Results 10,261-10,280 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: The point is well made.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: That is a very good point.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I will certainly follow up on that point with regard to the Reserve Defence Force. I do not have an issue with that. I would have thought it was fairly obvious. Much of this has to do with the prioritisation of the Reserve Defence Force and seeing it as a real objective component part of what we are about in the 21st century. Where there is a will there is a way. It would seem to be a...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputies for their constructive engagement and I appreciate what the Chair said with regard to everybody here having one objective, which is to advance and support the transformation and modernisation of our Defence Forces.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I welcome this opportunity to present the 2023 Revised Estimates for the Foreign Affairs group of Votes, comprising Vote 27 - International Co-operation and Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs. I ask members to allow me to repeat our sincere sympathies to all affected by the earthquakes last week in Türkiye and Syria, including employees of the Irish aid agency Goal, and our recognition of all...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: It was, yes.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: Search and rescue-----

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I will come back to the Deputy, but there is no search and rescue expertise within that Rapid Response Corps. However, personnel within the Rapid Response Corps could yet be deployed for different tasks.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate the concerns that all members have raised and sympathies that have been extended to the people of Türkiye and Syria in respect of the shocking earthquake and the impact of it, the appalling loss of life and the destruction of societies and communities within a very broad geographic area. To Ireland's credit, we have been one of the stronger contributors to the UN Central...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I do not mean that the situation will always be like that.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: No, but you would get a false presentation. You would get a percentage that is higher, which we actually could cut. We are talking theoretically here but, in real terms, every year we must incrementally increase the allocation because it matters to Ireland's security. In this country we are having a wider debate on inward migration and all of that but we must tackle issues at source. To...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: It is ten months.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Cathaoirleach. I will deal first with foreign birth registration, which he and Deputy Clarke have raised in particular. Some 35,000 were processed in 2022, which is an extraordinarily high number, and the processing time was reduced from over two years to ten months. I was talking to officials last month and they believe we can realistically get that down to six months. We...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: It has. There is no question. I take on board what the Cathaoirleach said. We want to be as efficient as we possibly can because that is part of our mission statement. These are services to the citizens and we have got to be as efficient and optimal as we can be, within reason. In that respect, when it comes to the passports, we now have about 815 staff in the Passport Office, which is...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I will add to the query on Garda witnessing. The temporary system was established between the passport service and An Garda Síochána during the peak period in 2022 to verify applications in cases where the Garda signature could not be verified by calling to the Garda station. This new system assisted in reducing the number of applications that were delayed due to a failure to...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: They have been, with the result that we are on target. People are being answered every day. There are same-day responses. Calls are answered in less than a minute.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: The key to this is we are at the optimum staffing level. I have discussed this with officials with regard to the balance between temporary and permanent. Competitions through the Public Appointments Service, PAS, and so on are necessary, but we have to make sure we have a critical number of staff that can do all of this. We have the budget for it. While obviously the pandemic was a big...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I agree with that. We all know, from people who contact us, to check expiry dates and everything else a month or two before getting on the plane. It can happen. It is human nature. People are very anxious as well. It is their holiday, which is a big event for the family, or it may be a job. There is total understanding of where people are coming from. We just have to respond as...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Schemes (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Department of Foreign Affairs has not put in place a compensation or redress scheme since 1998.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Birth Registration (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: My Department is responsible for processing Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications for people who are born abroad and claim Irish citizenship through a grandparent born in Ireland or through a parent who has claimed citizenship also through FBR, Naturalisation or Post Nuptial Citizenship. Demand for this service increased significantly as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. The...