John Brady
Question:336. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the details of the current and capital spending for the Passport Service in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33607/22]
View answerPassport Services
Questions (336)
Written answers
The total current spending to date for the Passport Service is €6,006,600.04, not including staff salaries. Of this, the capital spending figure is €1,061,440.01.
While the majority of current spending is to support and maintain the operations of the Passport Service there is also expenditure related to the Passport Reform Programme. This programme is focused on building on the reforms delivered to date and continuing to modernise, improve and protect both the integrity of the Irish passport as well as the environment and systems that underpin delivery by the Passport Service for our citizens.
Passport Services
Questions (337)
John Brady
Question:337. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the breakdown of staffing levels in the Passport Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33608/22]
View answerWritten answers
Adequate staffing of the Passport Service to respond to demand is a priority for my Department and is an issue that is kept under constant review.
Over 400 staff have been added to the Passport Service since June 2021 and 120 have joined in recent weeks. Additional permanent and temporary officers are being assigned on a continuous basis to the Passport Service.
The Passport Service recently ran its own recruitment competition for Temporary Clerical Officers with a view to maintain staffing levels throughout the year to meet the demand expected in the coming months. The Department has also been working with the HSE to provide opportunities to contact tracing staff to transfer to the Passport Service. The first group of 28 of these staff were assigned to the Customer Service Hub last week, which will further increase the number of staff answering customer queries.
This recruitment drive will see staffing numbers of over 900 at the Passport Service, which is twice the number that were in place last summer.
I am confident that the additional staff that have been assigned and will continue to be recruited over the coming weeks will have a positive impact on processing times, particularly for first time passport applications.
The number of Passport Service staff by grade are outlined below in tabular form.
|
Grade |
No. of PPS staff |
|
Principal Officer |
1 |
|
Counsellor |
1 |
|
Assistant Principal |
8 |
|
First Secretary |
1 |
|
Third Secretary |
2 |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
24 |
|
Executive Officer |
84 |
|
Clerical Officer |
351 |
|
Temporary Clerical Officer |
329 |
Overseas Development Aid
Questions (338)
John Brady
Question:338. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the details of the total Exchequer spending on overseas development aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33609/22]
View answerWritten answers
In Budget 2022 €1.044 billion was allocated to Official Development Assistance (ODA), the highest ever amount allocated by any Government. This is an increase of €176 million on the 2021 allocation of €867 million or, in percentage terms, a 20 percent increase in the overall cash allocation. Approximately 60 percent of Ireland’s total assistance is managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, with the balance administered through other Departments, primarily the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, and the Department of Finance.
My Department has been increasing its ODA allocations to Humanitarian assistance and Climate Change. The Humanitarian budget was €107 million in 2021. Including allocations in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the food crisis in the Horn of Africa, the 2022 allocation for humanitarian action is currently €126 million. ODA allocations to the Climate Unit have increased steadily rising from €11.7 million in 2021 and to €16 million in 2022, in addition to other climate action mainstreamed across the aid programme.
Each year my Department publishes an Annual Report on how Ireland's ODA programme is being channelled to deliver the priorities articulated in A Better World, the policy for international development.
The Annual Report contains a series of annexes detailing statistical information on programme expenditure collated in accordance with agreed OECD standards. These show the distribution of aid, the amounts allocated to priority focus areas and the amounts given through the various channels and countries. The Annual Report serves as a core accountability and transparency tool, providing a comprehensive overview of expenditure under the aid programme, and demonstrates the results that have been achieved. The 2020 Annual Report details Irelands ODA allocation of €838 million and is available on the Irish Aid website: www.irishaid.ie/what-we-do/how-our-aid-works/where-the-money-goes/
With regard to figures for 2021, validation of data on Ireland’s ODA programme is done in arrears. Prior to publication, draft statistical returns are shared with the OECD Development Assistance Committee experts for assurance that Ireland's reported spending meets the internationally accepted criteria of what can be counted as ODA. This assurance is important in maintaining Ireland's reputation as a quality donor. The 2021 Annual Report will be published later this year.
Question No. 339 answered with Question No. 303.
Question No. 340 answered with Question No. 305.