I ask committee members to turn off mobile phones completely, because even in silent mode, they interfere with the recording equipment. The proposed timetable for today's consideration of Vote 28 and Vote 29 has been circulated to party spokespersons. Is the timetable agreed? Agreed.
I call on the Minister, Deputy Martin, to make an opening statement on Vote 28.
I thank members for this opportunity to present for their consideration the 2010 Estimates for the Department of Foreign Affairs group of Votes. This is the first time I have had a chance to meet Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan at this committee. With the agreement of the Chairman, I propose to discuss in detail both Vote 28 and my Department's annual output statement. In line with established practice, the Minister of State, Deputy Power, will deal in detail with Vote 29.
It is one year exactly since we considered the 2009 Estimates and today's discussion offers us an opportunity to take stock of the progress achieved on a wide range of issues in the intervening period. Since 2008, my Department has operated in a context of reducing budgets and diminishing staff numbers. The necessary programme of budgetary consolidation the Government is undertaking has had an unavoidable impact on the resources available to my Department.
The net Estimate for Vote 28 for this year is almost 14% below the allocation for 2009, which itself represented a drop of almost 11% on the previous year. The Department has reduced its funding by almost a quarter in two years, not counting reductions to the ODA budget. When both Votes are taken together, the reduction is almost 32% since 2008.
We are adjusting to these realities by reviewing our priorities and the way we do business. We have implemented most of the McCarthy report recommendations for programme cuts. Significant economies have also been achieved in administration, which for Vote 28 is down by more than €16 million. By its nature, the operation of my Department relies a great deal on people. Nevertheless, staff numbers have to date been reduced by 65, exactly the number recommended by the McCarthy report. At the same time, there is unrelenting pressure on the staff of my Department to keep delivering more.
The past year has witnessed a range of significant achievements. These are summarised in my Department's output statement, which has been circulated to the committee. The statement sets out six programmes, each corresponding to a high level goal in the Department's strategy statement. It gives an indication of how the resources provided to my Department are deployed and offers a useful way to structure our review.
On the last two occasions I appeared before this committee to discuss my Department's Estimates, the Lisbon treaty was a dominant concern. Last June, we were working to chart a way forward and were committed to holding a further referendum provided there was a satisfactory response to the concerns of the Irish people. At the European Council three days later, our partners in Europe responded with understanding and formally agreed upon the legal guarantees we had requested. One key lesson learned from the first Lisbon treaty campaign was that the Government's information materials had been perceived as unnecessarily complex. In 2009, we put a strong effort into making them as readable as possible, focusing on straightforward messages and clearly identifying the benefits and relevance of EU measures and policies for Irish people.
This had positive and measurable results. Following the second referendum, the number of voters who said they voted "No" because they did not know enough about the issues was down from 22% to 4%. The same survey found that the Government continued to be the most important source of information for respondents at 61% in 2009, up from 51% in 2008. These two findings together speak of the importance and the success of the renewed communications strategy pursued by my Department.
The Lisbon treaty has been in force since last December and its provisions are now being progressively implemented. The central role of the European Council in giving the Union strategic direction has been particularly underlined in the steps taken, under the chairmanship of Herman Van Rompuy, to cope with the recent economic turmoil.
One of the goals of the changes under Lisbon is to streamline the Union's external representation and ensure a more coherent and powerful voice for Europe on the global agenda. Ms Catherine Ashton has taken up her role as High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and will be assisted in her work by the European External Action Service. We are working in the General Affairs Council and with the European Parliament to have the detailed rules for its organisation and functioning agreed quickly.
The European External Action Service, EEAS, will comprise officials from the Commission and the Council secretariat, as well as staff seconded from national diplomatic services of the member states. Irish candidates will be able to compete for positions within the EEAS on an equal footing with candidates from other member states and from the European Union institutions. Over time, there will be a real benefit to the State through the experience gained by the rotation of Irish officials between the EEAS and the Irish diplomatic service. I look forward to Irish candidates of the highest calibre being recruited into the new service. At the same time, it should be understood that the new EEAS will not replace the need for bilateral Irish representation abroad. The questions of consular support, bilateral trade and investment promotion, cultural outreach, engaging with the global Irish and administering our bilateral development programmes will remain very much our own responsibility.
We have come through an extremely tough year for all involved in Irish business, in exporting and in trade promotion. The economic and financial crisis and our national efforts to promote economic recovery continue to provide the backdrop to everything we now do. In complying with the savings needed by the Government, the Department has managed to keep all its missions open and in a position to fulfil their essential role in opening doors for Irish business in countries all over the world. With this in mind, I warmly welcome this committee's report on Ireland's foreign trade promotion policy and its recognition that "the Department of Foreign Affairs through the work of its network of diplomatic missions abroad needs to be at the centre of Ireland's export-led economic recovery". We are working with other relevant Departments and State agencies to ensure that all the State's efforts to support Irish business and exporters are co-ordinated and that every opportunity is utilised to provide clear overarching messaging on the strengths of the economy. I note and appreciate that one of the key issues for this committee's visit to the United States last week was to support economic recovery and to promote trade and investment.
The success of the Global Irish Economic Forum at Farmleigh last September demonstrated clearly the considerable practical benefits that can result from closer and more targeted engagement between Ireland and the global Irish. The forum achieved its twin objectives of developing more strategic engagement between Ireland and leading members of the Irish diaspora and making a practical contribution to Ireland's economic recovery. The new Global Irish Network, established since the forum, is now an important vehicle for directing and focusing the high level interaction between the Government and this key national resource in the period ahead. In addition to our ongoing promotional work and the specific Farmleigh initiative, we use programme D to promote Ireland and our bilateral relations with other countries, to advance our economic interests and to enhance our cultural profile overseas. We continue, as recommended by the participants at the forum in Farmleigh, to provide funding to our embassies for activities which promote a greater knowledge of Ireland through our rich cultural heritage. We will soon launch an exhibition on the life and works of W.B. Yeats, which will begin touring later this year.
