John Lahart
Question:149. Deputy John Lahart asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the main policy achievements of his Department since 27 June 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56110/23]
View answerThursday, 14 December 2023
Questions (149)
Written answers
Over the past three years, my Department has achieved much progress in a number of policy areas, framed by our commitments under the Programme for Government, and the Departmental Statement of Strategy.
Delivery of services to Irish citizens was, and remains, central to our work. Following disruptions to the service throughout the first year of the pandemic, the Passport Service began scaling up towards normal operations in May 2021 and, for the first time in history, issued over one million passports in 2022. This significant achievement was made possible by meeting demand delayed by the pandemic with technological and organisational innovation, and above all the hard work of the staff in all our passport offices. The Passport Service is successfully meeting the current high demand for passports, and has issued close to one million passports to date in 2023.
For much of the first half of the period under review, the COVID pandemic was the foremost global challenge. During the pandemic my Department handled the most extensive repatriation operation in the history of the State, helping well over 8,000 citizens to return from 129 countries across five continents. In addition, my Department continued to make an important contribution to the Government response to the pandemic, particularly in strengthening information flows across Government on global developments and trends, which informed critical decision making. We continue efforts to support investment in public health internationally.
Progress since 2020 has been achieved against the backdrop of an increasingly unstable and complex geopolitical context, with the disruption of the pandemic and its implications, Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine, crises in Afghanistan and Sudan, and now the conflict in the Middle East, imposing significant demands on my Department and its staff in Ireland and around the world.
In the aftermath of the pandemic our Consular function has been strengthened, including by the establishment of new units for Crisis Planning and International Travel. My Department undertook substantial work in evacuating over 100 Irish citizens and their dependents from Afghanistan in the months following the fall of Kabul in August 2021, responding to the consular assistance aspects of the crisis in Ukraine, and in assisting the evacuation of over 280 Irish citizens and dependents from Sudan between 15 April and 25 May 2023. Ireland has continued to supply humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan under a humanitarian carve out which we negotiated in the UN Taliban sanctions regime. I also announced in June this year that Ireland will provide €8.5 million in humanitarian aid for Sudan.
In the immediate aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine we assisted 167 Irish citizens and their accompanying dependents in leaving Ukraine between 1 February and 25 March 2022. Since that time, we have also provided substantial support to Ukraine, and neighbouring countries, as we worked to address the global impacts of the conflict. To date, we have provided over €90 million in stabilisation and humanitarian support and commitments of approximately €122 million in non-lethal military assistance under the European Peace Facility as well as a variety of in-kind assistance, we have consistently supported the strongest sanctions against Russia, and have continually engaged with international partners to build support for the Ukrainian Peace Formula and to ensure accountability for any crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.
In more recent weeks the work of the Department has been dominated by the unfolding conflict in the Middle East and in particular efforts to ensure the safe exit from Gaza of all Irish citizens who wished to leave, and their accompanying dependants and working to secure the release of Emily Hand, who was held hostage by Hamas. The Department has assisted 56 citizens and their accompanying dependents to leave Gaza since 7 October. In addition, throughout the crisis I have unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism. I have also made consistently clear that the protection of civilians must be paramount. The loss of life in the conflict in Gaza has been horrendous. Thousands of civilians, including children, have been killed. That is why I have consistently called for a sustainable humanitarian ceasefire and reiterated the need to adhere to International Humanitarian Law. The conflict must end.
Peace and reconciliation on our island has been a central priority throughout this period. A particular achievement of my Department during the period in question was the successful navigation of the challenge of Brexit, ensuring that our key objectives were met both in relation to Northern Ireland as well as in the overall EU-UK trade and cooperation arrangements.
Over the past three years, my Department has played a significant role in managing the complex outworkings of Brexit on this island. In this context, agreement of the Windsor Framework in February this year was a key milestone, and as a committed Member State of the European Union, Ireland is fully engaged with our EU partners as we work to make sure that the Framework is implemented fully and in good faith.
