Written Answers Nos. 194-209
194. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when foreign birth registration applications will be processed for siblings (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46652/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is responsible for processing Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications for people who are born abroad and claim Irish Citizenship through a grandparent born in Ireland or through a parent who has claimed citizenship also through FBR, Naturalisation or Post Nuptial Citizenship.
Demand for this service increased significantly as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. In 2015, prior to Brexit, a total of 6,000 entries were made to the register. In 2019, a peak number of 19,000 entries were made to the Foreign Births Register. Demand for this service from applicants in England, Scotland and Wales continues to be strong with over 8,000 applications received to date this year.
The service was also impacted by necessary Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021 and the unprecedented demand for passports seen to date in 2022.
My Department is currently putting in place a number of measures that will address the volume of FBR applications currently on hand with a view to significantly reducing the processing time for these citizenship applications by the end of this year.
Supporting documentation for the applications to which the Deputy has referred was received on 19 March 2020, and is due to be processed shortly. A member of the FBR team will be in further contact with the applicants in this regard.
195. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if a name change by deed poll will be considered for a child (details supplied) for a passport application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46782/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraWith regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired the Passport Service has reviewed the application and progressed as appropriate.
196. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will investigate an issue in relation to a passport renewal for a person (details supplied). [46817/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraWith regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has contacted the applicant directly and provided an update as to the steps they must take to progress their passport application.
197. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on reports that US government institutions such as the Pentagon and the US Department of Justice store data in Ireland as part of their redundancy strategy. [46915/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has no role in monitoring or regulating data hosted in data centres in Ireland.
The protection of data in Ireland is underpinned by a framework of EU and domestic regulation including the GDPR, the Data Sharing and Governance Act 2019, and the European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Privacy and Electronic Communications) Regulations 2011. Work is ongoing at EU and domestic level to update and enhance regulatory oversight and protection of personal data in line with advancements in technology and the digital environment.
198. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the status of the foreign birth registration for a child (details supplied). [46974/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is responsible for processing Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications for people who are born abroad and claim Irish Citizenship through a grandparent born in Ireland or through a parent who has claimed citizenship also through FBR, Naturalisation or Post Nuptial Citizenship.
Demand for this service increased significantly as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. In 2015, prior to Brexit, a total of 6,000 entries were made to the register. In 2019, a peak number of 19,000 entries were made to the Foreign Births Register. Demand for this service from applicants in England, Scotland and Wales continues to be strong with over 8,000 applications received to date this year.
The service was also impacted by necessary Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021 and the unprecedented demand for passports seen to date in 2022.
My Department is currently putting in place a number of measures that will address the volume of FBR applications currently on hand with a view to significantly reducing the processing time for these citizenship applications by the end of this year.
Supporting documentation for the application to which the Deputy has referred was received on 3 June 2022, and is being stored in a secure environment as it awaits entitlement checking.
199. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will provide a schedule of the costs for all live studies, reviews and research projects undertaken or commissioned by him; and the details of the person or body that is conducting each study, review and research project in tabular form. [47045/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe following table sets out nineteen live studies, reviews and research currently being undertaken or commissioned by my Department, tabulated to show the name of each body of work, expected completion date, costs incurred to date and by whom conducted.