Many members are familiar with the Department's high quality consular work in assisting individuals and families in situations of difficulty or distress abroad. It has developed an extensive network of honorary consuls to augment our professional resident missions. There are now almost 90 honorary consuls and, taken with our embassies and consulates, provide us with almost 150 consular posts around the world. Last year, the Department assisted in more than 1,500 consular cases. This included 243 families who had suffered bereavement abroad, as well as more than 1,350 other serious consular emergencies, such as accidents and hospitalisation, 319 arrest cases and two very high profile and protracted kidnap cases. By far the highest number of consular emergencies occurred in Spain, followed by the United States, Australia, Thailand, Britain and France. Consular assistance was provided to Irish citizens in virtually every country, including places as far afield as Samoa, Mongolia, Ecuador, Nepal, Sierra Leone and New Caledonia.
The dedicated crisis centre and emergency consular assistance teams ensure that the Department is ready to provide an emergency response service to deal with large-scale crises or natural disasters. Most recently the crisis centre was activated during the disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud when tens of thousands of Irish citizens were stranded abroad. In addition to our service at home, our missions overseas, in some cases, worked around the clock to ensure that all possible assistance was provided.
As members are aware, the passport service has been the subject of industrial action for much of this year. As a result, a backlog of more than 64,000 applications has arisen. I thank Mr. Kieran Mulvey, chief executive of the Labour Relations Commission, whose mediation led to a resolution of the difficulties two weeks ago. Fifty temporary staff have now been recruited and are working with all passport service staff to minimise the level of inconvenience to the travelling public. I am determined that every effort will be made to clear the backlog as soon as possible and restore normal passport application services at the earliest opportunity.
Further progress in the implementation of the Good Friday and St. Andrews Agreements was achieved this April when policing and justice powers were devolved to the Assembly and Executive and David Ford of the Alliance Party was elected as Justice Minister. This development, part of a comprehensive deal worked out between the parties at Hillsborough in February, marks a hugely important step forward for Northern Ireland. It completes an important part of the vision of the Good Friday Agreement and sends out a clear signal to those who would undermine the hard-won peace that the devolved Institutions can deliver for all the people of Northern Ireland. Significant decommissioning of weapons also took place last year and early this year. Decommissioning by loyalist organisations in particular was a crucial step forward in the transformation of Northern Ireland and will assist marginalised communities reap the benefits of the peace process. The publication of the Saville report yesterday, which proclaimed the innocence of those killed and wounded by British forces in Derry on Bloody Sunday, marks another significant step forward. Political progress like this is to be welcomed and cherished. However, we are only too aware that peace in the long term — genuine, lasting peace — depends on reconciliation on a societal scale and at the level of local communities and individuals. Deep divisions within society and sectarian attitudes still exist in communities across Northern Ireland. There are still those who feel alienated from the peace process and from its great benefits.
The programme for Government and my Department's strategy statement emphasise the responsibility of the Government to encourage and support reconciliation and cross-community initiatives. My Department's reconciliation and anti-sectarianism funds are making a valuable contribution to this process by awarding small grants to organisations undertaking innovative work linking communities on both sides of the border and giving people the space to explore reconciliation and address sectarianism. The Estimates provide for €3 million for North-South and Anglo-Irish co-operation, the vast majority of which is disbursed through the reconciliation and anti-sectarianism funds. This funding can make a significant contribution to building a shared future in Northern Ireland and helping communities to step out of the shadow of violence permanently and it ensures that the Irish Government is a full partner in sustaining peace on the island.
Through programme B, Ireland contributes more widely to international peace and security, promotes conflict resolution, respect for human rights and the rule of law and supports effective common strategies to address global challenges. I am devoting particularly close attention at present to the Middle East peace process, the Gaza blockade, the Iran nuclear issue and the question of human rights in that country, the recently-concluded non-proliferation treaty review conference and Ireland's forthcoming chairmanship of the OSCE.
The complex and interlinked problems of the Middle East are high on the agenda for the European Union and the United Nations and are a personal priority for me as Minister for Foreign Affairs. The European Union is heavily engaged in efforts to resolve this long-standing conflict in our near neighbourhood and to bring about a viable, comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian question. In the past two weeks, the events surrounding the Free Gaza flotilla and the Gaza blockade more generally have been the subject of important debates in both Houses of the Oireachtas. I have set out in detail my deep concern at the actions taken by Israel and their tragic consequences. It is a matter of great relief that there was a peaceful outcome in the case of the Irish-owned aid ship, the MV Rachel Corrie, due to the exercise of restraint on both sides. Our efforts to ensure the safety of the Irish participants and the delivery of the humanitarian aid involved continuous engagement by my Department around the clock, as well as the full resources of our small missions in Israel and Turkey and support from several other missions.
The events of the past few weeks have reinforced the point I have been making strongly at all levels that the blockade of Gaza is inhumane, unjust and cannot be allowed to continue. I have helped to launch a process of reflection in the European Union on our Gaza policy to date and on what the European Union can do to bring this intolerable situation to an end. Despite the gloom created by recent events, it is essential that we give every possible support to the proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Progress towards a comprehensive and lasting political agreement between Israel and its Palestinian neighbours is more urgently needed than ever before.
As members will be aware, I met Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki at his request in Dublin on 9 June. The meeting was timely on both the human rights front and in respect of Iran's nuclear programme. Last week, the United Nations Security Council agreed a resolution that will enforce a fourth round of sanctions against Iran. On Monday, I discussed possible additional European Union measures with my EU foreign affairs ministerial colleagues. The international community has shown that it is united on this issue and I hope these measures will, together, help to persuade Iran to rethink its current stance on its nuclear programme. My meeting with Foreign Minister Mottaki came a few days before the first anniversary of the 2009 presidential election. I used the opportunity to press the Iranian Government to respect the right of Iranian citizens to freedom of expression in accordance with the international commitments Iran has already entered into.
