Results 3,781-3,800 of 7,991 for speaker:John Brady

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Update on the Crisis in Ukraine: Engagement with Minister for Foreign Affairs (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: The focus, rightly, is on trying to help refugees coming into the country, but as more and more of them arrive, the first port of call for many will be public representatives. Could some sort of mechanism be considered, whether a dedicated phone line or something else, to allow us to make inquiries? These are cross-departmental issues and sometimes they can be difficult to navigate.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: I thank the Minister for his opening statement and the helpful comprehensive report attached to it. I will start with the issue of passports, which is a challenging area, particularly coming out of Covid. I commend all the staff in the Passport Office who have done exceptional and brilliant work over what were challenging times in difficult circumstances and who are probably facing into a...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: The statement refers to a 2022 output target of 50%. I saw it a little while ago but I cannot see it now. The low output target is a concern. Perhaps the Minister could give the metrics for the output target anticipated for 2022. An issue that carries through across the various headings is cybersecurity. I have a general question on that, especially as it relates to passports but also...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: I got the figure of 50% for foreign birth registrations on page 118 under key outputs and public service activities. It states the percentage of foreign birth registrations processed within the published processing time is 50% for the 2022 output target.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: I do not want to be a pain, but I was going to come in on the embassies.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: It was under programme A but-----

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: I refer to the prospect of reopening the embassy in Tehran, which has been considered. What is the progress on that? It is not down for mention at all. It needs to progress, particularly as the Iran nuclear deal talks are, it is to be hoped, moving in the right direction. There is an opportunity. I would like an update on that.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: I have a couple of points about passports. Have changes been made to the system? We have spoken about the target moving from 40 days to 35. That is a welcome move in the right direction but it is very frustrating for people when they send all the information they think is required and after 30 days it is flagged that some information is missing.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: Yes. I just wanted to confirm that because it is deeply frustrating for people. Instead of the clock stopping, it goes right back to the start. My second point relates to the prospect of opening an office in Belfast. I get a lot of representations from Irish citizens in the North through MLA or MP offices. It is frustrating that there is not a mechanism for elected public...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: Programme E has been dealt with anyway. With regard to programme B and Brexit, it is interesting to analyse the response from Britain to the attack on Ukraine by Russia. Does the Minister believe Britain might now be more inclined to reconsider its refusal to establish a common security approach with the EU? Have there been any discussions around that so far? What potential repercussions...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: The Minister might give us a report when that process is complete.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: I thank the Minister of State for his opening statement. I commend all the work that takes place in the Department on the critical work we undertake across the globe. I have a number of questions. The first relates to Irish Aid. This committee has done extensive work on aid that goes into the occupied Palestinian territories. We held a series of meetings and published a report in respect...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: I asked in the context of the commitments made previously regarding refugees coming from Eritrea and Lebanon, for example, and other countries to see if there is an impact on what we have agreed as an intake of refugees from those countries, given the scale of the crisis unfolding in Ukraine and the huge numbers from there. I want to see whether the commitment stands.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

John Brady: There was the question of an invitation to the committee to visit Africa.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (9 Mar 2022)

John Brady: I wish-----

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (9 Mar 2022)

John Brady: Vote 35 should be straightforward enough. Perhaps we could take Vote 36 line by line. I have quite a few queries, and I am sure other members do also. This would give the Minister a fair opportunity to come back, rather than trying to take note of every single issue that we mention. Trying to capture all of that in the Minister's response might be difficult. Maybe we could take Vote 36...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (9 Mar 2022)

John Brady: Absolutely.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (9 Mar 2022)

John Brady: I agree with that approach. I thank the Minister for his opening statement. The report of the Commission on the Defence Forces is a comprehensive report and key elements of the report need to be implemented. It will certainly go a long way to addressing many of the challenges and difficulties within the Defence Forces around pay and retention, which certainly needs to be done with...