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Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence díospóireacht -
Thursday, 3 Jun 2021

Vote 28 - Department of Foreign Affairs (Revised)

I have received apologies from Deputy Gannon. This afternoon we are dealing with Supplementary Estimates for the Public Service. Members will be aware that the Dáil order that the Revised Estimates for the Public Service in respect of the following Votes would be referred to this committee for consideration: Vote 27 - international co-operation and Vote 28 - Department of Foreign Affairs. Today's meeting of the select committee will consider these Estimates.

On behalf of Members of the select committee I welcome the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Deputy Coveney, and the Minister of State with responsibility for the diaspora and international development, Deputy Brophy. The officials accompanying them are Mr. John Conlan, chief financial officer in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ms Siobhan Byrne, the director of the Passport Service, who is known to this committee and Mr. Ruairí de Búrca, the director general of the development co-operation and Africa division, who again was with the committee recently. I thank the team of departmental officials for the comprehensive briefing material provided to the committee and for the ongoing attention and very positive relationship with the committee on items we discuss on a weekly basis.

The proposed format for today's meeting is that the committee will deal with Votes 27 and 28 under the relevant programmes. At the outset of consideration I will invite the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to give an overview on Vote 28, outlining pressures likely to impact on his Department's expenditure regarding the Vote for the remainder of this year, 2021. The floor will then be open for questions from Members for each of the programmes. I ask that Members put their questions on a specific programme so that we can progress in an orderly and efficient manner. I also ask Members to be conscious of the time constraints. Members will be aware that on the previous occasion when we discussed Estimates we were in some way challenged towards the end of the meeting in terms of having questions addressed. We are operating under Covid time constraints.

When we have completed consideration of Vote 28, I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, to make an opening statement and we will proceed to consider programmes under Vote 27. I remind Members of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

I invite the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to make his opening statement.

I appreciate having the opportunity to do this. I am pleased to be here this afternoon to present the Revised Estimates for my Department for 2021. As you said, Chairman, I will focus on Vote 28, the Vote for the Department of Foreign Affairs, and my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, will address the committee after that on Vote 27. Members are aware that there is considerably more money involved in the international co-operation vote than in the foreign affairs Vote.

Members will have seen the advance briefing notes provided by my Department on the two Votes, which summarise the main activities and priorities under each expenditure programme. For 2021, the overall gross estimate for the foreign affairs group of Votes, which is Votes 27 and 28, is €807 million. This represents a €30 million increase on the 2020 allocation. For 2021, the total gross expenditure allocation for Vote 28, including a capital allocation of €10.5 million, is €281 million. This is an overall increase of just over €10 million or 4%. This increase has been allocated to programmes to assist the Department in meeting the many challenges and opportunities we face in the coming year.

The Vote 28 priorities for this year include: the next phase of the passport reform programme; protecting our interests in a post-Brexit EU; Northern Ireland; maximising our position on the UN Security Council; the continued expansion of the overseas mission network under the Global Ireland 2025 initiative; provision for urgent capital building and security works in our network of missions abroad and; continuing investment in the Department's global ICT network. My Department, and our mission network around the world, plays a critical role in promoting and advancing Ireland's interests through our international engagement,and will provide international support to the Government's economic recovery plan announced on Tuesday. This is more important than ever as the country emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic. We will continue to strengthen our global presence, to ensure Ireland is ready to take advantage of new markets and opportunities and to continue to support our citizens and communities abroad. As has been proposed, I will now proceed to make a short introductory comment on each of the programmes in sequence.

Programme A relates to our people. Programme A, which has an allocation of €85.3 million, covers many key policy areas for my Department, including consular services and assistance, the Passport Service, our emigrant support programme and Northern Ireland. As Members might expect, some of the services have been put under a lot of pressure this year. Others to date have not been, such as the Passport Office, but we expect significant pressure in that office as international travel resumes. I can provide a detailed response if required. The Passport Service and the provision of consular services and assistance lies at the heart of the Department's engagement with citizens. This was clearly demonstrated during 2020, when the Department provided advice and assisted thousands of citizens across the world to return safely to Ireland or gave them advice on what to do in connection with international travel.

As the committee will be aware, the Passport Service scaled up to more normal operational levels on 4 May 2021. At that time, approximately 89,000 passport applications were on hand. The Passport Office has processed approximately 45% of these applications, which works out at more than 42,000 passports. Of the remainder, 70% are awaiting further action from the applicant, such as a new photograph or supporting documents. With the full resumption of services, the Passport Service is issuing around 25,000 passports each week, which is a lot. We are very focused on that. During the month of May we issued more than 81,000 passports, which is a dramatic increase on the position in recent months. By the end of quarter 2 this year, the passport online service for all application types will be available for 97% of applicants worldwide. With this continued expansion, it is vital that the highest possible standards are maintained in security and service delivery. The 2021 allocation includes a capital allocation of €3.5 million, to be focused on the updating of the passport operating system.

The 2021 allocation for the emigrant support programme remains at the same level as it was in 2020, which is €12.6 million, underlining the importance the Government attaches to supporting and deepening our bonds with our vibrant and diverse global Irish community.

I commend the work of my colleague Minister of State Brophy in this important area in his role as the Minister of State with responsibility for the diaspora, and he will take any questions later on these matters.

This programme also deals with matters relating to Northern Ireland, North-South co-operation, and British-Irish relations, which are a particular emphasis of my Department now. My Department remains focused on strengthening our relationship with the UK in the post-Brexit context. I visited London in April, and I will travel there again immediately after this meeting, as it happens, for further meetings tonight and tomorrow. I look forward to participating in the British-Irish Council summit and a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference later this month. In July, we will open a consulate general in Manchester for the north of England. The Government has committed to providing €5 million in funding in 2021 to support the International Fund for Ireland’s programmes. Funding for the peace and reconciliation fund has also been increased significantly to €5 million, reflecting the Government’s ongoing commitment to building cross community reconciliation in Northern Ireland and in the Border regions more generally.

The focus of my work under programme B, which is concerned with Our Place in Europe and accounts for an allocation of €36.5 million, will be to safeguard Ireland’s interests in the broader context of Brexit and the future direction and policies of the European Union. It will also support Ireland’s contribution to the EU’s global engagement on peace, security, trade and development, as well as security in the wider European region. Programme B is also used to fund projects and proposals which further Ireland’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, CFSP, priorities, support EU engagement and support the placing of Irish personnel in EU and international institutions. These projects have a very positive impact on Ireland’s profile internationally with respect to our key foreign policy objectives, and can help to shape and implement EU policies that work for Ireland.

The majority of current expenditure under programme C, which has an allocation of €56 million and is concerned with Our Values, consists of contributions to international organisations. The allocation set aside for these contributions, at €34 million, is at the same level as last year. We make a broad range of commitments under this heading to international organisations, predominantly UN bodies, concerned with areas such as refugees, healthcare and education, for example. Another key pillar of our international engagement under programme C is our input into the shaping and formulation of the EU’s CFSP, most notably at the monthly meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council, FAC, in which I participate.

Programme D, concerning Our Prosperity and which has an allocation €44 million, will focus in 2021 on assisting Irish businesses in the context of the UK’s exit from the EU and as we emerge from the pandemic. The programme also includes a capital allocation of €500,000 towards Expo 2020 in the United Arab Emirates, UAE, which is now set to run from October 2021 to the end March 2022. We will continue to intensify our collaboration and co-operation with other Departments and State agencies, to ensure that we are effective and responsive to the needs and expectations of our citizens and our business sector. Our annual St. Patrick’s Day programme also comes under this expenditure allocation and this year, in partnership with other Departments and State agencies, we delivered a virtual programme, including more than 80 virtual receptions. They ended up having an extraordinary reach online on social media and video platforms and there are some real lessons to be learned from that experience for the future.