Working towards the goal of a world without nuclear weapons continues to be a priority for my Department. Ireland played an active role at the review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty which took place in New York last month. Ireland was asked by the conference president to use its good offices to negotiate a way forward on implementing a sensitive resolution, which called for the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. Against expectations, we managed to secure the agreement of all parties involved for a framework leading to full implementation of the 1995 resolution. This positive outcome after years of stalemate is, in part, testament to the high regard in which Ireland is held internationally in this field — going back to the pioneering work of one of my predecessors, Frank Aiken — as well as to the negotiating skills of our team in New York.
Members will be aware that Ireland is to chair the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, in 2012. We will join Lithuania and Kazakhstan as part of the so-called troika for the organisation with effect from next January. The OSCE has 56 participating states, including all EU member states, Russia, the US, Canada and central Asian states. Its mandate is to develop and maintain a comprehensive and co-operative approach to security in the entire region. We look forward to the challenge of helping to promote peace and security in areas such as the Caucasus and the western Balkans, drawing on the conflict resolution expertise we acquired in the Northern Ireland peace process. The most high-profile event during the chairmanship year is usually the OSCE ministerial meeting of all 56 participating states, which we would plan to host in Ireland in December 2012.
The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Power, will deal in greater detail with programme E, which aims to deliver on the commitments in the White Paper on Irish Aid through reducing poverty, supporting sustainable development and promoting development co-operation as an integral part of Ireland's foreign policy. However, I would like to make a few brief points at this stage.
For 2010, the Government has provided an overall allocation for official development assistance, ODA, of €671 million. Of this, €536 million has been allocated to my Department under Vote 29 on international co-operation and will be administered by the development co-operation division of the Department under the banner of Irish Aid. A further estimated €135 million will come from other Departments, together with Ireland's share of the EU development co-operation budget.
The 2010 total ODA allocation involves a relatively small reduction of €25 million on 2009. Based on current projections, this level of funding will stabilise Ireland's expenditure on ODA at approximately 0.52% of GNP and we expect to exceed our commitment as an EU member state to spend 0.51% of GNP on ODA in 2010. It will also confirm that Ireland remains one of the more generous donors internationally on a per capita basis. As members are aware, we set ourselves a target of spending 0.7% of GNP on ODA by 2012, three years ahead of the EU target date of 2015. This goal was set in different times and economic circumstances. During this year’s Estimates process, we carried out a rigorous assessment of our capacity to meet the target. The Government remains committed to expanding the aid programme once economic conditions improve. However, it is clear that the current economic circumstances prevent us from reaching the 2012 goal. We are now focused, in line with our fellow EU member states, on meeting a target of spending 0.7% of GNP on ODA by 2015. It is important to point out that Ireland remains ahead of most member states in our progress towards achieving the 2015 target. In the current circumstances, the contribution by taxpayers of €671 million to meeting the needs of the world’s poorest is a reflection of the strength of our core values as a nation.
In the time available, it is not possible to address all of the issues that might be of interest to members. I have tried to outline how the funds voted to my Department by the Oireachtas are translated into positive actions and measures to support the implementation of Ireland's foreign policy. I hope that I have provided the Chairman and the members of the select committee with adequate information for their consideration of the Estimate. I am happy to take any question and I look forward to our discussion.
Thank you Minister. As the Fine Gael spokesperson is otherwise engaged, we will go straight to the opening statement of the Labour Party spokesman, Deputy Higgins.
Thank you Chairman. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus an foireann. I welcome the Minister and his staff and I will raise a few points regarding his speech. He referred to adjustments in his Department's expenditure based on suggestions in the McCarthy report. I would suggest that he could have saved himself a great deal of bother, since the McCarthy report, as it relates to foreign affairs, representation abroad and so forth, was particularly ill-informed. I do not have the report before me, but if I remember it correctly, it practically suggested closing down embassies and representation abroad. This was extraordinary, given the Minister's subsequent reference to the role he envisages for his Department in the promotion of economic recovery.
It is also extraordinary that we continue to be poorly represented in South America, for example, where there are opportunities. By any assessment in global economic terms, we are under-represented. I do not understand this legacy in foreign policy, which does not serve us well. When I started as a spokesperson on foreign affairs, I cannot remember whether we were represented in some South American countries or Canada. We debated whether to be represented in Argentina. I remember visiting that country. Our poor representation on that continent is indefensible.
The McCarthy report was a slash and burn report. At this stage in my life, I am encouraged to be candid. When I was a Minister, we used to get a list from principal officers and Assistant Secretaries known as the Asgard list, into which one fired everything. Maybe I should not call the report that kind of list. Perhaps it was more of a Doheny and Nesbitt list. Someone suggested the most outrageous cuts he or she could possibly consider, then fired them into Colm McCarthy who was under pressure to fill his report. Thus, entirely indefensible suggestions were made. For example, the report suggested the abolition of the Irish Film Board. When I became the Minister in 1993, filming was earning the economy £11.4 million. In 1996, the year before I left, filming was earning £186.7 million. The suggestion was that the board could be fired into Enterprise Ireland, which has neither the interest nor competence to do anything about filming. This is only one example, so I would not be too bothered in claiming that meeting the suggestions in the McCarthy report was an achievement.
I have a great interest in another matter, but I must be brief, as I only have ten minutes. The Minister has lost 65 staff. I presume that some distinguished members of his staff applied to Baroness Ashton's new European External Action Service, EEAS. Will the Minister clarify whether anyone seconded to it will be replaced? There is no doubt but that the Department is understaffed. I am not making a partisan point. One could point to the 1982-87 period when Dr. Garret FitzGerald was Taoiseach. People in the Department of Foreign Affairs have an extraordinary view of foreign policy. One of the suggestions at the time was that people were reading newspapers, so an edict was issued to stop people's subscriptions to magazines. I hope we have gone beyond all of this. The Minister will be glad to hear me say the Department is understaffed.
I will move to a number of specific topics. The Minister referred to the Lisbon treaty. Something is a matter of disappointment to me. When I recently made a research inquiry across parliaments in the EU, I found that few had brought effective committees into existence such as might implement the significant new powers granted under the treaty. These powers would involve citizens. Regarding the role of parliaments, the treaty allows them to take and amend positive initiatives. The committees do not exist. This suggests there is no enthusiasm for involving citizens or for reducing the citizen deficit that we discussed a long time ago.
