Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Tá áthas orm bheith i gcomhluadar an Chathaoirligh agus baill an choiste chun Meastúcháin Breise teicniúla i gcóir Vóta 28 don Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha agus Trádála a phlé.

I am pleased to be here this afternoon for the committee's consideration of a technical Supplementary Estimate in 2016 for Vote 28 for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. As members are aware, a technical or token Supplementary Estimate does not involve additional Exchequer funding for the Vote, other than a very small technical increase of €1,000. This is because corresponding savings, or as in our case, corresponding additional fee income, fully covers the additional expenditure required.

Earlier this week, on 22 November, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform moved a motion in the Dáil seeking a technical Supplementary Estimate of €1,000 for the Department and the approval to move excess income from appropriations-in-aid to fund increased expenditure on international contributions and on the Passport Service. The Department is seeking an increase of €5.001 million, which is offset by additional passport fee income of €5 million resulting, as already stated, in a net technical or token increase of €1,000.

The increased expenditure is being sought for Ireland's increased mandatory contributions to several international organisations - mainly the United Nations, UN, but also to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, and to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD - and for increased operational costs relating to the Passport Service due to an exceptional increase in demand of 10% in 2016 compared to 2015. These increases are fully offset by additional passport fee income of €5 million. The international contributions in question are Ireland's contributions to the organisations outlined, not just those of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade but across all Departments which interact daily with, and benefit from, Ireland's membership of these valuable organisations. The mandatory contributions of Ireland and all other member states of international organisations are based on scales of assessments and these can vary.

The first purpose for which additional expenditure will be incurred this year relates to the Passport Service, which has experienced an exceptional increase in demand of an extra 10% applications this year compared with 2015. Last year, just over 680,000 passport applications were received and this is expected to grow to over 740,000 this year. There was a strong underlying increase in demand for passports in the first half of the year. Indications are that this will be further affected by the UK referendum on EU membership. From July to October this year, applications from Northern Ireland increased by approximately 70% compared to the same period last year, while applications from Great Britain have almost doubled.

A significant proportion of the operational costs of the Passport Service are demand-driven and directly correlate to the level of applications. Consequently, the significant increase in demand has led to a proportionate increase in operational costs, particularly for passport books, postage, the printing of application forms as well as for additional temporary clerical officers and overtime. The relocation to Mount Street in the early part of the year resulted in increased challenges to maintain passport delivery within expected timeframes. I am proud that the Passport Service was recently, in the customer experience, CXi, survey, ranked number one in the Irish public sector. This survey confirms that the Passport Service delivers very strongly in facilitating travel for citizens, sometimes in urgent circumstances, and in ensuring that applicants are properly advised about their passport entitlements. I congratulate and thank the staff of the Passport Service for their commitment to delivering a friendly and efficient service. Gabhaim comhghairdeas agus buíochas le foireann Sheirbhís na bPasanna.

The largest source of increased expenditure relates to Ireland's international contributions, accounting for some €4.2 million of the additional €5 million on which the Supplementary Estimate is based. The largest element of this, Ireland's payments to the UN, consists of mandatory contributions to the UN regular budget, UN peacekeeping budget and UN tribunals which accounts for some €3.3 million of the additional funding included in the Supplementary Estimate. UN member states' contributions are based on a formula, called the scale of assessment, which is reviewed at three-year intervals. In December 2015, a new scale of assessment was approved for the 2016-2018 period, with Ireland's rate set at 0.335%. The challenge in forecasting the UN peacekeeping budget, which is the largest part of our payments to the UN, is not easy. The budget depends on the level of UN peacekeeping activity around the world. This is influenced both by the number of conflicts, as well as the size and complexity of the UN operations which the Security Council decides to put on the ground.

It is difficult to estimate this in advance, as an existing peacekeeping operation might be increased or decreased, depending on the circumstances, or a new one might be established. Also, and this was the case for 2016, the timing of the bills for peacekeeping can cause problems in estimating costs. Normally, the majority of peacekeeping payments fall due in July at the beginning of the peacekeeping budget cycle. However, for technical reasons, every three years these bills are split between July and January. As a result, this year several payments that would ordinarily have been paid in full in July 2015 were split between July 2015 and January 2016. As a result assessments payable by all member states, including Ireland, in January 2016 were higher than usual.

As regards the OSCE, we require an additional €450,000. The amount provided for in the Revised 2016 Estimates was €1.168 million. The amount spent in 2016 will be €1.619 million. The shortfall is due to the fact that the provision in the revised Estimates was insufficient. The amount spent in 2016 covers both Ireland's contribution to the OSCE unified budget, €1.070 million, and its contribution to the special monitoring mission in Ukraine, €550,000. Both these contributions are mandatory and arise from Ireland's participation in the OSCE, which is integral to long-standing Irish foreign policy goals of supporting human rights and the rule of law. The special monitoring mission in Ukraine plays a vital role in monitoring the implementation of the Minsk peace agreements.

The final international contribution which was under-provided for in the 2016 Revised Estimates was a shortfall of €440,000 in Ireland's contribution to the OECD. The amount allocated in the Revised Estimates for 2016 was €2.26 million but the total amount to be paid to the OECD in 2016 will be €2.70 million. Member countries' contributions to the OECD are determined in part on the basis of the relative size of their economies and are thus affected by economic growth. The shortfall arises due to a combination of growth in the Irish economy and an underestimation of the likely final allocation.

I trust that my remarks have clarified the purpose for which the Department is seeking a technical Supplementary Estimate but, of course, I will seek to answer any questions committee members may have. Gabhaim buíochas leis an gcoiste as ucht teacht isteach um thrathnóna agus an deis a thabhairt dom na ceisteanna seo a phlé.