Results 7,521-7,540 of 50,134 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: There are no plans to review the decision to withdraw the Defence Forces' Infantry Company from UNDOF next year and planning for their withdrawal is progressing. Neither the decision to withdraw from this mission nor the decision to participate in the EU Battlegroup have any implications for Ireland's policy of military neutrality. At the time of the recent Government Decision that the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Cybersecurity Policy (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: As Minister for Defence, I chair the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning (GTF) supported by the Office of Emergency Planning (OEP) in my Department. A subgroup of the GTF was assigned responsibility to develop guidance on critical infrastructure resilience in 2017. The subgroup produced the first guideline document on critical infrastructure resilience in February 2019. This document...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The strength of the Reserve Defence Force, as of 31 May 2023, is set out below: Service Establishment Effective Strength Army Reserve 3869 1351 Naval Service Reserve 200 79 First Line Reserve (FLR) N/A 276 *there is no set establishment for the FLR The...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Birth Registration (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific Foreign Birth Registration application about which the Deputy has enquired, this application has been approved. A certificate will issue to the applicant in the coming days.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Relations (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: EU-Singapore relations are built on a long history of friendship and close historical, political and economic ties. In 2018, the importance of this relationship was reflected in the conclusion of the EU-Singapore Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which was duly ratified by Ireland in November 2021. The PCA provides the framework and platform for strengthening the EU's partnership...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, this application is within the current turnaround times and has not yet reached its issue by date.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, this is a paper application. Turnaround time for paper applications is 8 weeks. This application is within the turnaround time and has not yet reached its issue-by date. I strongly encourage the Deputy to advise his constituents of the substantial benefits of applying using Passport Online. It is by far the quickest...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Data (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Department of Foreign Affairs has 98 overseas missions (including Embassies, Consulates, Representative Offices and missions to multilateral institutions). The list of missions, the number of Department of Foreign Affairs officials posted to each mission at end 2022, and the yearly cost of operating each mission during 2022 is set out below in tabular form. - Total...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Data (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Department of Foreign Affairs manages a total of 99 Missions overseas, including Embassies, Consulates General, Permanent Representations and a small number of other offices. The table below provides the financial allocation to each Mission for administration, excluding salaries, in the years 2019 to 2023. Location 2019 (€) 2020 (€) 2021...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Public Sector Staff (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 133 and 144 together. The Passport Service is successfully meeting high demand for passports, and has issued over 536,000 passports to date in 2023. All turnaround times are at their target level, and the Customer Service Hub is responding to an average of 15,000 queries per week. There are no application backlogs, all applications are being processed in the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 137 and 139 together. With regard to the specific applications about which the Deputies have enquired, the Passport Service has issued passports to the applicants.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, this is a paper application. Turnaround time for both renewal and first time paper applications is 8 weeks. This application is within the turnaround time and has not yet reached its issue-by date. I strongly encourage the Deputy to advise his constituents of the substantial benefits of applying using Passport...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consular Services (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Embassy in New Delhi currently has 32 staff, which includes nine officers posted from Ireland. All of the staff recruited in India, i.e. 23 of the 32 staff, or 72% of the total, speak and write Hindi fluently. The Consulate General in Mumbai has five staff, which include two officers posted from Ireland. There are three staff recruited in India. All of these locally recruited staff,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, this application is within its turnaround time and has not yet reached its issue-by date.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: State Bodies (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: There are no State bodies under the aegis of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the application is within the current turnaround times and has not yet reached its issue by date.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has contacted the applicant directly in relation to the application. When the additional supporting documents are received the Passport Service will prioritise the application for processing.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consular Services (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: I can assure the Deputy that officials in my Department have been in regular contact with the Irish citizen in this case and are continuing to provide consular assistance and guidance. The local Embassy of Ireland has engaged with the relevant Ministry of Justice on the matter and has provided advice to the citizen accordingly. Should the citizen wish to pursue formal mediation through...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Passport Service is successfully meeting high demand for passports, and has issued over 536,000 passports to date in 2023. All turnaround times are at their target level, and there are no backlogs. The Customer Service Hub is responding to an average of 15,000 queries per week. We are currently in the busiest season for passports, as citizens prepare for upcoming summer holidays. The...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Data (20 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: As I noted in my previous reply, costs related to the Forum will be split on an equal basis between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Defence. The contribution by the Department of Foreign Affairs will be made from within existing resources in Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs). Expenditure related to the Forum will be in line with the Public Spending Code to ensure...