Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Ceist:95. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) has not been awarded disability benefit. [32346/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraDisability Allowance Applications
Ceisteanna (95)
Freagraí scríofa
This lady submitted an application for disability allowance on 12 November 2014.
The application, based upon the evidence submitted, was refused on medical grounds and the person in question was notified in writing of this decision on 27 February 2015 and of her rights of review and appeal. No appeal was received.
If this lady believes she may qualify, it is open to her to reapply by completing and submitting to my department the relevant application form (DA1).
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Immigration Policy
Ceisteanna (96)
Róisín Shortall
Ceist:96. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will engage with his French counterpart in order to request that work to dismantle the so-called jungle migrant camp in Calais be halted until a comprehensive plan for the resettlement of the residents of the camp is finalised. [32261/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The French authorities recently announced that they would close the unofficial migrant camp in Calais by the end of this year and move the approximately 9,000 inhabitants to new accommodation in reception centres across the country. For unaccompanied minors, there will be specific accommodation arrangements.
President Hollande has said that this was being done to “guarantee the security of the people of Calais, to maintain public order and to ensure for the migrants and refugees that conditions are dignified”.
The people in the Calais camps are under the jurisdiction of the French authorities. Under EU rules, they have the right to apply for international protection in France.
Consular Services Representations
Ceisteanna (97)
John Lahart
Ceist:97. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the name of the person the Government communicated with to date in order to assist a person (details supplied); the responses to these communications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32159/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
My Department's policy is to establish a single point of contact in consular assistance cases in order to ensure clear communication with the individual citizen or family concerned. In order to protect the privacy and confidentiality of consular cases, my officials do not disclose to third parties details of their consular correspondence.
I can confirm that my Department officials are in ongoing direct written communication with this particular citizen, and are also in contact with his family.
The Consul from our Embassy in Singapore, which is accredited to the Philippines, and our Honorary Consul in Manila met with this Irish citizen in Manila on 12 October. Officials from my Department have met with the spouse of the individual concerned, and our Ambassador in Singapore raised our concerns about this case with the Philippines Foreign Ministry in Manila as recently as last week.
My Department officials at headquarters in Dublin, at our Embassy in Singapore, and our Honorary Consul in Manila, have all been engaged in this case and have provided consular assistance fully in line with our general policy approach. My Department officials will continue to maintain contact with this citizen and his family, and will provide whatever further consular assistance is helpful and appropriate.
Rockall Island Ownership
Ceisteanna (98)
Thomas Pringle
Ceist:98. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding negotiations over ownership of Rockall; the steps being taken by him to secure Ireland’s territorial claim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32243/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Rockall is a small uninhabitable rock located approximately 160 nautical miles west of the Scottish islands of St. Kilda and 230 nautical miles to the north-west of Donegal. It marks a point at which the Rockall Bank, part of the very large Hatton-Rockall area of continental shelf extending under the north-east Atlantic Ocean, protrudes 21 metres above sea level. During the 1960s and 1970s the issue of Rockall was a source of legal and political controversy in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. The UK claims sovereignty over Rockall and has sought to formally annex it under its 1972 Island of Rockall Act.
While Ireland has not recognised British sovereignty over Rockall, it has never sought to claim sovereignty for itself. The consistent position of successive Irish Governments has been that Rockall and similar rocks and skerries have no significance for establishing legal claims to mineral rights in the adjacent seabed or to fishing rights in the surrounding seas.
During the course of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, which took place from 1973 to 1982, Ireland worked hard to achieve agreement on this principle. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was adopted at the conclusion of the Conference on 10 December 1982, provides at Article 121, paragraph 3 that: “Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.” Rockall falls into precisely this category.
In 1988, Ireland and the UK reached agreement on the delimitation of areas of the continental shelf between the two countries, stretching out up to 500 nautical miles from their respective coastlines. This included the division of the Hatton-Rockall area of continental shelf on which Rockall is situated, although under the terms of the Law of the Sea Convention the location of Rockall was irrelevant to the determination of the boundary. According to that determination, Rockall is situated to the north of the boundary agreed with the UK in 1988 and lies outside the zone claimed by Ireland.