Regarding Baroness Ashton and the EEAS, I am happy that members of the Irish diplomatic service will form part of it. Looking at this from the distance I do, the precise role of this external action service and its relationship to other representations of the European Union is not so clear. For example, Baroness Ashton has a certain record in respect of her development background but I am not sure how the service will carve out a name for itself.
The figures for the consular service are interesting because the consular service has been excellent. Deputies, Senators and people from all over the country are familiar with families in the most distressing circumstances. The consular service they receive continues to be praised by any I have been in contact with.
I refer to the Irish abroad, a small unit in the Department that is very important. The Chairman and I visit the Irish in Britain regularly. We meet county associations and a high number of people are from counties such as Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim, Roscommon and other west of Ireland counties. Many told us they would love to return to Ireland. Some of their friends are dead and others have gone back to Ireland but later returned to England. Given the number of townhouses we built on the edges of bogs and villages in the counties I mentioned, we should offer them to the county associations in England to see if they will accept them for nothing and occupy the houses for a few months a year.
There is a project in operation called the Safe-Home project.
I know it. A former Deputy, Jerry Cowley, was involved in another project in Mayo. I am just saying there is room for expansion. Such a proposal is attractive to me. It is an old peasant thing and is more attractive to me than the demolition proposal, which is a Doheny and Nesbitt proposal.
We agreed the Minister's statement on Gaza. In the event of the MV Rachel Corrie being interfered with and our citizens being moved to where they did not want to be, the Minister said he would take further diplomatic initiatives. Perhaps he will spell out some of these. Regarding the non-proliferation treaty, I suggest there is a contradiction between what we are saying in respect of Iran and what we agreed on the US-India nuclear agreement.
The Minister of State with responsibility for overseas development assistance, Deputy Peter Power, will discuss his brief. Comparing ourselves with the general performance in respect of previous commitments of 0.7% of GNP in 2007, then 2012 and finally 2015, I find it a great pity. I refer to the UN target, which keeps slipping away.
We will now proceed to the general discussion on the Revised Estimate and the six individual programmes highlighted in the output statement. We will do this in a question and answer session. After a five minute break, we will discuss Vote 29, overseas development assistance.
Will the Minister comment on the decision taken yesterday to expel a member of staff of the Israeli embassy? Is there an agreed date for opening the consulate in Atlanta? We have just returned from a visit to the US and we are keen to capitalise on the potential to continue to grow our bilateral trade with the US. One of the interesting points we came across was the concern about the availability of sales and marketing staff in Ireland. One company is employing 450 people in Ireland and 150 sales and marketing staff in the USA. We asked them whether they could find the sales and marketing staff in Ireland. Their view was that they could not get enough of them in Ireland and were increasing the number in the US. It is fair enough that they are providing 450 jobs here but I am concerned about the provision of hard-nosed sales and marketing people with experience of getting out and selling. That is something we need badly if we are running short.
I welcome the publication of the Saville report and its vindication of those killed or injured by British troops on Bloody Sunday. Its publication is an important step on the road to reconciliation. I commend the work of the Minister and his Department on securing the freedom of Sharon Commins and Fr. Michael Sinnott during the year.
Our report on exports includes a number of points. We wrote that report some time ago and it was published a month ago. The report includes a recommendation for a graduate placement programme for graduates and those with experience in sales and marketing. We had our finger on the right button. These people could be placed in embassies to assist embassy staff. If one is operating a marketing drive in this business, one can be short of staff and we have seen examples of this. In some areas we are doing very well and Enterprise Ireland has provided delegated staff for large countries but there are many areas where ambassadors could use extra staff.
We referred to the common business and tourism visa to the UK or Ireland and a more open approach to foreign students and tourists, particularly from Asia. We also referred to an export supremo and harnessing the strengths of industry, State agencies and Irish diplomatic missions abroad. We see the diplomatic missions being crucial in playing a major role, especially when one talks about the importance of culture. Culture is of great importance in attracting top people in industry and business. They want to be around the embassies and at cultural events. We also talked about an export promotion cabinet, an idea that was recently adopted by the President of the US, Barack Obama. We had some discussions on this although I see some weaknesses in what they are doing. Perhaps it will be possible to have a discussion on another day on this topic.
I thank the Minister for his detailed statement. I welcome the publication of the Saville report. After nearly 40 years it is an important day for this country and Ireland, North and South. It confirms the 14 people killed on that terrible day were innocent. I welcome the swift response from the new UK Prime Minister, David Cameron. Sometimes we overlook how far we have come. I refer to the devolution of policing and justice powers in the North. A couple of weeks ago Reverend Ian Paisley visited this House. There is more interaction between the Northern Ireland Executive and the Dáil. We have come a long way. On recent visits to the US we met a number of friends and they are particularly proud of this as well. Having come this far, there may be something of a void that we must fill in order to keep Ireland on the agenda in the US. The staff whom I and the committee met in New York and Washington are absolutely excellent as are our ambassador and consulate general. I was really impressed by the Ireland House initiative, with regard to the co-ordination between Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and Tourism Ireland. They are very much on the ball economically over there and there is a very good grasp in the United States of where we are at and what we are doing. I am not making a political point on this, it is just to state that our people in the United States have done an excellent job in ensuring it is to the forefront in the minds of many of the legislators over there.
Vote 28 for emigrant services is €2.2 million. With the current economic environment we have to make savings. I very much welcome the significant savings of approximately €16 million made through efficiencies in administrative costs by the Department. We met a number of Irish groups in New York and they stated the importance of even small levels of funding. I suppose it is trying to get more for less. I am glad to see it is still there because even small amounts of money in support is——
Do not alert too many.
I will not, I promise.
I am only jesting.
I was hoping this was published. For the small amount of money that is given the support is absolutely crucial and it does provide that link.
One of the concerns in the United States that came across very much is with regard to the decrease over the past two years of approximately 33% in air routes from Ireland. I know we have no direct control over this but it is having an impact and I would like to hear the Department's views on it. It seems to be of concern to Fáilte Ireland also.