Finally, programme E, which has an expenditure allocation of €48.7 million to cover activities under the heading of Our Effectiveness, covers the management and development of staff, the management and mitigation of risk, ICT, property management and compliance with statutory and legal obligations. The programme also covers communication by the Department of its policies, objectives and activities to citizens at home and abroad.

That is a very quick overview of the main foreign affairs activities and priorities of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Defence for the year. I welcome comments and questions from committee Members on any of the foreign affairs policy programmes and the broader work of the Department, which I assure the committee is very busy.

I thank the Minister. I call Deputy Brady.

I thank the Minister for coming before the committee. I will touch on some specific areas and while there may be a little crossover between the areas of the Minister and the Minister of State, I will try my best to remain focused on Vote 28 for now. I commend all the work that has been and is being done by the Department. It has been an extremely busy year. I commend all the staff for their Trojan work. The example of the Passport Office highlighted the great challenges involved in trying to keep a system in place despite the impact of the public health restrictions. I congratulate and thank everyone for all their efforts.

Mentioning the passport issue, and in the context of the continuing and expected numbers of applications for passports from people in the North, especially post-Brexit, does the Minister have updated figures in that regard? Many in society in the North, including my party colleague, Senator Ó Donnghaile, have repeatedly asked about the possibility of opening a passport office in the North, maybe in Belfast. Are there such plans? If not, will the Minister and his Department examine establishing such an office in the North? The figures I received previously indicated that there is a major demand for such an office.

The Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, may touch on the issue of the diaspora later, but I will ask one question in this area now. The new President of the United States, Joe Biden, has Irish connections and is very proud of them. In that context, what approaches and discussions have occurred so far regarding undocumented Irish immigrants in the US? Is it likely that a deal of some sort will be put in place to ensure that those people can regularise their status in America? We do not need to reiterate the great difficulties undocumented Irish people living in the US have faced for many years.

Moving to the situation in the North, unionism now has new leaders. I congratulate the new leaders of the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, and the Ulster Unionist Party, UUP. However, there is a crisis within unionism in the North. Historically, unionists have sought to find a route out of internal conflict through the manufacture of some sort of external crisis, and that nearly always comes at the expense of nationalists. Unfortunately, issues have arisen regarding the Northern Ireland protocol and the positions taken towards it by the unionist parties. The situation has escalated because the DUP is now boycotting the North-South Ministerial Council. I ask the Minister to comment on the backtracking on commitments regarding key institutions such as that council.

On the subject of the United Nations Security Council, the Minister recently and rightly expressed his disappointment concerning the events in Gaza and the failure by the Security Council to even agree a statement concerning the killing of civilians in Gaza. It was ten or 11 days before the Security Council came to some sort of agreement on issuing a statement. Last week, the Dáil passed an historic vote in respect of recognising that an illegal annexation has taken place in the Occupied Territories.

Obviously, declaring that Israel has broken international law is an important step. What are the Minister's intentions now to articulate the position taken by the Irish Parliament and the rationale behind it in respect of the Security Council? He might give a little more detail because while it is a welcome step, on its own it is meaningless unless we are willing and prepared to articulate our position and go forward in respect of the consequences for Israel of breaking international law. I would be interested to hear the Minister's view on that.

As for overseas missions, I welcome the move to establish consular services in Manchester. I think the Minister mentioned Manchester but I am happy to stand corrected.

There is also a commitment to reopen the Irish Embassy in Iran. That is a hugely important move and one I have called for previously, as have many other people, so I welcome that. We as a country have significant responsibilities in respect of the establishment of the Iran nuclear deal. The Minister recently met the Iranian President and foreign minister. Could I ask the Minister for a brief update on the nuclear deal? Could I ask him to pass comment specifically on Israel in respect of any future deal? I think there have been reports recently that Israel is prepared to abandon its bilateral approach with the US and to take unilateral action against Iran if a deal is reached. Will the Minister comment on that?

I have a lot of other questions, mostly referring to Vote 27, I think, so I will leave it at that for now.

There were a lot of questions there for the Minister. I ask that questions relating to the diaspora, with particular reference to the undocumented in the US, be left for the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, with perhaps just a brief comment from the Minister, Deputy Coveney. I am conscious of the time because I want to allocate at least three quarters of an hour to Vote 27 for the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy. I call Deputy Cowen, to be followed by Deputy Stanton.

I will allow Deputy Stanton in because my contribution may cross over into the other Vote. I will allow the meeting to progress for the moment.

I have three brief questions. Regarding the ICT issue, is the Minister happy that the Department is cyber-safe, bearing in mind the recent cyberattack? Has anything been put aside to deal with that issue? Could the Minister say a bit more about the Fulbright Commission? Specifically, could he comment on the situation regarding J1 visas, relating to international education between Ireland and America? Students in Ireland are finding it difficult at the moment to get J1 visas to travel to the United States. Can the Minister offer any hope or throw any light on this issue as to when it might change? Will he comment on any interaction he has had with the Americans on the issue?

I will deal with Deputy Brady's questions first. Regarding the Passport Office in Northern Ireland, the truth is that the vast majority of passport applications now are submitted online, so the physical presence of a printing press and where it is located are not anything like as relevant as they were before, when people had to come into the Passport Office and fill out forms to get their passports. It is now very much an online process, and I think considerably more than 90% of applications now are submitted online. Members might be interested to know that before this meeting I had a good briefing on the Passport Office because I was anxious to make sure I could give the committee accurate numbers and a sense of what is happening weekly. Last week, for example, 16,435 applications came in. That is the figure for renewals of passports and applications for new ones. The Department issued 20,689 passports in the same week, so we are issuing more passports than we are getting applications. That said, there are still just over 93,000 applications in the system. At the moment we are meeting our target for the number of adult applications for renewal done within ten days. Some of them are done in a considerably shorter time than that. We are setting ourselves a target that if you are an adult applying for a passport renewal, you will get your passport back within ten days. Children are more complicated in respect of the security and verification issue, but we think that by the end of next month we will have our ten-day benchmark turnaround time implemented for all renewals and new applications for both adults and children. That is pretty impressive, given the fact that we have had to ramp up in recent months from almost a drip-feed of applications coming through to now doing, as I said earlier, 81,000 in the month of May. I expect we will issue about 25,000 passports a week or something close to that as we move into this period now when many people are planning for a reopening of international travel. I think that will remind people to look at their passports maybe for the first time in 18 months and all of a sudden we will find that many people want passports renewed quickly. That will put us under pressure but we are gearing up for that in a serious way. I want to put on the record that the staff and the team working in the Department have been phenomenal when it comes to passports. This is a difficult environment to work in in the context of Covid restrictions, with many people working in very close proximity in big open-plan offices. We have everybody back working now, and I just wanted to put on the record my thanks to them for that. It has been a huge effort. They are working from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on shifts to try to get on top of the passport issue, which we know will ramp up significantly.

We are watching Northern Ireland closely. During the past 18 months or so, during Covid, a significant proportion of the passport applications have come from the UK and from Northern Ireland. That balance is now changed somewhat as many people in the Republic of Ireland want to get their passports renewed. We will keep that option open. At the moment the focus is, I think, on delivery through the systems and platforms we currently have. There is no problem for anyone in Northern Ireland looking to get a passport or a passport renewal through the online system. It is very efficient. We also have a call line. To give the committee a sense of the numbers of people we are dealing with in terms of customer service in this call centre, the passport service is currently interacting with up to 10,000 customers each week. Our phone service for citizens has been considerably scaled up to complement the web chat service, which we encourage people to use and which has operated throughout the pandemic. This is a very busy part of my Department and is doing a really good job in what have been quite difficult circumstances in recent months.

