Results 4,921-4,940 of 18,449 for speaker:Brendan Smith

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: We are under some time pressure. It would be unusual that members would make statements, anyway.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: We will also stick to discussion of programme A.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: We lost a meeting last week due to the inclement weather.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: Are any projections available within the Department which indicate that the growth in passport demand will continue? Members know some of the demand is as a result of Brexit. Is that spike expected to continue? The online service is very successful. Are there plans to roll out more online passport services? It would be very helpful if there were. As regards North-South co-operation...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: I thank the Minister.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister of State a question about the emigrant support programme.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: The Committee of Public Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General have a very important role to play in the examination of expenditure and where public funding goes. On the documentation provided, the committee secretariat has contacted the Department, but the loss of a few days last week also caused delays. We all agree that we should receive documentation much earlier.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: The estimated time for completion of this meeting will be tomorrow if we keep going as we are. As we have spent over an hour on one programme, I ask the Minister, the Minister of State and my committee colleagues to, please, be mindful of the time. We will move to programme B.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: Shall we proceed to programme C?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: With regard to funding of the United Nations, my understanding is that those are mandatory contributions.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: With that modus operandi, is there a danger of that being badly wounded if President Trump carries out his proposal to reduce dramatically funding to the UN?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: We will now move to programme D.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: Yes.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: That is fine. We will move on to programme F, appropriations-in-aid.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: Earlier you said you would leave open the possibility of having a passport office in the province of Ulster. My constituency colleague, Senator Robbie Gallagher, put forward a proposal that a passport office should be opened in County Monaghan, which is centrally situated in the south of the province. I wholeheartedly agree with that. It had the endorsement of this committee as well. I...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: I am being very generous to my neighbouring county. I did not advocate for Cavan at all but for the other part of my constituency.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: That would likely be at the end of April or early in May.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: Thank you.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: We are discussing it all under the one programme.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (8 Mar 2018)

Brendan Smith: This committee recently published a report on reaching the target of 0.7% of gross national income in overseas development aid, ODA, recommending that the Government put forward a multi-annual plan to be submitted to the committee and the Committee on Budgetary Oversight. What is the Government's thinking on how the 0.7% target would be reached? Policy coherence across Government also...