I very much welcome the resolution to the passport issue reached by everyone involved, including staff, union representatives, Mr. Kieran Mulvey in the Labour Relations Commission and the Minister. It is welcome that we have moved on and I hope we will be able to manage matters in future and will not have to deal with another such situation.
The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Power, will deal with overseas development but to provide balance to what Deputy Higgins mentioned, our budget and allocation reflects the economic reality. It is important that we do not overextend ourselves. There was much pressure to go further in cutting that budget and 0.52% of GDP is €671 million, which is a significant amount. We would be on track to reach the 0.7% target, granted three years later than was originally hoped but matters have changed. From having many discussions with Ireland Aid and our embassies abroad, there is much fantastic work being done and the budget cut reflects the reality of what we are dealing with.
With regard to the comprehensive immigration reform in the US, we had a number of significant meetings there. We have many friends there. We met Congressman Gutierrez and Senator Menendez's chief of staff, Daniel O'Brien, and there seems to be a focus on early next year, perhaps the spring. It is very difficult legislation for US legislators to bring through. I know the Department is working on it on a daily basis and I am interested to hear the Minister's views.
This is a fairly high-powered debut meeting for me but perhaps all of the committee meetings are high powered.
It is very disappointing to see any cut in overseas aid. Poverty is relative and poverty in this country is one thing but it is not even on the Richter scale when we look at poverty overseas. What are the criteria being used regarding these cuts? Where is the impact being felt? If funding with regard to climate change and HIV is cut where is it made available in other areas and vice versa? Every euro we spend should have a high impact in reaching those who are marginalised and vulnerable and making sure they are empowered.
Are the anti-sectarian funds fully committed at this stage or are there opportunities for people to apply for them? Has any progress been made on releasing the cargo of the MV Rachel Corrie? At a meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minister recently, two men who were protesting were quite man-handled by security forces while members of the Garda looked on. The Minister has been asking the Iranian Government to respect the rights of Iranian citizens to freedom of expression. These two people were exercising their right to freedom of speech in this country but were not given that opportunity.
The generality of some of the first questions is fair enough. We will discuss Irish Aid in detail with the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Power.
I compliment the Minister on the savings made by the Department in the past two to three years. It is very much in keeping with the present needs of our country. Have we seconded any officials to the European External Action Service? What initiatives have come from the economic forum held in Farmleigh? When does the Minister expect the passport service to be back to the normal ten day turnaround?
Like colleagues, I very much welcome the Saville report. It was a long time to wait, particularly following the very discredited Widgery report. I compliment the British Prime Minister on how he dealt with it. I also compliment successive Governments, and officials at the Department, who put on much pressure over the years to ensure we would have a second report, which was justified given the results. It is very important that the names of the dead and wounded are cleared.
With regard to reconciliation work, particularly cross-community and cross-Border, I compliment the Department. In my constituency I have seen at first hand the tremendous work done, particularly between Monaghan and Tyrone and Armagh. The Minister, in his present and previous portfolios, has been very supportive of worthwhile projects. Today, with regret I heard that one of the champions of those community activities, Billy Tate, whom the Minister met on a number of occasions, has passed away. He was head of the school at Aughnacloy when the Minister supported a great venture with Fr. Nolan in Monaghan, and that venture has a tremendous legacy. He moved on to become the principal of Belvoir Park primary school in Belfast. The Minister met him again a number of months ago and supported a project in which he brought all of the sporting bodies together to involve sport more in reconciliation between the two communities.
The situation in Gaza is clearly serious and while I commend the Minister on the work he has done there it is necessary that we increase the pressure to ensure the issue is resolved. When we speak about Gaza, however, we should not forget that the occupied territories in the West Bank could be a more difficult problem to resolve.
I understand the European Security and Defence Assembly is under threat. It operates under the auspice of the Western European Union but a proposal has been made to wind it up. I strongly believe there is a need for a forum which allows members of national parliaments to discuss security and defence issues in Europe and beyond. I represent the Oireachtas at the Western European Union and I have been impressed by the detailed and valuable reports it produces on various trouble spots. It is worthwhile in that countries such as Russia attend meetings. Members of the forum also scrutinise the work of the Council of Ministers. I am the first to accept that the assembly is probably more elaborate than necessary but, while it should be possible to considerably reduce its administrative costs, we should think carefully before abandoning it altogether.
I thank members for their contributions.
Are we going to ask questions on the subheads at this stage?
No, we will proceed to our discussion on Irish Aid.
Before the Minister replies, I refer to the poor old United Nations Association. It would have been preferable to allow it to remain in existence with a smaller grant rather than abolish it altogether. Other members probably addressed the reduction in supports for emigrant services.
On yesterday's decision to expel an official from the Israeli Embassy, the Passport Office and the Garda conducted separate inquiries into the affair and we remain in close contact with our counterparts in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United Arab Emirates. Given the sophistication of the forgeries and the material used in the operation, we have come to the conclusion that it could only have been done by a sophisticated intelligence agency or an organised criminal group. As the forged Irish passports were fraudulently used by suspects in the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, along with false passports that represented identity theft from UK and Australian citizens, the inescapable conclusion is that it was the work of Mossad on behalf of the Israeli Government. Our response represents a protest at this unacceptable behaviour which places Irish citizens at risk and undermines the integrity of the Passport Office. We do not like being put in this type of situation and there is an obligation on Israel to reflect on its behaviour because it is putting a strain on its relations with Ireland and other European Union member states. The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs coined the phrase "these are not the actions of a friend".
I do not want to create too much controversy but one is conscious of a parallel universe of intelligence agencies doing their own work. When I met people from the intelligence world during my travels abroad, they would almost smile at the naivety of democratic politicians and public servants. This is an issue of which political systems across the world should be mindful because it erodes the democratic process.
I was struck by Deputy Higgins's comments on the McCarthy report and the Doheny and Nesbitt school of economics.
Slash and burn economics.