I will let the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, deal primarily with the issue of the diaspora. Regarding the issue of the undocumented that Deputy Brady raised, we have worked and continue to work to look at options that are available in Washington, particularly in Congress and in the Senate, to try to help undocumented Irish in the United States. As the committee will know, we have been working with proposals on an E3 visa system. I do not need to go into all the detail of that but it remains a focus of ours. There are many friends of Ireland helping us on Capitol Hill, and that is important.

We have a very good relationship developing with the new US Administration. I met both Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan as they travelled through Shannon.

One was on the way to the Middle East. The other was on his way home. It shows the strategic benefit sometimes of having that Shannon stopover available. At times, it really opens up a helpful line of communication. I impressed upon the Secretary of State the importance of a US special envoy to Northern Ireland and I think they have very much taken that on board. I spoke to Jake Sullivan about that in some detail and I think that will be a message that is passed on directly to the White House. Given the changing nature of politics in Northern Ireland, the polarisation that is there, the vulnerability there and the complexity in the context of the Protocol, Brexit and the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement, it would be a good strategic move to have a special envoy to Northern Ireland at this moment in history, and which I think would be useful.

In do not want to get into commenting on unionism or unionist parties. I would just say I had a very good dialogue with the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, UUP, yesterday. It was a direct straight-talking meeting, as one would expect. I wished Doug Beattie well. I think he is a very able politician and I look forward to working with him. The new leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, is likely to meet the Taoiseach shortly and I expect that I will be meeting him, as leader of the DUP, shortly as well. Of course, we will have an opportunity to meet on other occasions as well in the weeks ahead - I mentioned the British-Irish Council, BIC, earlier.

In terms of the North-South Ministerial Council, we can work on making sure that we get the North-South Ministerial Council back up and running. Both unionist leaders have said that it is their desire to have a good working relationship with the Government in Dublin and certainly we are in that space as well in terms of trying to make sure that we can make North-South Ministerial Council meetings work effectively. It is a really important pillar of the Good Friday Agreement and the institutions - North-South co-operation on a regular basis.

In terms of the UN Security Council, I expected Deputy Brady to raise the Middle East peace process. Anyone who knows me knows that I have had a long-standing interest in this issue, have been to the region many times and hope to go there many more times. I, the Dáil and the Government felt that Ireland needed to be clear and vocal in relation to what we were seeing in the latest round of violence between Israel and the Palestinians. There was an unacceptably high loss of life of children and civilian populations. I was very vocal about that. I think it is Ireland's job on the Security Council to call out what we would regard as breaches of international law and where there are concerns, we call them out even if that makes for an uncomfortable political space at times. We called it out on both sides. Firing rockets from Gaza into civilian populations is completely unacceptable, is a breach of international law and needs to be utterly condemned, and is not justified under any circumstances, but also the military force that was used on a population in Gaza also needed to be called out, and was by me and the Government. I refer to the motion that we put down in relation to recognising the scale, the extent, the pace and the strategic nature of the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, in particular, close to East Jerusalem. It is difficult to interpret such action as anything but de facto annexation because of the permanent nature of that infrastructure and the growing population living in settlements on the West Bank now. It was a reflection of our assessment of what is happening on the ground, and working with many others who were also following that.

Let me be very clear. I want to have a strong and positive diplomatic relationship with others, unlike some who want to expel the Israeli ambassador and want nothing to do with Israel. Theirs is not the position of the Government. We believe that the way forward to achieve a peace agreement, a historic peace agreement that can last between Palestinians and Israelis, is to engage with both sides, bluntly and honestly. There will be times when we strongly disagree with the approach of one side or the other, and we will call that out, but I will certainly continue to adopt the approach of speaking to both sides, honestly and with an open mind. I think that is the right thing to do, despite calls for me to take a very different approach, that, I think, would be seen internationally as one-sided and therefore limit my ability to be seen as a credible voice on these complex issues. Let me tell Deputy Brady that I intend on being very much involved, at a UN level and an EU level, in trying to break a political cycle that has continued to deliver misery, hatred, violence and death for far too long. We have to find a way of breaking that cycle and moving towards a more progressive peace negotiation that can result in two states that are safe, security and, ultimately, prosperous in the future.

In terms of overseas missions, just so that the committee will know the extent of the project of expansion of the Department of Foreign Affairs footprint on behalf of Ireland, we have in the past couple of years opened new embassies or representation in Cardiff, Monrovia, Santiago, Bogotá, Vancouver, Amman in Jordan, Mumbai, Wellington, Frankfurt and Los Angeles, LA. This year, we are moving ahead with Rabat, Kyiv, Manila and Manchester. The cycle continues. We are strategically opening up, developing and investing in footprints in parts of the world where Ireland has an interest, needs to have a strategic voice and can avail of significant opportunities for diplomatic relations, partnerships and trade. We will continue on that project, which is project Ireland 2025, to double our overall global impact in terms of standing and voice.

Finally, in relation to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA, which is the Iranian nuclear deal, some people have asked the question, what is an Irish foreign minister doing heading off to Tehran for the first time in 20 years and a few weeks later, inviting an Iranian foreign minister to Dublin for what were fairly substantive discussions. The reason for that primarily is that we have a specific responsibility on the UN Security Council. We are the country that is the facilitator for the resolution that is the basis for the Iranian nuclear deal. We are committed to trying to ensure that that deal gets rebuilt and committed to because a number of years ago then US President Trump moved away from it in a robust way which obviously had a serious consequence. Ultimately, it is our belief that the world would be a safer place if we have the Iranian nuclear deal in place which provides as many guarantees as we can put in place that Iran is not developing and will not develop a nuclear weapon through robust and transparent international inspections and in return the international community is willing to remove sanctions that would otherwise have been in place in the absence of that deal. In our view, that makes sense for Iran. It makes sense for the United States, who are a big partner in this, and for the other parties to the JCPOA who are also committed to rebuilding this agreement. I would not overplay our role in encouraging Iran back to that negotiating table, and, indeed, others too, but it certainly has been a factor. That is the story of the Security Council - taking on awkward issues and speaking to people who one may have a strong difference of opinion with in many areas. It is taking on the role of an international credible country that is involved in big debates and big discussions on big global issues. This is certainly one of them and that is what we are doing.

Over time, I inform Deputy Brady, we will re-open an embassy in Tehran, probably in 2023 and in the short term we will have a representation there on the premises of the German embassy. Most European countries have embassies in Tehran. We will have a presence on the ground to ensure that we are fully informed and have channels of communication open where necessary and appropriate.

On Israel’s concerns about the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA, there are also a number of countries who have real concerns about this and whether they can trust Iran as regards the threat of a nuclear weapon. Israel is obviously to the fore in that. I do not want to make any further comment on that apart from saying that any country has the right to defend itself if it feels it is threatened. As long as that happens within the framework of international law, that is a matter for Israel and for, hopefully, a new government which looks like it is developing in Israel in the past 24 hours but we will have to wait and see what happens in that regard because Israeli politics can be unpredictable.

On passport applications from Northern Ireland, I can provide the statistic to members that in 2020 we received 40,000 such applications representing 10% of the total number of 2020 applications. Some 40,000 such applications is a big number.

Addressing Deputy Stanton, we are very conscious on the ICT issue that given what has happened in our health system and the cyber attack there that our systems need to be very robust and well protected in the Department of Foreign Affairs. Much private and sensitive information is passing to this Department on a regular basis as is the case for that matter with the Department of Defence. We are regularly testing our ICT systems to ensure that they are robust. We have had attempts by people to try to access our system in the Department of Foreign Affairs which is not something that I like to say but it is reality. I suspect that there is not a foreign office in the world, and certainly not in the western world, that has not had regular attempts to hack into their system. We need to ensure that our systems are robust in that regard. I believe that they are but one can never be complacent in this space.

