Results 1,421-1,440 of 47,282 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: The White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030, published on 19 March 2025, is a Joint Communication by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and the EU Commission that seeks to mitigate some of the threats and challenges Europe collectively faces, by focussing on projects to achieve enhanced surveillance and situational awareness. As the Deputy will be aware,...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time in 2026 - from 1 July to 31 December. Preparations for Ireland’s Presidency are now intensifying across both the policy and operational strands of planning within my Department and across Government. My Department's key priority in the period ahead is to effectively chair the security and...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: The 2015 White Paper on Defence established a fixed cycle of defence reviews to ensure Defence policy remains current, agile and adaptive to the prevailing security environment. The first iteration of these reviews was the White Paper Update published in 2019. The Defence Policy Review 2024 'Adjusting and affirming our Defence policy in an era of change' is the latest in this cycle of...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Strategies (12 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I wish to advise the Deputy that, as Minister for Defence, I am fully committed to the delivery of the national maritime security strategy by the end of this year. Maritime security was identified as a priority in the Defence Policy Review, and the Department of Defence is leading on the development of the National Maritime Security Strategy. The strategy will identify the risks and...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: The Strategic Framework was first published in September 2023, with an updated Strategic Framework published in May 2024. The latest Strategic Framework will be published shortly and includes updates since the previous publication. The Tánaiste regularly discusses the elements of the Strategic Framework with the Secretary General and the Chief of Staff.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: On 20 January 2025, my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Peter Burke TD, signed the European Communities (Organisation of Working Time) (Defence Forces) Regulations 2025 bringing the majority of members of the Defence Forces under the ambit of the Organisation of Working Time Act. Members of the Defence Forces now enjoy the protections of the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: This year the capital allocation stands at €50m for capital investment with a further €12.5m allocation for ongoing maintenance and running costs. The Defence Forces Infrastructure Development Plan (IDP) sets out a programme of project delivery for the years 2023 to 2027. The Plan is iterative in nature thus ensuring that it remains relevant and that investment is targeted...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: The report of the Independent Review Group (IRG), established to examine dignity and equality issues in the Defence Forces, recommended that members of the Defence Forces have ‘access to an independent, external complaints service delivered by a professional service provider for as long as it takes to put a trusted internal system in place’. Externalising the complaints...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: It is just over two years since the publication of the Independent Review Group (IRG) report, which signalled the critical need for fundamental culture change in the Defence Forces. The end goal of this cultural change is to ensure that the Defence Forces is an equal opportunities employer, reflective of contemporary Irish society that is providing a safe workplace, where self-worth is...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Data (11 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: Article 40.2.2 of the Constitution states that “No title of nobility or of honour may be accepted by any citizen except with the prior approval of the Government.” The reference to "title of nobility or of honour" has been interpreted, in accordance with advice from the Attorney General, as referring to honours conferred by or on behalf of a sovereign authority, the recipients...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consular Services (11 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 10 and 16 together. Thank you, Deputy, for raising this case. I can confirm that officials in my Department and the Embassy of Ireland, Israel, are aware of this case and are providing consular assistance to the citizen concerned. Since first being notified of this case, officials in the Irish Embassy have been actively engaging with the relevant...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Data (11 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: The following phone line is available to Oireachtas members within my Department: Departmental Division Type of Service for Oireachtas Members Passport Service Phone line In October 2021, the Passport Service established a phone line to respond to Oireachtas Members' queries on urgent passport cases. It is important to note that this phone...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Contracts (11 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: The Department's ICT projects are managed and delivered under its Digital Transformation Strategy. A decision was made in 2023 that the contract for a new Passport Integrated and Processing System should be concluded due to the contract terms not being met. The project is now being delivered under an alternate contract. YEAR 2022 2023 2024 ...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Contracts (11 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: The Department had no capital projects in excess of €5 million which ran over cost in 2023.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (11 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: The Passport Online service offers citizens the ability to apply online for their passport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This award-winning service has allowed for the centralisation of passport processing and has resulted in greater efficiencies for our citizens and for the Passport Service. Passport Online is a user-friendly, efficient service that is currently issuing the vast majority of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Agreements (11 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: It is the stated goal of the European Commission and India to conclude a trade agreement by the end of 2025. Ireland supports this ambition. Recent developments in the international trading environment have highlighted more than ever the importance of market diversification via an expanded set of EU Free Trade Agreements. As a result, there is increased momentum behind the deal, which is...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Visa Agreements (11 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I am not aware of any specific restriction on travel by US authorities imposed on Irish or Indian students who have been granted J1 visas. I am aware that the US authorities in March highlighted social media activity in regard to their processing of student visa application. Following this, they instructed their diplomatic missions to pause new appointments for interviews for certain...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Staff (11 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: My Department engages consultancy services where highly specialised skills are not available internally and in particular, where ongoing independent evaluation of programmes and projects is necessary. All consultancy procurement in the Department is carried out in accordance with relevant procurement legislation and EU Directives. No retired officials were re-engaged by this Department...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Data (11 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: There are three bodies under the aegis of my Department; the Army Pensions Board, established under the Army Pensions Act 1927, the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces, established pursuant to the provisions of the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004 and the External Oversight Body of the Defence Forces (EOB), which was placed on a Statutory basis on 1 December 2024. Any queries from members...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Contracts (11 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I have been advised that neither my Department nor the bodies under its aegis had any contracts for IT services exceeding €1 million that failed to reach completion in the years 2022, 2023 and 2024.