As with any claim to continental shelf lying beyond 200 nautical miles from a state's coast, the UN Convention requires that Ireland and the UK submit their claims for examination by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. However, the claims to the Hatton-Rockall shelf agreed between Ireland and the UK are not accepted by Iceland or Denmark (on behalf of the Faroe Islands), which make their own claims.
The four countries have met regularly since 2001 in an effort to resolve the overlapping claims issue, but to date have been unable to reach agreement. The 10-year deadline for the making of submissions to the UN Commission expired for Ireland in May 2009. The Government therefore submitted the national claim for this area at the end of March 2009, as did the British Government in respect of the UK's claim. Denmark submitted its claim on behalf of the Faroe Islands in 2010. Iceland has not made a submission to date.
The Commission's rules of procedure prevent consideration by the Commission of a submission relating to a disputed area without the consent of all the states concerned and Iceland does not currently consent to the consideration of these submissions. The submission within the deadline preserved the State's legal position and since then the Government has continued to work for the creation of conditions that will permit its consideration as soon as possible.
Pension Provisions
Ceisteanna (99)
Mary Butler
Ceist:99. Deputy Mary Butler asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he expects completion of the pension claim instigated by community employment supervisors and assistants, which has been going on for a number of years; when he expects the Community Sector Informal Forum to meet; if it has met, when the claim will come to fruition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32227/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The issue of pension entitlements for Community Employment Scheme Supervisors and Assistant Supervisors was the subject of a Labour Court recommendation in 2008. The position is that although the employing bodies concerned are mainly funded by public expenditure programmes, the State does not have any role as an employer in this sector and the employees of such bodies are not public servants.
This matter together with other related issues is the subject of discussion at the Community Sector High Level Forum (or Working Group) (previously the Informal Forum) which was convened to examine certain issues pertaining to the Community Employment sector. The forum met on 27 November 2015 and on 11 April 2016. Future meetings will be planned once a new Chair has been appointed.
Public Procurement Regulations
Ceisteanna (100)
Dara Calleary
Ceist:100. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if a regulatory impact assessment was carried out by his Department or the Office of Government Procurement, OGP, on the 2014 EU procurement directives; when this will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32221/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
At the end of March 2014, following extensive negotiations over three years, the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) published three new procurement directives. The new Directives are:
- Public Procurement: Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement, which repealed Directive 2004/18/EC
- Utilities: Directive 2014/25/EU on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors, which repealed Directive 2004/17/EC and
- Concessions: Directive 2014/23/EU on the award of Concession Contracts, which does not directly replace any previous Directive.
The European Commission published several comprehensive impact assessments in relation to public procurement prior to the revision of the EU public procurement regime in 2014 including an Evaluation Report on Impact and Effectiveness of EU Public Procurement which can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/docs/modernising_rules/er853_1_en.pdf.
As part of the transposition process, the Office of Government Procurement conducted both internal and public consultation processes. Most of the provisions of the Directives were mandatory for Ireland to transpose into national law but there were some areas where the Directives permitted policy choices and these were the focus of this consultation. The public consultation process was initiated at the end of October 2014 and 43 submissions were received by the end January 2015, including submissions by representative bodies such as ICTU, IBEC, ISME and the CIF.
The Directives were transposed by Statutory Instrument and adhered as closely as possible to the wording and intent across the Directives to provide maximum flexibility for procurers. The principal approach to transposing the new procurement regime was to retain the flexibilities provided for in the Directives in order to ensure that Ireland was not disadvantaged in any aspect of public procurement relative to other Member States.
The transposition of the public procurement and utilities Directives into Irish law was completed on 5 May 2016 by SI 284 of 2016 Award of Public Authority Contracts Regulations and SI 286 of 2016 Award of Contracts by Utility Undertakings Regulations. The Concessions Directive establishes a new regime for concession type contracts so the transposition process has taken longer. It is intended that transposition will be completed by end 2016.