I am pleased to inform the committee that my Department continues to support the Fulbright Commission in Ireland to further education exchange between the United States and Ireland. We have maintained a commitment of €404,000 for 2021. The work of the commission has benefited more than 2,000 Irish and US citizens in the areas of scientific research, applied research and the arts in the past four years. With increased funding for my Department, the Fulbright Commission in Ireland has expanded in the talent that it reaches, bringing in more diverse fields of scholarship such as technology and cyber. This year 31 Irish Fulbright awardees have been selected for the 2021-2022 season. We recognise Fulbright as the pre-eminent exchange programme between Ireland and the US and it plays an essential role in building transatlantic understanding and fostering extraordinary academic and people-to-people links, which I wish to clearly state as it is important.

The news is not as positive on the J1 Visa issue. In truth, because of travel restrictions this is effectively not happening. The US Embassy is primarily focused on facilitating US nationals returning to the US and managing the restrictions linked to Covid-19. I hope that we will see that change in the weeks and months ahead as Ireland and the EU opens up on the basis of a structured Covid-19 certification system. As Ireland does that from 19 July, we will also look to not only opening up international travel for EU countries and for Irish people within the EU but also for the UK and US on the basis of people travelling with a full vaccination or having recovered from having Covid-19 in the past nine months. People who are not vaccinated will still probably have to have polymerase chain reaction, PCR, tests before they travel and may be required to quarantine as well although not in hotel quarantine unless, of course, a significant variant of concern issue emerges that we have not seen yet. I would certainly like to see and I am confident that there will be a situation that when we open up to EU travel that we will also be opening for people who are vaccinated. We must not forget that the vast majority of adults in the UK and in the US will be fully vaccinated by the time we reach 19 July and as the summer moves on, just as the vast majority of people here will have been, I am glad to say.

I believe that deals with all of the questions.

I thank the Minister and return now to members and call Deputy Cowen to speak.

I thank the Chairman. In the context of programme C and values, the Minister mentioned contributions made to international organisations, predominantly the UN and issues surrounding refugees, healthcare and so forth, in the context of our membership of the UN Security Council, allied to our programme for government commitment, which, thankfully, seeks to support UN institutions, including the support of the democratisation and human rights, and also in the context of representations that have been made to me, what priority has the Department given to advance what appears to be the very recent UN report findings that genocide was committed in Iraq by ISIS against the Yazidi community? I also ask this in the context of a recent speech by the Irish UN ambassadors at the UN report launch. Can the Minister elaborates on this and perhaps he might engage with us and give us some indication of the priority in funding towards those institutions commitments to democratisation and human rights, please?

I thank Deputy Cowen. When reverting to the Minister, I acknowledge in terms of consular service and assistance the tremendous role being played across the world by our diplomats and those involved in the front line of consular services, with particular reference to Irish citizens who may find themselves for many reasons facing some challenges and difficulties. Can I ask the Minister in that regard if there has been a visible impact in expenditure on emergency consular service in the light of Covid-19 and is that reflected in the numbers over the past year?

Before I hand over to the Minister I notice that Deputy Stanton has a further question.

Very briefly and I thank the Chairman, I support my colleague, Deputy Cowen, on his points about the Hazidi community. I have met some of these people in the past and what they have experienced is unspeakable in many ways. I support the Deputy in what he has just said there and I will listen with interest to the Minister's response.

First of all, on Deputy Cowen's question and Deputy Stanton's support for it, for us to essentially accept that something is a genocide, Ireland's approach to that question is that this is one that is asked in multiple conflict situations, whether it is in respect of Armenia, or various different conflicts in Africa at different times, or indeed parts of the Middle East. The approach we have taken is that Ireland recognises genocide and calls it as such under the precedent and on the back of an international court ruling or if an international consensus builds around a certain issue. I understand that that is not ideal on a number of levels.

First, it is often not possible for an international court to determine whether genocide took place because of the burden of proof required. Second, the international consensus issue is often problematic because of political interest, different perspectives and regional interests on the Security Council.

I take the point in relation to the Yazidi population, which has been targeted and treated in an appalling fashion. If both Deputies want to follow up with a meeting on that, we can maybe look at whether we can do more in that area. Iraq is in a vulnerable place with a government trying to find its feet. There is still a significant presence of foreign troops there. If we can do more to support the organisations linked with the assessment of what happened to the Yazidi population and how it should be categorised or with humanitarian assistance, I am open to that. We have a flexible aid budget. We have to prioritise within it because it is an endless ask but if members want me to focus more on that, I would be happy to do so. I will follow up with Deputy Cowen on it. Maybe we can have a meeting on it and I will get a more detailed briefing.

Our consular services will say they have never had an 18 months like we have just been through. Thousands of Irish people needed assistance and support to understand their options for returning home and navigating their way through Covid restrictions in different parts of the world. That is particularly the case in Australia and New Zealand, where difficult choices are faced by Irish citizens because, once they come home, the chances of them going back, in terms of jobs and career opportunities, have been very limited in the short term due to restrictions. In other parts of the world, we have had to charter planes to get people home or work with the UK or other EU countries to share the chartering of planes. We chartered a plan out of Nigeria, a plane out of Peru and we have been in partnership with other countries in chartering planes out of India.

Our consular services have been heroic in quietly getting on with the job. There has been somewhat of an increase in resources there but most recent increases have been linked to the Passport Office. We do not have the option to shift huge numbers of new people into consular services. We put many people who would otherwise have been working in the Passport Office into our consular services to run call centres. Applications for passports were dramatically down so we had people we could shift into consular services. Over the Christmas period last year, we essentially had a travel call centre. We banned all commercial flights between Britain and Ireland. Instead, we did a deal with Aer Lingus and, predominantly, Ryanair to fly Irish residents home on a chartered schedule each day. My Department acted as a travel agency and our consular team were under huge pressure through the Christmas period on the phones.

The reason we are not seeing a big increase in expenditure is that we effectively shifted resources into consular services from passport services. That has not resulted in a Revised Estimate but it meant that the our consular team grew significantly. As consular cases fall back, international travel opens again and we get more demand in your Passport Office, people have shifted back to the passport service.

We ended up also effectively running a call centre for mandatory hotel quarantine. That is primarily the responsibility of the Department of Health but the Departments of Defence and Foreign Affairs have played a big part in ensuring it works efficiently around information call centres, standards in security and making sure everything is being done as it should be. That involves Defence Forces presence in airports, hotels and the transport systems between them. This is a Government effort and the year we have been through was so out of the ordinary that we have had to be flexible. There have been some increases in pay and administration but they have not been as marked as one might think because we have been able to shift resources within the Department.

I was hoping we could conclude Vote 28 programmes by about 13:30. Deputy Brady is offering and I am keen to let him in for a further brief round.

I will follow up on the points made by the two previous speakers on the Yazidi community and the UN report findings that genocide was committed in Iraq by ISIS. The Minister and I have spoken on the floor of the Chamber about declaring that other genocides have taken place, namely in Armenia. We disagree on how we come to the finding that a genocide has or has not taken place.

On 15 June, we have representatives from the Yazidi community before the committee. It would be important to proceed with the meeting and listen to what they have to say. Maybe at that point we can communicate directly with the Minister. We need to do more, in view of the finding that genocide was committed. When I asked the Minister about the Government acknowledging and recognising that the Armenian genocide took place, following numerous countries that have done so, he said he would talk to his officials, look at the position adopted to this point and maybe review it. While it would be difficult to get findings of guilt in court or anything like that, there is a lot of historical evidence showing genocide happened against the Armenian people. Hence, many countries, including quite recently the US, have come out and said genocide did take place. It is important to call these things out in the hope it will help in future instances to stop genocides taking place.