My Department is also working to restore the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. 2023 saw the 25th anniversary of the Agreement and we marked this significant milestone both at home and abroad.
The relationship between Ireland and the UK is vitally important, and central to sustaining prosperity and peace across these islands. My Department has worked with British counterparts to maintain and strengthen the relationships between these islands in the post-Brexit context. This has included establishing frameworks for cooperation with the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales, as well as strengthening ties with the North of England through a new Consulate General in Manchester.
Deepening our EU relationships and our influence at EU level has also been a central focus of all of my Department’s activity during this period including in respect of communicating and promoting Europe to citizens. The Programme for Government made a particular commitment to marking 50 years of Irish membership of the EU and I was delighted through 2022 and 2023 to lead on a “EU50” programme of national and international engagement marking this historic anniversary. The Government also launched the “A Career for EU” Strategy in May 2021 aimed at increasing the presence of Irish people in the senior ranks of the EU institutions. Work continues on implementing this strategy including through targeting an increase in the number of young Irish people aware of and applying for EU careers.
Between May and November 2022, Ireland held the Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. Through a critical period for the organisation, our Presidency delivered many significant achievements, notably securing agreement across the 46 Member States to convene just the fourth Summit in the Council’s 74-year history. Held in Reykjavik on 16-17 May 2023, the Summit saw leaders commit to revitalizing the Council across a wide range of human rights and democracy issues, as well as the establishment of the Register of Damages caused by Russia in Ukraine, which Ireland and 41 other countries have joined. Other notable achievements across our Presidency term included the negotiation of a Dublin Declaration on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence; the establishment of an innovative new Contact Group to formalise the Council’s cooperation with democratic opposition in Belarus; and a range of measures to support Ukraine, including fast tracking its membership of the Council’s Development Bank.
Our commitment to the reduction of poverty, hunger and humanitarian need has remained constant throughout the period in question. This year, the Government is providing a total of over €1.23 billion for Official Development Assistance. This is the largest ever allocation, and an increase of 17% on the 2022 allocation. The overall increase of €188 million includes €111.5 million for the international development programme operated by the Department of Foreign Affairs. €75 million of this will focus on the direct and indirect impact of the war in Ukraine, and €25 million is towards meeting our international climate finance commitments. In the latest available figures from 2021, Ireland’s Climate Finance was at its highest ever level at €99.6 million.
2023 saw a continued deepening of the global food security and energy crisis with 345 million people forecast to face acute food insecurity by year end. My department worked closely with Áras an Uachtaráin in support of President Higgins' important addresses to the Africa Food summit in January in Dakar and the World Food Forum in Rome in October. During the year my department worked in support of both humanitarian food assistance and longer term transformation of food systems through the UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake meeting and other global initiatives. In 2023 my department will spend at least €284 million on food, agriculture and nutrition.
Following our election in June 2020, Ireland’s two-year term on the UN Security Council began in January 2021 and ended in December 2022. We were active across the whole Council agenda, including on issues of great significance to Ireland’s foreign policy priorities, such as the JCPoA, the Middle East Peace Process, Libya, Myanmar, and Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Together with Norway, Ireland served as co-penholders on the Syria humanitarian file, and we successfully led on negotiations twice to extend the mandate of the lifesaving UN cross border humanitarian operation into Syria. During our tenure, we also led negotiations to successfully renew Operation Althea in Bosnia-Herzegovina in October 2022; championed human rights in Afghanistan, particularly for women and girls, and been to the fore of efforts to hold the Taliban to account; and led efforts to bring the conflict and dire humanitarian situation in Ethiopia to the attention of the Council. Ireland successfully negotiated a landmark Resolution on peacekeeping transitions, which was adopted unanimously last September; and played a leading role on the Conflict, Hunger, and Women, Peace and Security files. Ireland was also a co-penholder for a resolution carving out a broad Humanitarian exemption for UN Sanctions in December 2022.
