Written Answers Nos. 1-12
1. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach the annual funding provided to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions each year since 2016; the number of people employed in the ODPP since 2016; and the number of people employed working directly on economic crime. [55919/23]
View answerThe table below outlines the net annual funding provided to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions each year from 2016 to 2023 and the number of people employed in the Office each year during this period.
The total sanctioned headcount for the Special Financial Crime Unit is 12 staff. Currently there are eight staff (whole-time equivalent) working in this Unit, with two additional staff members starting at the end of January 2024. The two remaining vacancies are to be filled this year.
|
Year |
Net Annual Funding provided for Office of the DPP (€’000s) |
Staff Complement in Office of the DPP (Full-time Equivalent) |
|
2016 |
38,886 |
194 |
|
2017 |
41,094 |
199 |
|
2018 |
43,502 |
206 |
|
2019 |
42,809 |
205 |
|
2020 |
43,968 |
209 |
|
2021 |
44,704 |
220 |
|
2022 |
51,277* |
230 |
|
2023 |
59,818** |
263 |
* The figure for 2022 includes a Supplementary Estimate of €3.445m
** The figure for 2023 includes a Supplementary Estimate of €4.5m
2. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Taoiseach the total number of international visitors that came to Ireland as tourists in each in each of the years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. [56581/23]
View answerThe CSO estimates the number of foreign residents visiting Ireland from two sources. Firstly, it uses passenger data provided by airport authorities and sea ferry operators to determine the total number of passengers entering and leaving Ireland through all the main airports and seaports respectively. Secondly, the CSO conducts passenger surveys at the airports and seaports to differentiate these passenger flows into Irish and foreign residents. Historically, the CSO has been unable to compile statistics on cross-border visits, in part as much of this relates to vehicular traffic over the border, so Northern Ireland residents and other foreign residents entering Ireland cross border are excluded from the estimates.
The following table sets out the total numbers of arrivals and departures from airports and sea ports over the period 2019 – 2022.
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Table 1: All overseas passengers |
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|
Year |
Arrivals |
Departures |
|
2019 |
20,143,700 |
20,205,300 |
|
2020 |
4,460,200 |
4,452,600 |
|
2021 |
4,955,900 |
5,022,000 |
|
2022 |
17,257,000 |
17,172,300 |
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Source: CSO Air & Sea Travel Statistics |
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In 2019 an estimated 10,808,000 trips were made to Ireland by overseas foreign resident visitors. These comprised 1,450,000 same-day visits (including 969,000 air transfers) and 9,357,000 overnight visits. Unfortunately, the CSO does not have comparable statistics for the years 2020-2022, as the passenger surveys at airports and seaports were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic for reasons of public safety. As such, the breakdown of international and domestic visitors not available for those years. The CSO resumed full scale survey operations at airports and seaports in 2023. Results for 2023 are in the process of compilation and are expected to be released in March of this year.
3. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach his views on the need for an inquiry into the national Covid response. [56608/23]
View answer10. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Taoiseach the members of the public inquiry committee investigating the State's response to the Covid pandemic; and if it will include scientists. [1298/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 10 together.
A comprehensive evaluation of how the country managed COVID-19 will provide an opportunity to learn lessons from our experiences in dealing with a pandemic. It will include a review of the whole-of-government response to the pandemic and how we might do better and be in a stronger position if another pandemic or other similar type event were to occur. It will include a consideration of the health service response covering hospitals, the community and nursing homes, along with the wider economic and social response.
It is intended to have a public element to hear the lived experiences of all society.
The review should be undertaken by those independent of the national response and with relevant expertise.
A consultation with opposition party leaders has been scheduled.
It is intended to bring the terms of reference to Government shortly.
4. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach if his Department collates data on the average commute by car; and, if so, if he will make a statement on average commute distances by car in each county. [56707/23]
View answerThe following table shows the distance travelled to work by car in each administrative county as recorded in Census 2022. The longest commutes were recorded among residents of Laois, Leitrim and Roscommon, with average commutes of over 22 kilometres. The shortest commutes were among residents of Dublin city, South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire – Rathdown with average commutes of under 10 kilometres.
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Average distance to workplace by population aged 15 years and over at work, usually resident and present in the State, 2022 |
|
|
Administrative Counties |
KMs |
|
Ireland |
16.9 |
|
Laois |
24.4 |
|
Leitrim |
23.7 |
|
Roscommon |
22.4 |
|
Galway County |
22.0 |
|
Offaly |
21.7 |
|
Westmeath |
21.7 |
|
Carlow |
21.4 |
|
Meath |
21.3 |
|
Cavan |
21.2 |
|
Tipperary |
21.0 |
|
Longford |
20.8 |
|
Wexford |
20.4 |
|
Wicklow |
19.9 |
|
Mayo |
19.6 |
|
Kilkenny |
19.3 |
|
Clare |
18.6 |
|
Cork County |
18.6 |
|
Kildare |
18.6 |
|
Monaghan |
18.2 |
|
Kerry |
17.9 |
|
Sligo |
17.9 |
|
Louth |
17.8 |
|
Donegal |
17.4 |
|
Limerick City and County |
17.3 |
|
Waterford City and County |
15.5 |
|
Fingal |
12.0 |
|
Galway City |
10.9 |
|
Cork City |
10.3 |
|
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown |
9.3 |
|
South Dublin |
9.1 |
|
Dublin City |
8.1 |
5. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach the average commute distance for journeys to work in each year since 2003. [56722/23]
View answerAverage distances travelled to places of work are primarily determined using Census and National Travel Survey data. The following table sets out the average distance travelled to work in kilometres for the census years between 2002 and 2022 for persons aged 15 years and over. It should be noted that for Census 2002 and 2006, the commuting distance was calculated based on direct responses to a census question, whereas for the 2011, 2016 & 2022 censuses distance travelled was derived from geographical co-ordinates of people’s place of usual residence and their place of work.