We have to wait until 15 June for our Yazidi meeting to see what actions we need to take and then follow up with the Minister. I ask for the Minister's response on the Armenian genocide.

It is our firm intention to proceed with the meeting with representatives of the Yazidi community in Iraq and beyond on 15 June. We have a wide-ranging meeting with telecoms booked with the UK, Ireland and beyond.

Will the Minister bring these matters to a conclusion, with reference to Deputy Brady's final question? Perhaps he might have some closing remarks before we prepare to conclude the discussion on Vote 28. We can then hear from the Minister of State, Deputy Colm Brophy.

I will make some comments on the Yazidi question, which is important. Ireland strongly condemns all forms of persecution on the basis of religion or belief. Many diverse communities, including Christians and Yazidis, have ancient roots in Iraq. The EU's Iraq strategy addresses reconciliation and the preservation of Iraq's ethnic and religious diversity. Full implementation of Iraq's programme for national reconciliation will be important to avoid inflaming sectarian divisions. We welcome the recent passing by the Iraqi Parliament of a Yazidi female survivors law, which represents progress in addressing the legacy of ISIS crimes against Yazidi and other minority groups.

A UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/ISIL, UNITAD, was established by Resolution 2379 (2017). It requests the Secretary General to establish an investigative team, headed by a special adviser, Mr. Karim Khan, to support domestic efforts to hold ISIS accountable by collecting, preserving and storing evidence in Iraq of acts that might amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed in Iraq. The head of UNITAD reports directly to the UN Security Council.

In June 2020, Mr. Khan told the Security Council the team had already identified 344 alleged ISIS perpetrators involved with the 2014 massacre of Yazidis in the Sinjar district of northern Iraq. UNITAD also welcomed a draft Iraqi law, presented in November 2019, which would allow Iraq to prosecute acts committed by ISIS as genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. The primary responsibility for investigating crimes normally lies with the host government and UNITAD is helping to build the capacity of the Iraqi authorities to investigate these crimes and prosecute those responsible.

The most recent UNITAD report, from November 2020, noted the team had commenced the provision of training and support to Iraqi investigative judges in building case files for the prosecution of ISIS members for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Ireland strongly supports the work of UNITAD and will support its mandate at the Security Council if and when it arises.

Irish Aid gives €9.5 million to the Iraq humanitarian fund. We are making a contribution. I am sorry for the long answer but I know colleagues are interested in and concerned about that matter.

I will come back to Deputies on the Armenia issue. I said we would take a look at it and I thought we had a very good and mature debate on it and there was no evidence of party politics. There were some genuine concerns raised and I said we would take a look at it, which we will.

The truth is our Estimates are relatively straightforward in the work we do and foreign policy is much more complicated. The committee will speak next to the Minister of State who is responsible for the spending of much money that keeps many people alive, educates many young children and supports many very vulnerable communities. The Irish Aid programme is respected across the world as one of the most transparent, efficient, effective and impactful aid programmes of any country. We repeatedly get peer-reviewed and very positive feedback from those peer reviews relating to the impact on the most vulnerable people, or the furthest behind, to use a UN term. That is how Irish Aid is measured in the work it is doing. The Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, can deal with those matters as he is more than capable of doing that. I hope people are happy to allow the Estimates for Vote 28 to move ahead.

I thank the Minister and the members for their consideration and questions on Vote 28, with sections dealing with our people, our place in Europe, our values, our prosperity, our influence and appropriations-in-aid. I thank the Minister and acknowledge the very important relationship between this parliamentary committee, the Minister and his Department. We thank him for what is a relationship of close co-operation and look forward to that continuing. I thank the Minister for being with us this afternoon.

If the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, is ready, we can move to consideration of Vote 27. The Minister of State may make an opening statement, after which members may ask questions on Vote 27.

I welcome this opportunity to present the 2021 Estimate for Vote 27, relating to in international co-operation. Vote 27 funds approximately two thirds of Ireland’s official development assistance, ODA, programme, better known to the public as Irish Aid. The Vote provides the funding necessary to deliver on the Department’s high-level goal, which is to work for a more just, secure and sustainable world.

For this year, the Government allocated a total of €868 million to official development assistance. This represents a total increase of almost €30 million, or approximately 4%, on the 2020 level. That means that 2021 is the seventh consecutive year in which the Government has increased the overall allocation to the development co-operation programme. Of this total, €571 million is managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs through Vote 27 – International Co-operation. This is an increase of €20 million, or almost 4%, on last year’s allocation.

The remaining estimated €297 million is managed through other Departments. By far the largest component of this other element of ODA is Ireland’s share of the EU development co-operation budget. The Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Finance and Justice also manage significant elements of Ireland’s total ODA.

The 2021 allocation for ODA is yet again a demonstration of the Government’s commitment to international development. Ireland’s overseas development programme is both an important statement of who we are as a people and a clear reflection of Ireland’s values and interests. The global pandemic we are living through demonstrates that we each have a stake in making this a better world. The Irish Aid programme is an investment in a better, safer and more sustainable world. It provides Ireland with an opportunity to expand our influence and to strengthen our partnerships today and for tomorrow.

In the Our Shared Future programme for Government, we committed to making incremental, sustainable progress towards achieving the UN target of spending 0.7% of gross national income to ODA by 2030. Sustained, managed increments in ODA will be required to deliver on this commitment. Careful planning and consultation with other Departments and stakeholders will be also needed to ensure it is done effectively.

We are adopting a steady and phased approach, taking into consideration the range of demands across government, recognising that to deliver on this ambition will mean making difficult choices between competing priorities. For 2021, based on current estimates for gross national income, GNI, the ODA to GNI outturn is projected to run at approximately 0.32%, which is a similar level to 2020 but a significant increase in cash terms.

Official development assistance is an integral component of Ireland’s overall foreign policy and national presence overseas, enabling Ireland to respond to complex human needs and humanitarian crises around the world. Ireland has built a distinguished track record of responding to global development challenges and delivering a high quality, untied and coherent approach to development co-operation. A Better World, Ireland’s policy for international development, provides the framework for our development co-operation programme in the decade ahead. A whole-of-government policy, A Better World affirms Ireland’s commitment to realising the central pledge of the sustainable development goals to reach "the furthest behind first".

To do so, Ireland focuses our efforts on four policy priorities: gender equality; reducing humanitarian need; climate action; and strengthening governance. The policy also outlines a commitment to intensity work in three clusters of interventions where Ireland has proven expertise namely, protection, food and people.

As the Covid-19 pandemic is increasing poverty and vulnerability around the world, Ireland will continue to play our part in responding to the needs of those most affected. This year, we will continue to invest in global public health and contribute to global efforts to develop a vaccine and ensure it will be available to people regardless of income or where they are from. We are investing money through Vote 27, and knowledge. Officials in the Department are working with HSE experts to deliver improvements in public health in partner countries in Africa.

In 2020 the OECD Development Assistance Committee, DAC, undertook a peer review of Ireland’s development cooperation policy, programme and systems. The peer review found Ireland is a strong development partner, with many areas of excellence. The quality and impact of Ireland’s development cooperation programme was found to be high, with Ireland allocating overseas development aid and assistance, ODA, to least developed countries and fragile states, priority partners and sectors. This clear focus enables Ireland to channel our development assistance to where it is needed most, to exercise leadership and obviously to make a visible difference.

