Results 641-660 of 47,282 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consular Services (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: I wish to thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The provision of consular assistance to Irish citizens who get into difficulty abroad, including in cases of detention, is a cornerstone of the work of officials in my Department. I place a strong emphasis on ensuring that Irish citizens receive timely and empathetic consular assistance in accordance with the Department’s Consular...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Presidency (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: Preparations for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union are now intensifying across both policy and operational strands of planning. As part of the preparations, my Department is currently recruiting for temporary positions in Dublin and Brussels to be filled in the lead up to, and during, the Irish Presidency. Some of those appointed will work in my Department...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 136 and 135 together. As the Deputy will be aware, Ireland has consistently condemned the ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza and continues to urge all parties to do everything possible to support efforts underway to reach agreement on a new ceasefire and hostage release deal. My Department, including Irish Embassies and Consulates worldwide,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Agreements (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: In trade agreements, parties can lay out their commitments and their exceptions to trading according to two different techniques; Positive listing and Negative listing. Negative listing, as used in the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA), has seen both parties detail all the exceptions and conditions to the commitments contained in the trade...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Agreements (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: The EU's common commercial or trade policy is an exclusive EU competence. Ireland supports the efforts of the EU to promote values-based trade, linking trade to sustainability issues such as climate change, labour standards and human rights. The Irish Government is committed to supporting free, fair and open trade. Our EU membership makes us part of the growing network of EU Free Trade...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Agreements (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 to 141, inclusive, together. The EU-Canada Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) remains provisionally applied by the EU and Canada as it has been since 21 September 2017. As the process of national ratification across all Member States can take a number of years to complete, provisional application allows the areas for which the EU has...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: United Nations (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: UNIFIL remains Ireland’s primary overseas mission and is at the centre of Ireland's long and proud history of UN peacekeeping. I know from my recent visit to our troops in UNIFIL in March that they are making a vital contribution in a very challenging environment. Ireland strongly supports the renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate. It is clear UNIFIL has adapted to the environment...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Family Reunification (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: Ireland remains deeply concerned at the continuing humanitarian crisis both inside Afghanistan and its regional dynamic, including the situation of returnee refugees. We remain steadfast in our support for the Afghan people’s human rights, especially for women, girls and those in vulnerable situations. This includes strongly condemning the brutal human rights abuses perpetrated...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: As I have outlined to the Deputy previously, the Treaty on European Union (TEU) delineates the institutional framework for EU foreign policy. Articles 18 and 24 establish that the High Representative shall conduct the Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and represent the Union for matters relating to CFSP. The High Representative, who is also Vice President of the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Union (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: The Department does not retain records of the type referred to by the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 149 to 152, inclusive, together. The Passport Service is successfully meeting high demand for passports and has issued over 615,000 passports this year to date. Each year, the Passport Service engages in comprehensive workforce planning, based on forecasted passport demand. The Department’s Management Board formally approves staffing requirements...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 313, 344 and 352 together. I am advised by the military authorities that as at 30 June 2025, the latest date for which such figures are available, the whole time equivalent strength of female personnel in the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) stood at 567 or 7.5% of a total strength of 7,531 personnel. While down in percentage terms on previous years, the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Emergency Services (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: The Military Authorities have advised that the decision to temporally withdraw an Air Corps AW139 helicopter from Emergency Aeromedical Service (EAS) duties for a period of 2.5 hours on 26 September 2023 was driven by an exceptional national security imperative. In extraordinary circumstances involving national security, the Defence Forces may reallocate assets based on operational...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Legal Services (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 315 and 333 together. The table below provides details of the total spend on external legal services engaged by my Department in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025 and the main areas of legal activity for which external advice was sought. The total below does not include costs relating to courts-marital cases. While the Department does not engage these...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Legal Cases (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: The Deputy will be aware that all claims for personal injuries taken by current and former members of the Defence Forces have been delegated to the State Claims Agency (SCA). The SCA manages and provides legal representation in relation to personal injury cases taken against the Minister for Defence. External legal costs incurred by the SCA arising from the defence of any claims managed by...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Grant Payments (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: The table below sets out the overall number and value of all Grants paid from the Defence Vote over the 2020-2024 timeframe. All the associated grant funding is paid in line with all relevant public financial procedures and guidance. Department of Defence: Grant Payments 2020-2024: Year Total Number of Grant Payments Total Value of Grant Payments ...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: National Security (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: I wish to advise the Deputy that the public consultation on the national maritime security strategy was launched on 12 June on a number of platforms. The purpose of the consultation was to gather as broad a range as possible of diverse opinions on the development of Ireland’s first such strategy. The public consultation was discussed here in the Dáil, referenced in the media and...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: I am advised that requests for Defence Forces ceremonial support should be routed through the Department of Defence, and in some instances also with the Department of Foreign Affairs, which are then forwarded to the Defence Forces for consideration. If the request is considered appropriate for Defence Forces participation, and if the exigencies of the service allow, the Defence Forces will...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 320 and 321 together. The Government approved a move to Level of Ambition 2 (LOA2), as recommended by the Commission on the Defence Forces in July, 2022. As part of that decision, the Government remains committed to increasing the funding allocated to defence to €1.5 billion (at January 2022 prices) by 2028, through the annual Estimates process....

Written Answers — Department of Defence: European Union (29 Jul 2025)

Simon Harris: The SAFE (Security Action for Europe) instrument, which entered into force on 29 May 2025, is an EU instrument designed to provide financial assistance to Member States and support their urgent public investments in defence industrial production, aiming to increase production capacity, improve the availability of defence products, and address capability gaps, particularly by engaging in joint...