|
Average distance travelled in kilometres to workplace |
2002 (Kms) |
2006 (Kms) |
2011 (Kms) |
2016 (Kms) |
2022 (Kms) |
|
Population aged 15 years and over at work |
15.8 |
15.8 |
14.7 |
15.1 |
16.8 |
6. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach the average commute distance for journeys to education in each year since 2003. [56723/23]
View answerAverage distances travelled to places of education are primarily determined using Census and National Travel Survey data. The following table sets out the average distance travelled to education in kilometres for the census years between 2002 and 2022 for age ranges representing primary, secondary and third level students. It should be noted that for Census 2002 and 2006, the commuting distance was calculated based on direct responses to a census question, whereas for the 2011, 2016 & 2022 censuses distance travelled was based on the distance between people’s usual place of residence and their place of education. Third level students who recorded the address of their family home as their place of usual residence rather than their term time address may therefore have been attributed longer journeys in the 2011, 2016 and 2022 censuses than in the previous censuses.
|
Average distance travelled in kilometres to School or College |
2002* (Kms) |
2006* (Kms) |
2011 (Kms) |
2016 (Kms) |
2022 (Kms) |
|
Children at school aged between 5 and 12 years |
4.0 |
4.0 |
2.8 |
2.8 |
3.2 |
|
Students at school or college aged between 13 and 18 years |
8.0 |
7.6 |
7.7 |
7.2 |
7 |
|
Students at school or college aged 19 and over |
13.2 |
12.9 |
30.8 |
32.4 |
34.8 |
7. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Taoiseach if he will list the ongoing research commissioned under the remit of his Department through the North-South Ministerial Council, Shared Island Initiative or through other all-island arrangements; if he will outline the research that has been completed; and the date of publication of the research since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. [56922/23]
View answerThe Shared Island unit in the Department of the Taoiseach is progressing a comprehensive research programme to examine the political, social, economic and cultural considerations of a shared future on the island, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement.
Research is commissioned with partners including the National Economic and Social Council, Economic and Social Research Institute and Irish Research Council. 30 reports have been completed and published to date, and these are listed in tabular format below. Commissioned research typically involves North/South or East/West collaboration and all reports are published and available at www.gov.ie/sharedisland/research .
Research commissioned through the North South Ministerial Council in sectoral or other formats or through other all-island arrangements is a matter for the relevant line Ministers and their Department.
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Research commissioned by Shared Island unit, Department of the Taoiseach |
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National Economic and Social Council (NESC): - Shared Island Collaboration on Climate and Biodiversity (October 2021) - Comprehensive Report: Shared Island; Shared Opportunity (April 2022) |
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Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI): - Cross-Border Trade in Services (December 2021) - Enhancing Attractiveness of the Island of Ireland to FDI (December 2021) - Analysis of Primary Health Care Systems of Ireland and Northern Ireland (March 2022) - North South Comparison of Education and Training Systems and Outcomes (April 2022) - Modelling Productivity Levels in Ireland and Northern Ireland (November 2022) - All-Island Coordination of Energy Infrastructure and Renewable Energy Supports (December 2022) - Early Childhood Education and Care in Ireland and Northern Ireland (January 2023) - Migrant Integration in Ireland, North and South (March 2023) - Student Mobility in Ireland and Northern Ireland (September 2023) - Changing Social and Political Attitudes in Ireland and Northern Ireland (November 2023) - Gender and Labour Market Inclusion on the Island of Ireland (publication Q1 2024) - Contrasting Housing Supply in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the rest of UK (publication Q1 2024) |
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Irish Research Council (IRC) - New Foundations programme, Shared Island strand: 2021 call: research completed and published by end-2023: - Towards A Fair and Prosperous Island: An All-Island Network to Combat Hate - Assisting the Irish Churches and Religious Communities to Develop Values-Based Common Positions on Current European Issues and to Engage with European Counterparts - Appraise Curriculum Content for Entrepreneurship in Secondary Schools- Brexit at the Border: Intergroup Relations on the Shared Island- Negotiating Difference on a Shared Island - Providing a Multidisciplinary Expert Network to Promote and Support Implementation of a Circular Economy on the Island of Ireland - North South Legal Mapping Project - Reading Rooms: Fostering Constructive & Inclusive Dialogue Between Communities - Strategy for Quantum Information and Technology - Building Capacity for Cultural Industries: Towards a Shared Island Approach - Exploring the Benefits of an All-Island Cancer Research Institute (AICRI): 2022 call – research to be completed and published by end-2024: - Public Policy Agendas on a Shared Island - Strengthening the Regional Impact of Higher Education: A Comparative Scoping Study of Regional Higher Education Strategies, Policies and Provision in the North-West, Scotland and Wales - Doing Feminist Legal Work - An All-Island Consortium to Foster Educational Neuroscience Research and Practice - Addressing Biodiversity Loss with Sustainable Finance: An All-Island Research Initiative - Audience Data for Cultural Policy: A Shared Island Approach to the Creative Industries - All Ireland Rare Disease Inter-Disciplinary Research Network |