Ireland does development well. We have a well-earned reputation for the quality of our aid programme and being highly effective at reaching those in extreme poverty. What we do works, and has real impact. Ireland, and we as Irish people, can be proud of our programme. Our international development cooperation and humanitarian action, along with our human rights, peacekeeping, disarmament and security policies and actions, are at the heart of our efforts to create a more secure, stable and inclusive world. It reflects our best interests as well as our values. I thank the committee and welcome comments and questions from members.

I thank the Minister of State. He is particularly welcome to the committee. I understand it is his first time being with us. We thank him for that overview. I will move to the members. We will hear from Deputy Stanton, followed by Deputy Brady.

I thank the Chairman. I welcome the Minister of State. I begin by commending the work of people in his section, both at home and abroad. When I was at the Department of Justice, we spent a certain amount of time in the UN in New York, Geneva and other places. As the Chairman knows well, we spent our time there lobbying for a place on the UN Security Council, which we got in the end. During that time we met with many colleagues and the respect in which Ireland is held by those other countries is just enormous. It was amazing to see. Much of that is down to the work done by our ODA people abroad, the money we spend and the relationships we have. It is important to say that. It was tangible, it was warm and it was friendly and Ireland was highly respected. The Minister of State will get an opportunity when the travel restrictions are over to meet some of these people as well and I am sure he will agree with me.

I have just a few questions. On the climate unit and the money being spent on countering climate disruption, could the Minister of State give a few examples of how it is being spent in various parts of the world? I met people from some of the Pacific islands and they were worried about their islands being swamped by rising sea levels, for instance. As such, this is a real issue. There are some people out there who feel it has gone past the point of no return in this regard. The Minister of State might comment on that.

An issue has arisen which may not be in the Minister of State's remit but which he may wish to comment on anyway. Quite a number of Irish people are in places like Dubai and the Middle East generally as teachers and want to come home for the summer break. They have been vaccinated with a vaccine not approved by the European Medicines Agency, EMA, such as Sinopharm, which is the Chinese one, or the Russian one, or others. It appears there may be some difficulties in their coming back, if they do so. Will the Minister of State comment on that situation because the time when these people will be coming home is coming up very soon? People have been in contact with myself and others about that.

I noticed another issue in appendix 2 of the documentation we were given. There is an item called "Other Channels" at 16% and €1.42 million. The Minister of State may not have the details to hand now but he might make available to us at some stage a breakdown of that considerable amount of money. A number of years ago there was a discussion about in-donor refugee costs, meaning some of the ODA money was being spent here in the country on refugees and asylum seekers. I am not sure if that is still the case. The Minister of State might comment on that, or send us a note later if he is not in a position to do so now. To finish off, the work being done by our ODA people is amazing and the money is being spent in a very good way. I thank the Minister of State's officials for that.

I thank the Deputy. I will respond initially by joining him in the comments he was making-----

Due to the time constraints, I will take questions from a number of Deputies and then return to the Minister of State, if that is okay.

That is perfect, I thank the Chairman.

I thank the Minister of State for his opening statement. I begin by expressing my support for the increase in the ODA budget; it is up €30 million, which is roughly 4%. It is critical we maintain our commitment to reach the figure of 0.7% of GDP by 2030, to which the Government has committed. The Minister of State might outline the road map for how we are going to get to that position because progress has been very slow. I have serious concerns that target will be missed so I ask him to outline the road map for that.

I turn to the recent demolition of Palestinian structures and the destruction of donor-funded projects in the occupied territories. We had a number of witnesses before the joint committee and one of the groups, the West Bank Protection Consortium, gave us evidence that in 2020, for example, 156 donor-funded structures were destroyed by the Israeli occupying forces in the occupied territories. That was a massive increase of 23% on the 2019 figure of Palestinian structures destroyed. When we talk of structures, these are of course houses, schools, solar panels and other basic infrastructure. The West Bank Protection Consortium told us it had lodged a compensation claim of around €625,000 with the Israeli authorities over the destruction of those donor-funded structures. The consortium told us not a penny of that had been paid, yet this is bigger than getting the money back off the Israelis, it is ultimately about holding them to account for their illegal activities. What actions are being taken by the Minister of State and by the Department to follow up and ensure that Israel is held to account, and that compensation claim is paid out for the destruction of those donor-funded structures?

Another area I want to touch on is Ethiopia, particularly the Tigray area. Ireland is one of the largest partners in terms of Irish aid to Ethiopia and the Tigray area. This has obviously been going on for many decades and we have seen the horrific abuses and we have seen deaths. We have seen the humanitarian crisis that has unfortunately evolved because of the conflict which is still playing out, not just by Ethiopian troops but also with the involvement of neighbouring countries. I therefore ask the Minister of State to outline the impact the crisis in Ethiopia is having both on the budget for Irish Aid, the impact it is having on humanitarian access and our future plans in relation to Ethiopia.

I also want to touch on probably the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, which has been largely forgotten by the international community, namely, the situation in Yemen. War, cholera, poverty, Covid and a looming famine are having an absolutely devastating impact on civilians there.

Will the Minister of State outline what Ireland is doing in terms of our obligations and response to the horrific situation in Yemen?

Lastly, I wish to refer to the roll out of vaccines. I reiterate that I welcome the increase in the overseas development aid budget but believe it is necessary to consider the key issues thrown up by the Covid-19 pandemic. There is no doubt that lower income countries such as Yemen and, unfortunately, many other countries have been impacted more severely than other nations regarding the long-term impact of Covid. The impact of the pandemic will severely impact far outside infection and mortality rates in areas that already suffer so many serious challenges such as hunger, conflict, global warming and poverty, just to name a few. We, in Ireland, should be commended on increasing our funding to the World Health Organization. When it comes to vaccine inequality and access issues for people who live in lower income countries, as the Minister is aware, these are also related to intellectual property rights and on reaching agreement on a Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, TRIPS, waiver at the World Trade Organization. I believe it is incumbent on the Irish Government to play a constructive role and to use its status within the EU to influence its position ahead of the meeting by the TRIPS council on 8 and 9 June.

We need to lead the charge on the TRIPS waiver. Unfortunately, we have been very mute in terms of supporting the TRIPS waiver, which is and will continue to have a massive negative impact on developing countries across the world. It has the potential to undo a lot of good work in terms of trying to bring peace to countries such as Mali and other countries where women, in particular, who have been imbedded into peace process have been pulled out of those processes to look after their families and communities. Until we have a TRIPS waiver, and until we see equality in terms of the roll out of the vaccines, unfortunately, it has the potential to undo a lot of good work that has been done. I ask the Minister of State to outline his views of the TRIPS waiver. What is being done to articulate the need for a TRIPS waiver?

Members will be aware that aspects of the TRIPS waiver are more primarily a matter for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. However, I am sure the Minister of State will acknowledge the report that this committee undertook earlier this year on the matter of global vaccines, vaccine equality and the importance of ensuring that every effort is made to have vaccines distributed, particularly to the less developed regions of the world.

There was an earlier issue that arose with the Minister, Deputy Coveney, that the Minister of State might be in a position to address briefly and that is the engagement, or otherwise, his Department and himself have had with the American Administration, with particular reference to the Irish undocumented, under the heading of diaspora. It is an issue that has been ongoing for some time and we wish the Minister of State well in his endeavours there. Perhaps there might be a fresh impetus having regard to the change of Administration in the United States.

Deputy Brady mentioned the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. Again, in the opening comment there was mention of the importance of protection, food and people. Obviously, the humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region is striking at the heart of protection, food and people. It seems that the Eritrean Government is not in the business of withdrawing its troops as initially stated early in the year by both the Eritrean Government and the Ethiopian Government. This has resulted in a humanitarian crisis in the region. The harvest is now in doubt in terms of the inability of farmers to plan and sow crops. There is a humanitarian crisis looming and a real risk of famine. Obviously Ireland has a position in the United Nations with reference to the Human Rights Council and the Security Council. We trust that every effort is being made having regard to the special relationship between Ireland and Ethiopia over the years.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge the great work that both the Minister of State and his Department are undertaking for and on behalf of Ireland in areas of great challenge across the region, as evidenced by the questions from Deputies Stanton and Brady to date.