My only response is that I come from the Long Valley school, which tends to take a more global perspective than Doheny and Nesbitts. As a result, we retained all our missions this year because this was one recommendation in the McCarthy report that we did not implement. Since I became a Minister more than ten years ago, I felt we should have a bigger footprint across the globe not only with our embassies and consulates but also through State agencies such as the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. We have achieved a lot with relatively low numbers of staff overseas. Given that we export more than 80% of what we produce, we should be more outward focused.
The notions held domestically about our external affairs are worrying at times. People ask whether ambassadors do anything besides attending receptions but that is nonsense. I know from my experience as Minister for Foreign Affairs that they work on a 24-seven basis. Public servants who work on our diplomatic missions go beyond the call of duty to perform a valuable service to promote the country. They are not nine-to-five people, by definition. The joint committee's valuable work on trade promotion bears out the centrality of missions to our trade and economy.
In regard to the Chairman's question on Atlanta, a consular official will travel to that city in the coming months to identify offices. We are proceeding with our plans for a consulate general office in Atlanta. We also opened a new office in Abu Dhabi and the feedback from this mission has been very positive. I should not get into personalities but the official in charge comes from Cork. We are back to the Long Valley school. We will do our best in our forthcoming engagement with the Department of Finance to argue the importance of embassies and missions.
In regard to the availability of sales and marketing staff, I encountered similar issues during a recent visit to Germany. There appears to have been a fall-off in the language and marketing programmes that were popular in the 1980s. I spoke to a representative of Bord Bia in Germany, which has competitions. Many State agencies are increasing the numbers of graduate placements and internships and Bord Bia was having some difficulty in identifying a number of people who might be interested in a German food marketing scholarship. That is something we should focus on.
With regard to the Farmleigh programme which Deputy O'Hanlon mentioned, we have been working with the participants on a graduate overseas programme. We are endeavouring to bring that to fruition, using the companies represented at Farmleigh and other major companies so young people can get quality placements that would advance their careers because of the quality projects involved.
For example, while I was in Asia recently we announced the Singapore fellowship programme, which operates between members of the global Irish network that came from Farmleigh, UCC and Nanyang University. It involves work placement for six months where the student gets a proper project concerning sales marketing penetration but will also come out with an MSc. qualification. It is an interesting idea coming from Farmleigh that we announced recently with some of the participants in Singapore.
It seems to be very progressive.
We provided €135,000, although they came up with the idea. Enterprise Ireland do internship programmes with graduates also. The Government hopes that up to 1,000 places have been identified across the Government system for graduate programmes. It is very important in the current economic climate to do everything we can to retain the knowledge coming from our universities. I am very exercised by the issue and I know Irish Aid do much work in that regard as well. There are many programmes dealing with international relations and human rights which were initiated some years back and it is important to capture that over time for the country.
Some graduates will work in international organisations, which is very good as well. We must be global in our outlook and it is always good to see Irish people rise to the top in global NGOs involved in human rights or development work. That helps Ireland directly and adds value to our contribution to the world.
Many Deputies commented on the publication of the Saville report and yesterday was an historic and emotional occasion. It was extraordinary to witness large crowds on the streets of Derry applauding a British Prime Minister addressing the House of Commons, and that gave a sense of the occasion. I stand to be corrected but I believe it is the first time we can recollect a British Prime Minister making that kind of statement. It was unequivocal, generous and appropriate to the time. I thank the officials in my Department who over the years have been very involved in working towards the publication of the report. They attended all the hearings of the inquiry and were with relatives again yesterday.
We must go through the Saville report and there may be lessons to learn. I spoke to the EU heads of missions president today at lunch and suggested humbly that lessons are to be learned from exercises like the Saville inquiry for other jurisdictions with regard to issues like this. I know there will be a debate on this next week in the House but that may be a bit soon. We will have it anyway but there is a need for a more detailed consideration of the Saville report in the autumn, which is what the House of Commons will do.
I thank Deputies for their comments on the high-profile kidnap cases from last year involving Sharon Commins and Fr. Michael Sinnott. I thank my officials in the consular division who worked tirelessly on both of those cases over long hours. I thank the ambassadors involved the cases, Mr. Gerry Corr and Dr. Richard O'Brien, who worked extremely effectively with others in support.
We will examine the report with regard to the "trade supremo" idea. Perhaps it might be useful to have a separate session on the report at some stage. Other Ministers may also be involved. We have a Minister of State with responsibility for trade in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation and I would like to get the views from the Department. A new trade strategy is also being developed currently on an interdepartmental basis, led by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation. It would be no harm for this committee to invite members of the other relevant committee in and pitch the views on the trade issues. That is important.
With regard to seconding in the EEA, there are competitions under way currently and officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs have applied. We are keen to ensure high calibre people can be successful. It is important that these competitions are seen to be open and transparent, with people selected on merit. We will watch that carefully as the matter unfolds. We are in discussions with the Department of Finance with regard to seconding issues and so on, and we will make people aware of the outcomes of those discussions in due course.
On the role of Parliament, there was agreement last Monday on the citizens' initiative, which would involve a million people from a third of member states. During the Lisbon treaty campaign we were enthusiastic about this; people will be knocking on our doors soon with various petitions and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds. We must work on putting mechanisms in place in Ireland but it will be some time next year before it comes into play formally. Good work has been advanced on the citizen's initiative and proposals have been agreed. It is now about member states putting in place their own modalities to ensure we respond to the treaty and facilitate the issue.
I thank members for their comments on the consular service. The numbers for bereavements and accidents are high and I am concerned about it. It is a reflection of the higher numbers travelling and the world becoming smaller in that respect.
The figures are high for Spain.
Yes, there is much consular activity in Spain of a considerable variety. We have undertaken some campaigns here but we must redouble our efforts to work with other agencies to produce leaflets and advice programmes for young people in particular who are leaving the country. It is harrowing to have to help bring a body home, particularly if it is a young person. I know members have been involved in such cases and we must focus on such matters. It is a considerable and worrying concern.
