Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains a roster of individuals who are available to participate at short notice in election observation missions organised in the main by the OSCE and the EU. The Department aims to respond each year to as many of the requests as possible issued by these organisations. Full details of the election observation missions served by Irish election observers in 2013 and to date in 2014, and the individual costs associated with each observer, whether as Long or Short Term Observers, are set out in the tables. The European Commission covers all costs associated with EU election observation missions. For OSCE missions, the Department covers all costs incurred by the individual Irish election observers. This includes a daily allowance, based on OSCE guidance, to cover the cost of food, accommodation and local transport incurred in country. A return air fare is also provided.

In addition, all Irish election observers receive a once-off grant annually of €600 from the Department to cover pre-departure expenses. Insurance cover is also provided by the Department for all observers.

Observers selected for participation in election observation missions are drawn from Ireland’s election observation roster. This roster was established, following a review of the existing roster, in May 2013. On occasion, officials from the Department who work on geographic desks relating to the specific country may partake in election observation missions. This participation is to facilitate the knowledge development and learning of the officials in question. The costs incurred by these officials are paid on the same basis as other election observation roster members, though no pre-departure grant is provided. In 2013, five officials participated in election observation missions. Two officials have taken part in missions to date in 2014.

Election Observation Missions 2013

Election Observation Missions 2014 to date (June 2014)

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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International election monitoring missions play an important role in the promotion of democracy and human rights. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains and administers a roster of observers for such missions. The aim is to ensure that, when requested, Ireland is represented at an appropriate level in international observation missions for both elections and constitutional referendums. The Department carried out a comprehensive review of the election observation roster in 2013. A public call for applications to the roster was issued, with all applications being required to submit a detailed application form, setting out their relevant qualifications, knowledge and experience in a number of areas. These areas included: experience of election processes and election observation; knowledge of human rights and / or governance issues; experience of living in challenging environments and language and computer skills. Applicants were asked to indicate their proficiency or experience and to provide concrete written examples, where appropriate. An independent appraisal, based only on the information contained in the application form, was subsequently undertaken. Arising from this, the 200 individuals who achieved the highest scores were selected to serve on the new election observation roster. This new roster came into effect on 15 May 2013. Due to the high quality of applications received, a reserve panel of the next 10 highest scoring individuals was also established. The reserve panelists were assessed on the same basis as the 200 other election observation members, with no additional information, being requested as part of this process. Full details of the criteria against which all election observation applicants were assessed were set out in the Information Note, which was published with the election observation application form, on the Department’s website.