I thank the Chairman. I shall follow on directly from the comments made by the Chairman and that of Deputy Brady about Ethiopia and Tigray. Obviously it is, as the Chairman quite rightly described in his remarks, a situation in which Ireland is very actively involved both from the UN side and our relationship with Ethiopia. It is an important country for us in terms of Irish Aid. Obviously, we very much welcome the situation where we now have some inspections on the ground from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to investigate reported atrocities there. The key situation is to try to get a peaceful cessation of hostilities. We did put in emergency aid worth just over €3 million and we have an ongoing aid programme with Ethiopia. As the year progresses we will look at reviewing that. Very much our goals and efforts, particularly through our UN involvement in the Security Council, is to try to bring about a peaceful solution there.

Deputy Stanton mentioned a couple of things. Apologies, as this is the first time doing this and if I miss out on anything I will come back to it or attempt to come back to it. The Deputy is quite right in his comments about the high regard in which we are held by so many people in terms of the work done over the years by so many in Irish Aid and in terms of work on the ground, in particular. That represented itself in the response of people to the Covid pandemic outbreak right around the world both in terms of our missions, the staff on the ground and Irish NGOs. I refer to the cumulative response to immediately work, to adapt and do quick changes to work to mitigate the immediate impact of Covid in the areas in which they worked. The way we did that was a credit to them. They have worked in an incredible way over the past 18 months and a very large thanks is due to them for that.

One key thing about the climate unit is that a lot of the previous approach was about mitigation. What we are primarily looking at is adaption and making climate finance available for that. Deputy Stanton or another contributor quite rightly mentioned the small islands and the countries that are most affected. When we talk in the West about staving off the impacts of climate change, those small islands and countries will say the impacts are with them now and that it is not a solution down the road in five, ten or 15 years that is needed but immediate solutions to help them deal with rising tides and with the impacts, particularly severe weather that can have a devastating impact. We very much work in that space. In the area of climate finance, we are seeing a significant increase in our commitment, particularly in terms of moving the focus away from mitigation to adaptation and putting that in place.

Even simple things, such as working with village communities on putting in place a cooker burner system that stops wood being burned on an open fire, has a direct benefit for rural communities in Malawi and other places. There is a combination of mitigating climate impacts as well health impacts through direct immediate measures.

Deputy Stanton raised the question of vaccines. It is probably not directly in my area but I will comment on it because it is very much a diaspora related area. As the Deputy correctly mentioned, a large number of Irish people, in particular teachers, work in the United Arab Emirates and various parts of the Middle East. Usually they go out on a 12 month programme and return to Ireland around this time of year. We need to look at this situation. The Chinese vaccine is recognised by the World Health Organization as valid and this is the vaccine in overwhelming use in the Middle East. Therefore, Irish people will be returning fully vaccinated with a certificate of full vaccination. We need to think about broadening how we look at this, in terms of opening up aviation to allow for this vaccine to be taken into account. If I am correct, and if not I apologise, one of the quirks is that the US has not approved AstraZeneca as a vaccine and if it took the same approach as we are taking in Europe we could have all types of interesting scenarios. Globally we need to look at this and state when World Health Organization approved vaccines have been administered that people are fully vaccinated, and we should look at this as proof of vaccination.

Deputy Stanton is quite right that there is a figure on the development aid side in the Department of Justice. The figure has reduced this year. As the Deputy is well aware from his previous role, which he did so well, there was a first year cost on the refugee side of things in Ireland. I believe I have covered all of the questions.

To answer Deputy Brady, the key issue for me in terms of the roadmap to achieve the 0.7% target is, as I said in my opening remarks, to have a very stable and incremental approach. Unfortunately, we have seen other countries that moved very quickly to 0.7% and had to pull back from it. The direct impact of a country pulling back from it on millions of people's lives is even worse. The main focus of what I want to do through the budgetary process in the coming years is to negotiate a steady and sustained path so that when we reach the 0.7% level we want to reach, not only will we have buy-in on the political side of things but also from society and the country at large and, therefore, that we have a ring-fence around it that makes it a stable amount and we do not end up in the situation we have, unfortunately, seen in other nearby parts of the world, where there was 0.7% and then there was a reduction, which had quite severe impacts.

I join Deputy Brady in his condemnation. It is awful when we see aid projects funded either by Irish Aid or the European Union targeted or destroyed as part of any hostilities or situation developing. Structures are in place to enable compensation to be sought and this should be done. Even if something is going to become a target or eventually gets damaged because of a situation, it is still imperative that we are there putting in place the aid in the first place and making a contribution. As has the Deputy, I have seen some very upsetting pictures of a destroyed building, school or institution that was doing so much good on the ground for a community and is now lying in ruins. What is key is to make the contribution in the first place, and if we have to go back and do it again we will have to be continuous in our support to make sure we do so.

I addressed Ethiopia at the beginning. The Deputy spoke about vaccines and access to vaccines. I always speak about two matters with regard to vaccines and they are very important. It is vital that we have as much equality of access to vaccine as possible. COVAX is really helping to deliver this. Very much from the conversations I have had, it is important to ensure we have the funding in place. This is something of which Ireland can be particularly proud because an area of development aid in which we are particularly strong is health systems to deliver the vaccines. There is absolutely no point in flooding a country with vaccines unless we have enabled it to have in place the health system to deliver them. We have a commitment of more than €100 million in 2021 on global health. This is all about what we have learnt over the years in our experience of dealing with Gavi and other institutions and organisations in this area. To make sure it works not only do we have to ensure the vaccines are there but also make sure the healthcare professionals are there and the right structures and facilities are in place, as are the right PPE and all of the things necessary in the background to enable a health system to work in order to get vaccine delivery. This is something on which we have been very strong. COVAX is ramping up at this stage and we are beginning to see increased access.

As the Chair mentioned, intellectual property falls very much within another Department's area. We as a country are open to looking at how we can work co-operatively together with all other countries. We acknowledge what President Biden has said. We acknowledge the comments of the European Commission in this regard. While all of this is important, it is a long-term process and it will enable many discussions to take place in many institutions over months. What COVAX is doing is putting vaccines on the ground now. This is why we have put €3 million into it, to make sure there is an immediate flow of vaccines. Yes, more needs to be done and I hope we will see very quickly a substantial increase in what COVAX is doing. It is a very positive way of delivering.

Deputy Brady mentioned Yemen. Obviously, the situation in Yemen is a horror story that has fallen off the world's headlines and in many ways has not received attention. Consistently what we will find through the work of Ireland, and the work of the Minister, Deputy Coveney, on the Security Council, is that we have a tradition as a country of prioritising conflict resolution and working with the international institutions in this area, and it is something on which we are very strong. This is something we will continue to do. I hope I have covered most of what was asked in the questions.

The Chair asked about the visa situation. We welcome the change of Administration in the United States and the tone President Biden set within weeks of coming into office. He spoke openly about looking again, not just in the context of Ireland on which we have been working so hard but in an international context, at working on pathways to citizenship and regularising the status of people. This is a very welcome step. We welcome the work Congress is doing at present on this with the Administration. We will continue the work we have been doing. The undocumented Irish are people for whom we have worked very strongly over a number of years. It was very difficult in recent years to try to get a resolution on this. I hope this time around that Congress and the Administration will consider it as part of an enlarged solution. In the meanwhile, there are other visas such as the E3 Visa, for which we will continue to prioritise access.