The Irish abroad unit has been mentioned and does excellent work. We are concerned about the Irish abroad and the issue raised by Deputy Higgins and others with regard to those who are aging in America and the traditional diasporas. There is greater isolation and loneliness and as a result we are open to ideas on the Safe-Home programme. I agree that we should not be in favour of the demolition agenda, which is a terrible waste. There is much need out there and we should be imaginative.
We have given significant funding to the Safe-Home programme and found that the psychological aspect is much more important than the physical provision of a house. That is key. In the United States we have provided funding for an alarm system pioneered in County Meath by that well-known senior citizens group. We brought them to New York and it assisted in developing a similar system where Irish-American senior citizens could be located with the help of Ms Christine Quinn from New York. We will be doing more of that as our diaspora ages. There was also a very good exhibition of senior citizen Irish-Americans held last year.
She sent her best wishes to the Minister last week.
Did she remember me?
She did.
I met a man from Leitrim and what he said about us was memorable. He actually said we had won the War of Independence. He was 100 years old — we met a number of 100 year olds on the last occasion.
With regard to the question of further diplomatic initiatives on Gaza, last Monday we raised not just the situation of the MV Rachel Corrie but the broader issue of the blockade. There was much activity at the meeting on Monday, and the Cypriots and Greeks put forward their idea of a proposal to screen shipping in international waters and Cyprus. This has not yet gained traction with some of the key interlocutors, but the proposal has merit and deserves further consideration.
At the meeting, Tony Blair indicated that from his discussions with the Israeli Government and others, he felt there was significant movement towards changing the list from specifying what can go in to specifying what cannot go in — ideally, arms and weapons. However, there was a certain vagueness about the dual-use issue, which needs to be clarified.
He has been there long enough to have made progress. I do not think there is anything at all to that proposal.
He also referenced the need for iconic projects to get under way under UN supervision, including hospitals and sewage treatment plants. I made a fairly strong and passionate contribution, stating that based on our experience in Northern Ireland we felt that the Gaza blockade needed to be taken out of the equation because it is radicalising opinion and encouraging fundamentalism. I said that it was counterproductive and strategically stupid and we needed to move away from it fast. The European Commissioner made a fairly sober assessment of the situation at the end of the meeting, saying there was no point in raising hopes unless words are followed through on the ground with real action. She stated that making up for lost ground would require five additional truckloads of reconstruction material per day for the next five years. We must match the rhetoric with the reality on the ground in terms of aid going through. The Commissioner also made a strong plea for member states to step up to the plate in terms of funding and aid for UNWRA and the work it does.
With regard to the cargo of the MV Rachel Corrie, Hamas has now entered the fray and said it will not allow any aid in from its side. There are many people playing politics with humanitarian aid here, and this must stop. We are clear that the priority is humanitarian aid and that it needs to get in, and we are still working to try to get it in. Some negotiations are taking place with the owners about concrete and so on. When these negotiations are further advanced I will inform members. I read this morning that some advances had been made with regard to the Turkish owner of the ships. However, the whole thing is dragging on too long. The aid is badly needed.
I take the point about Iran and the nuclear non-proliferation treaty——
What about the international inquiry?
I am sorry. On the international inquiry, I made a strong point that Ireland wanted an international inquiry under the aegis of the United Nations. We favoured the Ban Ki-moon proposal which involved the former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer. I told my European Union colleagues that we must be careful not to rule the UN out of such scenarios. We should be careful that the role of the UN is not de-legitimised just because it may not suit certain players. The indications from the meeting were that work was under way. The Israeli proposal had come in just prior to the meeting. My comments about a UN-sponsored inquiry have nothing to do with the personalities involved; we have no difficulty with David Trimble, for example. Because the incident took place in international waters and involved citizens of so many countries, it merits an international inquiry. The key issue is acceptability to all concerned, not just acceptability to Europe and Western countries. There must be global acceptance of such an inquiry and its outcome.
On the Indian nuclear agreement, I take the Deputy's point, although we have discussed this before. From my meeting with the Iranian foreign Minister I did not get a sense of movement either on human rights or on the nuclear issue. It was a disappointing meeting from that point of view. For example, we indicated that we felt discussions should be renewed with Catherine Ashton, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, but there was no commitment in that regard. Her sense was that the Turkish-Iranian-Brazilian deal could be interpreted as a prevarication, and we conveyed this. We must be mindful that it was at the request of the Iranian Embassy that we went ahead with this meeting. We believe in maintaining diplomatic relations, keeping channels open and engaging in dialogue.
I was very disappointed with the responses on human rights. We mentioned the Baha'i community and, again, the Iranian response was absolutely unacceptable, and we stated this. Its representatives regard the Baha'i as Israeli agents. We also mentioned others who are facing the death penalty, in response to which the representatives stated that maybe we could have an exchange of scholars and academics. There was something of a dismissal of our concerns about the death penalty. We focused strongly on the need for freedom of expression in the aftermath of the election and so on. We will keep at it, however, and I hope racheting up pressure will yield results. It is a serious issue and potentially one of the greatest threats to global stability and harmony. The EU, ourselves and everyone concerned are anxious about it.
Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan raised issues pertaining to overseas development aid, and I understand her disappointment at the reduction in aid. In the earlier part of the reductions, in the year before last, we concentrated on our multi-agency responses and maintained support to our priority countries, but we were not able to do that last year to the same extent. I refer to the programme countries and to the non-governmental organisations. The level of funding we are giving to the UN and a variety of UN organisations was reduced. We regret having to do this, but we decided it was the least worst option. We wanted to preserve our priority country programmes in sub-Saharan Africa and the work of the major non-governmental organisations. This takes up about 20% of our Vote, which is probably one of the highest levels among donor countries. Few countries allocate 20% of their aid budgets to non-governmental organisations.
The anti-sectarian fund is divided into three tranches per year. The first two have been allocated, but the third is still open for applications. We are concerned about what happened with the Iranian foreign Minister and the public gathering. Perhaps there are lessons to be learned all around, including on our side, in terms of security and particularly in terms of the behaviour of the Iranian security guards. The feedback I received about this was of concern and we will reflect on this in considering future visits which have any potential for trouble.