|
Name of Report, Study, Review |
Expected date of completion |
Cost |
Conducted by |
|
WPS and Political Transitions in West Africa |
June 2023 |
€186,587.22 |
ISS Africa |
|
Evaluation of the DICE project and Irish Aid's support to the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) sector. |
October 2022 |
0 – handled as one tender with the below Evaluation of the Our World Irish Aid Awards(OWIAA) – so these are grouped together |
Vanessa Sheridan & Deirdre Farrell |
|
Evaluation of the Our World Irish Aid Awards (OWIAA) |
October 2022 |
0 |
Vanessa Sheridan & Deirdre Farrell |
|
Civil Society Mapping Exercise |
November 2022 |
No set cost this work is part of a larger ODI Contract with Irish Aid |
ODI |
|
Review of Halo partnership |
November 2022 |
€800 per day |
ISET International |
|
Working Adaptively with Civil Society to Support Transformative Change |
February 2023 |
No set cost this work is part of a larger ODI Contract with Irish Aid |
ODI |
|
Mapping exercise of Disability work |
December 2022 |
€15,000 |
Public Good Limited |
|
What do we have to lose?Understanding and responding to climate-induced loss and damage to cultural heritage |
October 2022 |
Climate Unit (through PU) fund ODI as a knowledge partner, total grant 2022 €165,000, but no specific costing for this paper |
Overseas Development Institute(ODI) London |
|
Management Review of the International Development Assistance Programme |
Q4 2022 |
€89,298 |
Iodparc |
|
Strategic Approach to WPS at African Union |
November 2022 |
0 |
Aisling Swaine |
|
Strategic Review of the Ireland - Italy bilateral relationship |
Q2 of 2023 |
0 |
|
|
Review to examine the implementation of Ireland’s Strategy for Partnership with Small Island Developing States 2019-2025 |
November 2022 |
nil |
IOD PARC |
|
An international benchmarking study on the strategic capture of progress and learning in Irish Foreign Policy outcomes |
November 2022 |
Nil |
Dr Markus Palenberg |
|
Scoping Study on the application of Ireland’s soft power: What influences outcomes? |
June 2023 |
nil |
Internal/DFA |
|
Spending Review on Ireland’s Humanitarian Support to UN Pooled Funds |
November 2022 |
nil |
Internal/DFA |
|
Review of The Embassy of Ireland, Uganda’s Programme in Karamoja 2016-2020 |
December 2022 |
€56,716 |
IOD PARC |
|
Evaluation of Ireland’s Expo 2020 |
March 2023 |
€14,735.40 |
Trade Advisers Consulting Ltd |
|
Evaluability Assessment Plan for the Department’s work on Peace, Security and Stability |
December 2022 |
nil |
Internal/DFA |
|
Review of Management Arrangements for Zimbabwe Programme 2017-2021 |
December 2022 |
€29,520 |
Bernard McLoughlin |
200. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if a decision has been made on a foreign birth registration application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47156/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is responsible for processing Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications for people who are born abroad and claim Irish Citizenship through a grandparent born in Ireland or through a parent who has claimed citizenship also through FBR, Naturalisation or Post Nuptial Citizenship.
Demand for this service increased significantly as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. In 2015, prior to Brexit, a total of 6,000 entries were made to the register. In 2019, a peak number of 19,000 entries were made to the Foreign Births Register. Demand for this service from applicants in England, Scotland and Wales continues to be strong with over 8,000 applications received to date this year.
The service was also impacted by necessary Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021 and the unprecedented demand for passports seen to date in 2022.
My Department is currently putting in place a number of measures that will address the volume of FBR applications currently on hand with a view to significantly reducing the processing time for these citizenship applications by the end of this year.
Processing has commenced on the application to which the Deputy has referred. The FBR team has requested that the applicant submit additional supporting documentation, without which the application cannot be further progressed.
201. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has spoken directly with the Malaysian Foreign Minister in the past 12 months. [47172/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland and Malaysia have enjoyed close and fruitful diplomatic relations since 1974. In 1995, Ireland opened an Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Ireland’s first resident Embassy in Southeast Asia. The Embassy of Malaysia in Ireland was established in Dublin in November 2001.
Malaysia remains the only country in the region to have a resident Embassy in Dublin and we are appreciative of the scope that this provides for enhanced economic and political relations. There is excellent ongoing engagement between officials through our respective Embassies. Last July bilateral consultations took place at official level.
Cooperation between Ireland and Malaysia continues to grow, particularly in the areas of education, trade, investment and tourism. Over 1,000 Malaysians studied in Ireland in 2021. There is considerable scope for economic ties to develop further and I was pleased to note a 8.5% increase in exports to Malaysia between 2020 and 2021.