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Standing Conference on Teacher Education North South (ScoTENS), Shared Island strand: - Building Bridges Diminishing Educational Disadvantage (October 2022) - Student Hopes: Achievement, Research, Equity and Diversity (October 2022) - Shared Responsibility: Teaching Social Justice in Initial Teacher Education (October 2023) - Cultural Responsivity in Teacher Education: Research in Action (October 2023) - Educating about Difference Uniting Classrooms and Teacher Education (October 2024) |
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Other commissioned research: - Collaborating on Healthcare on an All-Island Basis, Professor Deirdre Heenan - commissioned as discussion paper contribution for the Shared Island Dialogue on Health (June 2021) - ‘Island of Ireland Labour Market’ - commissioned by Labour Employment Economic Forum Shared Island working group (publication H1 2024) |
8. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Taoiseach whether the Central Statistics Office will consider ceasing the use of 'world population' as an environmental indicator, as used in its graphic posted to the CSO's social media channels (details supplied) in light of the evidence of very highly unequal resource distribution including from reports by an organisation (details supplied) which show the richest 1% of the world's population has the same emissions as the poorest 50%. [56963/23]
View answerThe impact of human activities on the global environment is a product of the number of people, individual consumption, and the natural resources, raw materials and technology required to support that consumption. The World Population indicator is included in the Global Context chapter of the annual CSO Environmental Indicators Ireland report recognising that environmental impact and change in Ireland, sits within a global context. Much of the data presented in the Global Context chapter are disaggregated by geographical area (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Oceania) and illustrate not just the differences in population growth over time, but also the differences in child mortality and life expectancy at birth. The geographical disaggregation allows readers to see where the increased demand is occurring as well as demonstrating differences in life expectancy/child mortality between regions. Data are also presented on greenhouse gas emissions (1990 – 2021) which show the highest emissions among the nations/groups presented are generated by the USA, EU27 and the Russian Federation.
9. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will provide a schedule of the personal and or person-specific data sets his Department holds that have been provided and/or shared with other Departments and/or Ministers and/or State bodies and/or agencies and/or local authorities in the past 20 years to date; if he will clarify if the transfer of data and/or records was in aggregated form or on an individual basis; and the reason the data and/or records were provided. [57219/23]
View answer11. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his recent engagements with the British government; if he has engaged with the British government regarding reported safety issues at the Sellafield nuclear facility; if he discussed this matter with the British Foreign Secretary when they met on 13 December 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56805/23]
View answerIreland engages regularly with the UK Government on issues of nuclear safety and security, including in relation to the Sellafield site. I raised this issue with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron during our meeting in London on 13 December 2023.
Ireland attaches the greatest importance to ensuring the highest levels of nuclear safety by all users of nuclear energy, and engages actively in work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and under the Convention on Nuclear Safety, working with the UK, and EU partners, to this end.
Officials from the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, and from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), engage regularly with UK counterparts and relevant regulators, including under the auspices of the UK Ireland Contact Group on Radiological Matters, which also encompasses matters relating to the Sellafield site.
I understand that officials from that Department, together with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), most recently visited the Sellafield site in July 2023 to see at first hand the decommissioning operations that are underway at Sellafield. We continue to engage closely with the relevant UK authorities to ensure that the current levels of progress being made on the site on the various projects dealing with legacy related matters are maintained.
12. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs in light of statements from members of the Israeli government that they will not allow for the establishment of a Palestinian state; if he will now honour the Programme for Government commitment to recognise the State of Palestine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56806/23]
View answer25. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his engagement with other European countries in respect of recognition of Palestinian statehood. [56725/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 25 together.
The Programme for Government states that the Government will “honour our commitment to recognise the State of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict, or in advance of that, when we believe doing so will progress efforts to reach a two-State solution or protect the integrity of Palestinian territory”.
There are intensive discussions ongoing at EU level and with regional partners on how to develop a credible pathway to a two-state solution, allowing the Israeli and Palestinian people to live in the peace and security that they deserve. The timing and context of any decision on recognition would need to take account of these discussions, as well as the situation on the ground. This is an issue that remains under review and that I discuss with EU partners, and I would expect these discussions to intensify over the coming period.
