Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

393. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has satisfied himself that all persons on the election roster are suitable for deployment on election observation missions; the reason one in five of those persons still have not been deployed since the establishment of the current roster in 2013 while other persons have had numerous deployments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35410/17]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

394. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been brought to concerns that a number of late applicants were admitted to the 2013 intake to the election roster despite the call notice specifying that late applications would not be considered; the reasons for this departure from the published policy; the level at which the departure was sanctioned; the number of late applications that were received; the number subsequently appointed to the roster or the reserve roster; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35411/17]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

396. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps that have been taken to prepare for a fresh call for election roster members to replace the 2013 roster; if he has satisfied himself that his department has the resources to undertake this; if he will need to engage expertise from other parts of the civil service such as the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government or the Public Appointments Service; if so, if such expertise has been sought; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35413/17]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 393, 394 and 396 together.

International election monitoring missions play an important role in the promotion of democracy and human rights. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains a roster of election observers for such missions. Irish observers participate primarily in missions organised by the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The election roster was established in May 2013 for a period of five years, following a review of the previous roster and a public call for applicants. An independent appraisal and ranking of all 263 eligible applicants was undertaken by two assessors external to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, against the four criteria specifically related to election observation. These criteria were: experience of election observation; knowledge of human rights and /or governance issues; language skills; and experience of challenging environments.

Following the independent appraisal process, an election observation panel of 200 members was established in May 2013 for a five-year period, with a reserve panel of 10. The roster currently stands at 194 members, the reserve panel having been fully utilised. I am confident that the current roster is well equipped to deal with the requirements of the EU and the OSCE missions.

During the call for applications for membership of the roster, three late applications were permitted and these applications were subject to the same rigorous appraisal as all others. On foot of the appraisal process, these applicants were ranked high enough to be included in the roster of 200 members.

All members of the roster are invited to apply to participate in any mission to which Ireland proposes to deploy observers following a request by the EU or OSCE. To date, 133 members of the current roster have taken part in missions. 61 members have not yet done so. A significant factor in this is that the number of applicants for election missions is nearly always higher that the number of available places. I understand that some 29 members of the current roster have yet to apply to participate in a mission, which represents under 15% of the membership.

Officials will shortly begin working on the criteria and methodology for the call for applications for the next election observation, and they will consult nationally and internationally. Officials of the Department are also in regular contact with the OSCE and the EU Focal Points and Ireland actively participates in the European Commission and European External Action Service - led European Observation network, which brings together election observation focal points from all EU Member States, together with Norway, Switzerland and Canada. Learning from other Focal Points will feature as part of the preparations for the new roster.

It is anticipated that this preparatory work will be finalised before the end of the year and a public call for new applicants will issue shortly thereafter. Details will be published on the Irish Aid website (www.irishaid.ie) and existing roster members and those who have expressed an interest in receiving details about the next roster will also be advised.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

395. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason members of the rapid response corps are required to produce tax clearance certificates while members of the election roster are not; if he has been in contact with the Revenue Commissioners to discuss if tax clearance should apply to election roster members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35412/17]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

397. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if only non-remunerated election observers are eligible for the volunteer grant paid to Irish election observers; if there have been cases that subsequent to the payment of the grant the persons declined to go on a mission on a volunteer basis; if refunds were sought of the grants paid in which persons declined to go on a mission or were appointed to a remunerated consultancy post on the mission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35414/17]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 395 and 397 together.

International election monitoring missions play an important role in the promotion of democracy and human rights. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains a roster of election observers for such missions. Irish observers participate primarily in missions organised by the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The Department also maintains a Rapid Response Roster of highly skilled and experienced professionals available to deploy at short notice to humanitarian emergencies anywhere in the world. The key difference between the conditions for members of the two rosters is that members of the Rapid Response Roster are remunerated. Members of the Election Roster who are nominated as long or short term observers by the Department do not receive remuneration. They are paid a daily allowance, as determined by the EU and the OSCE, to cover the cost of food, accommodation and other out-of-pocket expenses, along with a pre-departure grant of €600. Members of the Rapid Response Roster require a Tax Clearance Certificate, as they are remunerated. Officials of the Department are in contact with the Revenue Commissioners in relation to any possible need for Tax Clearance Certificates for election observers.

The pre-departure grant of €600 to cover expenses including vaccinations and transport costs ahead of travel to the country in question, is only paid to members of the roster. If an election is cancelled or an observer is unable to travel, the Department generally seeks reimbursement of the grant, but does take into account each particular circumstance. In one case, the grant was paid to an Irish observer who had commenced preparations and incurred mission-related expenditure. At a late stage, the European Union appointed this observer to the EU Core Managing Team for the election mission. Given the lateness of the appointment and the fact that pre-departure expenditure had been incurred, the Department did not seek the repayment of the grant.