We also have excellent relations with Malaysia through our engagement at multilateral fora. While I have not met bilaterally with Foreign Minister Abdullah during the past year, we both attended and engaged in a range of discussions at last week's UN General Assembly in New York. I had a very good meeting with Malaysia's former Deputy Foreign Minister, Marzuki Yahya during the ASEM Foreign Ministers Meeting in Madrid in December 2019.
202. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of companies that applied for the contract for the construction of Ireland House in Tokyo but were unsuccessful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47248/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraPublic procurement in my Department is governed by the comprehensive regulatory and policy frameworks at both EU and national level. The Department of Foreign Affairs applies the principle of competitive tendering in respect of its contracting for services, goods and works.
My Department operated a restricted two-stage tender process for the Tokyo works project where the Tender Notice was openly published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and also published in a prominent Japanese business newspaper. A Project Management firm, proficient in the Japanese construction market, was engaged as a technical advisor to assist the Department in procuring and managing the contract for the Tokyo construction development.
The initial requirement sought a response to a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) from the open market regarding the financial and technical capacity and applying a set selection criteria. Following the evaluation of five applications, four Tenderers qualified under the pre-qualification questionnaire selection criteria and were invited to submit a full tender proposal to meet the works requirement. One of these did not avail of the invitation.
Following a comprehensive evaluation process of the remaining qualified Tenderers, the contract was awarded to the highest scoring Tenderer under the most economically advantageous tender method having regard to the contract award criteria set out in the Tender Notice.
The competitive tender used by my Department conformed with EU and National procurement procedures while applying Japanese tendering systems to meet the local market requirements. The tender method ensured that best value for money was achieved through open competitive procurement resulting with the engagement of a reputable professional works contractor.
203. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps that the Minister of State at his Department took to meet all Irish Members of the European Parliament and not just Government-party MEPs, during his recent meetings in Brussels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47300/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy colleague, Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne T.D., regularly travels to Brussels to represent Ireland at General Affairs Council meetings.
Minister Byrne recently accompanied the Taoiseach to Brussels for a meeting of the European Council on 22-24 June 2022. Minister Byrne held a number of individual engagements as part of that visit in furtherance of Ireland's objectives under the Government's A Career for EU Strategy.
While in Brussels, Minister Byrne took the opportunity to meet with Members of the European Parliament, including Government party MEPs.
In his role as Minister for European Affairs, Minister of State Byrne has actively engaged with both Government and opposition Deputies in various formats and will continue to do so.
Minister Byrne is open to meeting with all MEPs and invites any Irish MEP who may wish to engage as part of the Minister’s future travel to Brussels or Strasbourg to contact his office.
204. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Defence if he has spoken formally with his United Kingdom counterpart in the past six months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46777/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn my capacity as Minister of Defence, I have not spoken formally with the UK Secretary of State for Defence, Mr. Ben Wallace MP, in the past six months. Our last formal conversation was in July of 2020.
An in-person meeting was scheduled for April of last year in London but, due to unforeseen circumstances, this meeting did not take place.
205. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Defence if his Department is considering an increase in the daily budget for catering in the Defence Forces, given the increase in the cost of living; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46778/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is currently considering an increase in the catering budget for the Defence Forces in light of the rising cost of food and its associated pressure on the catering budget.
206. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Defence the number of vacancies per trade per Barracks; and the details of the most recent recruitment drive or competitions for each in tabular form. [47030/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraCivilian staff are employed by the Department of Defence to support the operational capabilities of the Defence Forces. The recruitment of Civilian Employees is an ongoing process, based on a combination of the filling of consequential vacancies which have arisen due to promotions and retirements, and the filling of vacancies on the basis of a process of prioritisation of requirements following engagement with the military authorities
My Department is currently running an open competition to fill the following trade vacancies in the following locations.