I have dealt with some of the issued raised by Deputy O'Hanlon. Advertisements are coming out today with a public announcement that we are now in a position to re-introduce a guaranteed turnaround time for passport applications. Applications submitted via the passport express service — Swiftpost in the Republic and the Northern Ireland passport express service, available through local post offices — are now guaranteed to be processed within 22 working days. This guarantee will be kept under review and it is intended to reduce the number of days over the coming weeks. Fifty people have been taken on as a result of the brokered agreement. It will take time, but I hope we can reduce the number of days. We are still some way from the previous ten-day guarantee, but we hope this will slow down the volume of applications coming in from people who may not need to apply right now. The volume of applications has gone up by a considerable amount because people are applying early. We need to calm the situation down and return to orderly processing of applications.
A new service to prioritise applications for those with immediate travel plans has also been introduced. Applications with proof of travel are now guaranteed to be processed within three working days. Applicants should contact the passport service and provide this proof, where applicable. An additional fee may apply in respect of such new applications.
The global Irish network we established at Farmleigh has been very successful. More than 200 people responded and these now form part of a global Irish network that wants to help Ireland. I have had meetings in Britain, where we launched the network, France, Germany — in Berlin and Munich, and recently in Shanghai, with people travelling from Thailand, Singapore and elsewhere just to be there for the meeting of the global Irish network. There was a meeting in north America in March with the Taoiseach. I will host a semi-major event in the autumn in the United States, with a mini US family grouping. This week, young people met under the American Ireland Fund. This came out of Farmleigh where we thought we should get together more young Irish Americans and young Irish people who have been to the US in various capacities. One comment at Farmleigh was that there were not enough young people present. It is limited in size.
To me, that represents the most immediate and powerful legacy of Farmleigh. Every Minister is detailed to meet with these networks when they travel to various locations, harnessing ideas and talents and developing a network for Enterprise Ireland, Irish companies and SMEs, to help and advise them and mentor them in terms of entering markets——
There was a network event in New York last week. This committee is very proactive. We met young people.
This is very valuable in the current economic climate. Many people in the funds industry tell us how things are moving and about the kinds of messages they get. It is also about getting the Irish message out. Many people can communicate about debt and the indebtedness of the country, and about budgetary decisions, etc.
I thank Deputy O'Hanlon for his very kind comments on reconciliation and cross-Border co-operation. I am very keen regarding the Estimates battle ahead — not a battle but a constructive engagement — to maintain, as much as we can, funding for the reconciliation and anti-sectarianism fund and for the Irish abroad. It is small money in the overall global context but it goes a long way. I was in north Belfast recently and met with community people from both sides. It was great to see all the grafitti turned around in Tiger's Bay where what used to be a paramilitary logo was transformed. The tiger was still there but it was done by children in local schools. We gave some small assistance towards that by way of funding an artist in residence. We met about 22 community organisations in a community facility, all representing loyalist and Nationalist communities. To me, that is the big challenge of the next decade. We are at the tip of the iceberg. Those peace walls have gone up. An interesting comment from some of the community people was, "Don't you from on top take down the peace walls. Let us work on accommodation locally first and we'll take it down and let you know". That is the spirit informing people in north Belfast. Right across the North we must work on that agenda.
I take the Deputy's point about the importance of the West Bank and shall come back to him about the European security defence assembly.
I dealt with Deputy Darragh O'Brien's comments on the Saville report.
Although the Ireland House initiative works in a number of other locations it works best in New York because of the synergy between the agencies. It works in Shanghai to an extent also because the further away one goes the herd instinct becomes more pressing and people tend to come together more quickly. It is very important that all the agencies work in synergy with each other.
We are very conscious of the decrease in the number of air routes, as are the Departments of Transport and Tourism, Culture and Sport. That is why we worked with the Department of Transport in terms of the pre-clearance agreement with the United States at Shannon Airport. We are very alive, as are our embassies, to any initiative that comes our way to enhance connectivity to Ireland, not just with the US but with other countries.
I agree with the assessment of comprehensive immigration reform. I know the Chairman met with people on this issue last week. It seems as if the window of opportunity will be in spring 2011. It is very challenging in terms of the current American domestic political agenda. We met all the key people involved in the Senate. I do not see anything happening before November. President Obama has given a certain commitment and articulated strongly for this but it will be a significant challenge. We will do everything we can. Senator Schumer's scheme included the E-3 concept and we were pleased with that. The Taoiseach and I had good meetings in March with some of the key people. I thank the committee for travelling there, too. I appreciate the work it is doing. It is very important that contacts are maintained particularly with our friends, Richie Nealon and so on.
He was with the committee the last time he came to Ireland.
Yes, he is a very committed individual. Have I covered most of the points?
I think so.
For the United Nations Association the outturn is €60,000 and it would be €18,000 for abolition. Why not keep it in existence with a nominal sum so that we would have an opportunity of restructuring it?
To be frank, the feedback I got on activity levels was not good. We cannot keep things going for the sake of keeping them going.
Its history is that it was restructured before. Muireann O'Briain was very involved and it was given life. The Minister could keep a nominal figure in the association and give us an opportunity to look at it, for example, at linking it to a schools programme at Transition level.
I will speak to the Deputy and other members afterwards and we shall see. I know it is small money.
It is just that——
Sometimes leaving €1,000 in keeps the head there.
It keeps the flame.
It keeps the spirit and then when one has the money, or there is an event one wants to have one can go straight ahead and do it without having to look for new approvals or anything of that kind.
The Chairman is talking to an experienced person. There are debts, apparently.
The Minister can work his charm then, if he wants to.
I am still finding it.
We are conscious the Minister is under pressure and thank him for giving so much time at this stage. I thank him and his officials for attending, Mr. David Cooney, Secretary General, Mr. David Donoghue, political director, Mr. Ray Basset, head of consular and passport division, Mr. Barrie Robinson, head of corporate services, Mr. John Neary, head of promoting Ireland abroad division, Mr. Peter Gunning, head of EU division, Mr. Tim Mawe, head of finance — a very important person, Ms Sarah Callanan, corporate services and Mr. Kevin Conley, Anglo Irish division.