In 2022, the Department of Foreign Affairs led on a cross-governmental process to formulate Ireland’s International Climate Finance Roadmap. The Roadmap sets out how Ireland will deliver on the target of providing at least €225 million per year in international climate finance by 2025, a commitment made by the Taoiseach at COP26 in Glasgow. Meeting this commitment will represent a more than doubling of Ireland’s climate finance from our 2020 baseline. Last year Ireland provided over €115 million in climate finance to developing countries – our highest spend to date. The 2023 figure is on track to be significantly higher.
Elsewhere throughout this period, my Department has led on the formation of a number of international negotiations. Ireland has continued to prioritise international climate action, we played an instrumental role in achieving progress on Loss and Damage at COP27 last year and in the last number of weeks at COP28 we have again been central to efforts to increase climate ambition. In November 2022, this Department hosted a high-level international conference for the “Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA)” which was endorsed by 83 States from across the world, a milestone disarmament achievement. In June 2023, my Department played an active a constructive role in the adoption of the UN Agreement on Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), a historic global oceans treaty that has the potential to significantly enhance the protection of the marine environment. My officials were also instrumental earlier this year as Ireland served as co-facilitator of negotiations and secured agreement on the Political Declaration for the Sustainable Development Goals Summit in September. My Department also led on several other high level conferences over the period, such as the Global Diaspora Summit in April 2022, the European Congress on Global Citizenship Education (GCE) in November 2022.
In partnership with the Department of Defence, my Department played a key role convening the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy to start a discussion on Ireland’s foreign and security policy. The Forum focused on a wide range of issues, including Ireland’s efforts to protect the rules-based international order through peacekeeping and crisis management, disarmament and non-proliferation, international humanitarian law, and conflict prevention and peacebuilding as well as allowing for a discussion on Ireland’s policy of military neutrality.
My Department also hosted the Global Irish Civic Forum in 2023, a gathering of Irish community representatives from across the world. The forum discussed support for communities abroad, promotion of Irish cultural heritage and sport, network building, reaching the next generations of the diaspora, and much more, and highlighted the critical importance of continued Government support for Ireland’s diaspora and representative organisations. The main vehicle for this support is the Government’s Emigrant Support Programme (ESP), which was established in 2004 and is administered by my Department. By the end of 2023, we will have disbursed over €230 million in ESP funding to over 840 organisations which work with and support Irish communities all over the world.
Under Global Ireland 2025, key strategies were launched throughout the period, framing our aspirations for engagement with the US and Canada, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific, Nordic and Latin American and Caribbean regions, and Small Island Developing States, as well as our Diaspora. Our mission network expanded to 99, with plans to open in Munich, Milan and Islamabad in the period ahead. We had over 350,000 visitors to our pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, which was launched in October 2021, and have advanced preparations for Expo 2025 in Osaka. My Department has supported and promoted Irish culture, business and investment opportunities through the implementation of the Global Island Strategy and the Government’s Trade and Investment Strategy launched in 2022.
Finally, further to my appointment in December last year, I was pleased to launch a new Departmental Statement of Strategy earlier this year. This Statement provides an essential framework to guide the work of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the period ahead. It recognises the changed and challenging global context in which we are now operating, and makes clear that strong coordination across Government at home, and with our key allies abroad, remains key to developing sustainable and lasting responses to the many and complex challenges that Ireland is facing. In tandem, the commitment to improve capacity and capability within my Department continues. To that end, we have developed a range of policies during the period under review to support our staff, including a new Learning and Development Framework, a Gender, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion Action Plan, and a Blended Working Policy for HQ and Abroad.
It has been an intense and challenging period but one during which my Department has continued to deliver on behalf of Irish citizens at home and abroad, I would also refer you the Department’s annual reports of 2020, 2021 and 2022 which provide a comprehensive overview of our work.