|
Trade |
Location |
Number of Vacancies |
|
Heavy Vehicle Mechanic |
Defence Force Training Centre |
15 |
|
Mechanical Maintenance Fitter |
Naval Base/Dockyard |
8 |
207. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Defence if he will provide a schedule of the costs for all live studies, reviews and research projects undertaken or commissioned by him; and the details of the person or body that is conducting each study, review and research project in tabular form. [47040/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe current number of live studies is 3. In addition there are 3 live reviews and 2 live research projects as commissioned by my Department. The details are set out in the table below.
|
Activity |
Details |
Details of the person or body that is conducting activity. |
Cost |
|
Study |
Project 88 under the White Paper is a Defence funding study to capture, in a new way, the expected long-term costs of meeting Ireland's Defence requirements using a ten year planning horizon linked to the proposed new framework of fixed cycle reviews. |
Project 88 is an internal project. |
No additional related costs arise. |
|
Review |
Review of high level command and control in the Defence Forces (White Paper Project 26) |
Project 26 is an internal project. |
No additional related costs arise. |
|
Review |
Review of Emergency Aeromedical Support (EAS) Service (White Paper Project 16) |
Project team comprises representatives from my Department, the Defence Forces, Department of Health and HSE. |
No costs to date. |
|
Review |
Independent Review Group (IRG), to examine issues relating to bullying, harassment, discrimination and sexual misconduct, as well as workplace culture, in the Defence Forces. |
Independent Review Group. |
€125,473.77 has been spent on Pay and PRSI. €164,446.81 has been spent on expenses to date. |
|
Research |
The Defence Organisation established a Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) unit in 2021. The initial phase of the RTI Unit work includes an innovation challenge run in conjunction with Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). This challenge will enable research, development and innovation activities to respond to and contribute to the capability needs of the Defence Organisation. |
The bodies conducting the research in the current “seed phase” are Tyndall National Institute, National University of Ireland Galway, Maynooth University and University College Dublin. In the previous “concept phase” research was also undertaken by IT Carlow. |
The Contribution of the Defence Organisation to the SFI-Defence Organisation Innovation Challenge was €250,000. |
|
Research |
Planned publication from the Military Service (1916-1923) Pensions Collection. |
Project is being led by the Senior Archivist and Project Manager civilian employee of the Department of Defence. |
No costs to date. Estimated cost is €20,000. |
Full information on two live studies is not available at this time and will be forwarded as soon as it is obtained.
208. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Defence the number of full-time civilian staff vacancies at the Defence Forces training centre; and when each of these vacancies will be filled in tabular form. [47174/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraCivilian Employees are employed by my Department to support the operational capability of the Defence Forces. The recruitment of Civilian Employees for military installations is an ongoing process, informed by prioritisation of posts by military management.
My Department is currently running competitions to fill the following vacancies in the Defence Forces Training Centre.
|
Vacancy |
Number of positions |
|
Storekeeper Clerk Grade 1 |
15 |
|
General Operative Band 3 |
9 |
|
Civilian Clerk |
9 |
|
Heavy Vehicle Mechanic |
15 |
209. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Defence if arrangements can be made to allow for the provision of a service medal for the Defence Forces (details attached) in an effort to acknowledge the significant contribution made by the Defence Forces during Operation Fortitude to the HSE and to the people of Ireland during the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47202/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere is a specific process in place concerning the award of medals to members of the Defence Forces, as set out in Defence Force Regulation (DFR) A9 and the associated Administration Instructions, wherein the qualifying criteria and procedures required for the awarding of Defence Forces Medals, in addition to the various types of medal awards, are delineated. Such awards are made on the recommendation of a Military Board appointed by the Chief of Staff for the purpose of examining and reporting on every recommendation for an award.
The Deputy may be aware that this proposal has already been sent to my Department and was sent through the appropriate channels for consideration. The military authorities have previously informed me that the Chief of Staff tasked his staff to conduct a thorough analysis of the proposal to award a pandemic service medal to Defence Forces personnel in line with the criteria detailed in DFR A9. Following consideration of these deliberations, the Chief of Staff confirmed to me that he does not recommend the award of such a medal.
I can confirm that I have recently received additional material in relation to the proposal. This material will be forwarded to the Chief of Staff for his consideration.
