal deductions by claimant) |
660.83 |
2,588.04 |
219.69 |
|
Incidental Expenses/Inoculations/Medical (receipted) |
209.60 |
533.64 |
70.48 |
|
Taxis (receipted) |
0 |
68.00 |
0 |
|
Flights (receipted) |
0 |
414.95 |
0 |
|
Mileage |
4,555.47 |
6,195.92 |
287.54 |
|
Laura McGonigle |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Subsistence (less meal deductions by claimant) |
7,864.94 |
11,675.87 |
3,817.31 |
|
Hotel (receipted) |
0 |
2,660.20 |
451.30 |
|
Notional Transport Costs |
1,324.53 |
459.12 |
168.95 |
|
Mileage |
500.75 |
4,358.18 |
3,399.95 |
|
Rail / Train / Luas / Metro Tickets (receipted) |
89.58 |
0 |
0 |
|
Taxis (receipted) |
58.80 |
22.80 |
0 |
|
Incidental Expenses/Inoculations/Medical (receipted) |
0 |
168.25 |
64.00 |
|
Marguerite O Loughlin |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Subsistence (less meal deductions by claimant) |
0 |
994.66 |
0 |
|
Taxis (receipted) |
0 |
7.50 |
0 |
|
Incidental Expenses/Inoculations/Medical (receipted) |
0 |
566.50 |
0 |
733. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will address the case of a person (details supplied) who is unable to get a first time passport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19901/22]
View answerWith regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has contacted the applicant directly to discuss the documentary requirements for the passport application.
