Results 28,541-28,560 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (12 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The following table details the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Staff permanently employed by my Department and assigned to the Passport Service in both Dublin offices (Mount St. and Balbriggan) at the end of the year for 2016 and 2017 and at the end of May 2018. Year Number of staff 2016 (December 31) 225.3 2017 (December 31) 244.5 2018 (May 31) 266.9

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (12 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Department employs approximately 350 people in the Passport Offices in Mount Street, Balbriggan and in Cork. The pay bill, including Employer’s PRSI, for the permanent staff employed in Dublin and Balbriggan for 2016, 2017 and to the end of May 2018 is set out below. My Department also employs Temporary Clerical Officers (TCOs) to meet seasonal demand, and the pay bill for these...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications Data (12 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Passport Service located in my Department is one unified service composed of 3 constituent offices located in Mount Street, Dublin; Balbriggan, Co. Dublin and South Mall, Cork. The following table shows how many passport applications were processed by the Passport Service’s Dublin and Cork offices for the years requested: Year Total Passport Applications 2016 750,833 2017...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (12 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The following table details the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Staff permanently employed by my Department and assigned to the Passport Service’s Cork office at the end of the year for 2016 and 2017 and at the end of May 2018. Year Number of Staff 2016 (December 31) 76.5 2017 (December 31) 78 2018 (May 31) 85.9

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (12 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: My Department employs approximately 350 people in the Passport Offices in Dublin, Balbriggan and in Cork. The pay bill, including Employer’s PRSI, for the permanent staff employed in Cork for 2016, 2017 and to the end of May 2018 is set out below. My department also employs Temporary Clerical Officers (TCOs) to meet seasonal demand, and the pay bill for these staff over the period in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Commencement of Legislation (12 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict (Hague Convention) Bill is the only legislation brought forward by my Department in the past four years that has yet to be commenced. It will commence in August 2018 to coincide with the entry into force of the Convention, for Ireland.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications Data (12 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The following table gives the available detail on numbers of passport applications received from Northern Ireland for the years requested: Year Number of applications 2016 67,582 2017 82,274 2018* 46,898 *Jan 1 to May 31 2018

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Funding (12 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: Under the National Development Plan 2018 - 2027, my Department will have capital allocations, across its two Votes: Vote 27 - International Co-operation and Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade, for the years 2019 – 2022 as follows: 2019€17 million 2020€13 million 2021€13 million 2022€14 million The National Development Plan does not include capital...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (12 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Passport Service offers a range of channels for submission of passport applications by Irish citizens in Great Britain. Advice and guidance on these channels is available on the Department’s website at . The award-winning, Online Passport Application service for adults was launched in March 2017 and offers the convenience of an online application facility 24 hours a day, 7 days a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ministerial Meetings (12 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I met with then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington DC last February, when we had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues, including the position of undocumented Irish citizens living in the US, the bilateral trade relationship and the Middle East Peace Process. I also briefed Secretary of State Tillerson on developments in Northern Ireland and on Brexit. I have not...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Data (12 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has never paid any EU fines.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Cases (13 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am aware of the case referred to by the Deputy, and that the individual in question has had his sentence upheld in a recent ruling by the Bahraini Court of Appeal. Ireland attaches a high priority to safeguarding human rights defenders, such as the person referred to by the Deputy. I remain very concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in Bahrain, which I have spoken on...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Issues (13 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: Co-ordination of the whole-of-Government response to Brexit is being taken forward through the cross-Departmental coordination structures chaired by my Department. Contingency planning for a no-deal or worst-case outcome, bringing together the detailed work being undertaken by individual Ministers and their Departments on issues within their policy remit, is now well advanced. Its focus is on...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Data (13 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Department of Foreign Affairs provides travel advice for around 200 countries on its website atwww.dfa.ie/travel/travel-adviceand also through our free-to-download SmartPhone App TravelWise and via our social media presence. The information provided is continuously reviewed and updated to ensure that it is as accurate and relevant as possible. The travel advice is developed based on...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Cross-Border Co-operation (13 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: North South cooperation and cross-border trade has grown significantly in the years since the Good Friday Agreement, strengthening a growing prosperity which both supports and is supported by the peace process. Underpinned by the current shared EU regulatory framework, cross-border trade at present represents the first export market for 73% of Northern Ireland’s small and medium-sized...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Negotiations (13 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The fact of the UK’s presentation last week of a paper on a temporary customs arrangement, which it sees as relevant to aspects of the island of Ireland backstop, was a welcome, though incomplete, step forward. After its publication last week, Michel Barnier while also welcoming this step, raised questions and concerns about the proposal. The absence of anything on regulatory...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Freedom of Information Data (14 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: A breakdown of the Freedom of Information (FOI) requests received by my Department since January 2018 is set out in the table below. Search and retrieval fees were not charged for any of these requests. To date four requests for internal reviews of decisions have been sought and review fees of €90, as prescribed by the legislation, were applied to reviews of requests of a non-personal...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (14 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am aware of the report in question, which my Department has examined. A key priority of the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy is to combat domestic or international criticism of, or pressure on, Israel, and in particular to combat support for boycott campaigns. Material produced by the Ministry should be evaluated against that background. The report makes...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Military Aircraft Landings (14 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: A US military aircraft made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport on Sunday 3 June 2018. Prior notification was received from the US Embassy and the Embassy confirmed with my Department that the aircraft carried no arms, ammunition or explosives and was not involved in any intelligence gathering, military operations or exercises at the time of the flight. The aircraft in question’s...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (14 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Passport Service offers a range of convenient channels for submission of passport applications by Irish citizens. An online passport application service was launched in March 2017 and offers the convenience of an online application system 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for Irish citizens anywhere in the world, without the need for application forms, printed photos or witnesses. At...