The Minister, Deputy Coveney, has mentioned that there is a very difficult situation with regard to J1 visas at present. The decision on access is one for the US Administration. There are many deeply disappointed students in Ireland who would love to have had the option of a J1 visa.

I got a J1 visa and really enjoyed it but, unfortunately, that was a long time ago. I do not know whether this was raised, but it also impacted students who have gained scholarships to a large number of American universities and received a full offer of a place in the university but, unfortunately, do not have a visa access point. We continue to work to see what we can do in that regard as well.

I think that covers most of what I was asked.

I am aware from my constituency of issues relating to people who are currently in the United States and have a difficulty renewing their visa. Of course, there is the ongoing issue of the crop of J1 applicants, many of whom are disappointed because of the Covid-related restrictions. My two daughters were beneficiaries of J1 visas. As the Minister of State noted, it is an exciting time for those availing of a J1 visain terms of building up experience of life and otherwise.

There is time remaining in the meeting. I will go back to Deputy Brady. I thank the Minister of State for dealing comprehensively with the questions asked. Deputy Stanton raised an issue relating to Irish returnees from the United Arab Emirates, possibly from Abu Dhabi or Dubai, and the issue of the recognition of the vaccine or otherwise. Perhaps the Minister of State will furnish Deputy Stanton with a note on that issue if he can. Does Deputy Brady have anything to add before we bring matters to a conclusion?

To follow up on Irish Aid and the demolition of structures in the occupied territories in Palestine, the West Bank Protection Consortium to which Ireland is a party made the specific point in terms of the compensation claim and the follow-up that while, obviously, no compensation payment had been made, it is primarily up to the Government to follow up on that. I appreciate the Minister of State may not be aware of the details of this issue. If he is not, he may be able to get a note for the committee on it. There was specific reference to it being up to the Government to follow up with regard to the non-payment of the compensation claim. If he does not have knowledge of the issue, that is fine, but it is important. I hear what he is saying in terms of going in to rebuild structures that are demolished in the occupied territories, but the point here is about accountability. I mentioned the historic decision made by the Dáil last week when it declared that annexation has taken place in the occupied territories. Such annexation is illegal under international law and there needs to be accountability and consequences for those measures. Similarly, there must be consequences for the Israeli occupation forces in the context of the demolition and destruction of Irish-funded structures and aid in the occupied territories that have been illegally annexed. The compensation claim has been made, but what is the Government doing in terms of following up on that to ensure there is accountability? It is not good enough for us to fund it and put it in place only for it to be demolished and subsequently rebuilt. The demolition cycle will continue if there is no accountability. Like in the case of the illegal actions being perpetrated on civilians in the Gaza Strip, unless there is accountability, Israel will continue to act with perceived impunity.

Obviously, follow-up on this issue takes place on the ground through our diplomats. It is probably more appropriate to follow up with a note on this because the specifics the Deputy is seeking are not something I am in a position to give him. I know follow-up takes place on the ground in terms but it would probably be better for me to provide a note on the issue so that the Deputy has more information.

I again thank the Minister of State for his attendance. One of the issues that arose during my time in the Department of Justice was the horrors that occurred in the Mediterranean, with so many people drowning while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe from north Africa. One of the suggestions made at the time was that some of the aid from Europe should go to assisting people to stay in their own country so that they would not have to make the journey across the Sahara and wherever else and the Mediterranean. Does that form part of the official development assistance, ODA, policy?

Deputy Brady asked about the ODA target of 0.7% of GNI. What is the roadmap in that regard? Has the Minister of State given it consideration?

I mentioned the issue of in-donor refugee costs. How much is spent in that regard? I ask the Minister of State to send me a note with the detail on that issue.

On the Deputy's first key point, the heart of what Irish Aid is about is what he referred to. It is about putting a situation in place on the ground which, as a by-product, will stop migration and people having the necessity to move. If one looks at what causes most global migration, much of it relates to food shortages, such as where crops fail due to climate, etc. What we are trying to do in so many of our programmes is to address such issues in order that people have the ability and the means to remain on the ground. I have not had the chance to discuss some of our really positive programmes, particularly in the areas of education and gender equality. We are one of the strongest countries in terms of leading supports in areas to ensure that girls can remain in school. We can break the cycle of poverty through the work we do in ensuring there is education available for young girls which keeps them in school. That not only benefits young girls in society, but also the whole of society in terms of breaking that poverty cycle. All of those things combined, which is what Irish Aid is really about, will, it is hoped, enable countries to move away from the situation of people in those countries wanting to move to Europe. The current situation in that regard is not sustainable.

I am often challenged by people who ask why we are spending money on overseas aid and what the benefits are to Ireland and Europe of all this money going there. The benefit is that the world cannot continue to have the type of structure it has had to date for so many reasons, including the climate challenge we are now facing. We need to create a far greater equality between the wealthy countries of western Europe and elsewhere in the western world and those in the remainder of the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere in Africa, where there is still devastating poverty. If we do not do so and proactively engage on that issue, our children and our children's children will feel the impact. The impact will be felt even more quickly than that. As the Deputy stated, we saw through the events in the Mediterranean what can happen very quickly and the appalling loss of life that can result when people are desperate and wish to move.

I think the figure he is seeking in that regard is 16% on the justice side. I think it is €142 million. I will double check that and come back to the Deputy with a note on it. Appendix 2 is €142.5 million, which relates to the other channels the Deputy asked about in his original contribution. As I outlined in response to Deputy Brady in terms of the pathway to allocating 0.7% of GNI* to ODA, it is very much an incremental approach that is designed to make it sustainable. I think I have covered the points raised.

The Minister of State gave a comprehensive answer on vaccines but there is one thing on which I am unclear. I apologise if I missed it. I refer to the Sinopharm vaccine with which many Irish teachers working in the Middle East, for instance, have been fully vaccinated.

What is the situation if they want to come home? Did the Minister of State indicate that they will not be able to come back? If they do come back, must they quarantine in a hotel for two weeks at their own expense? What is the situation in this regard, just to be clear? I am sorry if what I am saying is misleading.

That is no problem. To be clear, the situation is that only vaccines approved by the EMA are regarded as complying fully with our requirements and obviating the need for quarantine. That is the situation as it stands. Teachers vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine would be required to quarantine on their return. It is a situation which includes many Irish citizens and members of the diaspora, which is my area of responsibility, who view themselves as being fully vaccinated and who are living their lives in that way in the countries in which they reside. They are enjoying all the benefits of being fully vaccinated, and yet that is on foot of a vaccine that the WHO has recognised but that we do not.

The Minister for Health was asked about this matter in the Dáil as well. He stated these matters must be considered in the context of where we will be in the coming months. I am also conscious that we must be guided by advice from the NIAC and all the public health advice. It is what feeds into the Government's decision-making in this area. From the perspective of the diaspora, which is my main area of responsibility, therefore, it is important to recognise that situations of this type will arise involving Irish citizens. It will not just affect the teacher cohort we have been talking about because many locations globally are using vaccines supplied by Russia or China. Therefore, this is a matter for us to consider in the context of the advice we get from the health professionals.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, and the Minister, Deputy Coveney, who was with us earlier, and their officials for attending. The OECD development assistance committee published its important peer review since the last time we considered Vote 27. I acknowledge the favourable commentary of the OECD concerning the work of the Minister of State and his team, which really enhances Ireland's reputation abroad. Irish people at home are very proud of the work that our development co-operation team engages in on our behalf. I thank the Minister of State for dealing with the many questions posed by members. If additional issues require further replies, I trust that contact will be made by email or via other mediums.

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