Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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427. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the active deployment of Irish volunteer election observers to elections and referendums overseas; his plans to match or exceed in 2017 the number of deployments that took place in 2016; the staffing level by grade that manages the roster; if sufficient levels of experienced staff are available to promote Irish observers with such fora as the EU and OSCE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36580/17]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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428. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps that have been taken to replace the current election observation roster established in 2013; the date a call for fresh applications will be published; if it will be open to all lawful residents here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36581/17]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions 427 and 428 together.

International election monitoring missions play an important role in the promotion of democracy and human rights. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade administers a roster of election observers so that Ireland can be represented at an appropriate level in international election observation missions organised, in the main, by the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The current 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.

The number of observers deployed on missions varies from year to year, depending on the number of elections, the interest in participating, and the number of Irish nominees selected for EU missions. All Irish nominations for OSCE missions are normally selected. In 2015, for instance, 46 observers were deployed on 15 missions. In 2016, 68 were deployed on 16 missions. To date in 2017, 18 have been deployed on 6 missions. Given the pattern of elections for the rest of the year, it is unlikely that the total number deployed in 2017 will be as high as in 2016.

The roster is administered by the Development Cooperation Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Irish Focal Points are an Assistant Principal and an Executive Officer who are in regular contact with the OSCE and EU election Focal Points and also participate in the European Observation network, which brings together election observation Focal Points from all EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland and Canada. The network facilities the exchange of information on all aspects of election rosters and missions.

Officials will shortly begin working on the details relating to the criteria and methodology in respect of the call for applications for the new election observation roster. They will consult nationally and internationally, including with other election Focal Points. It is anticipated that this 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 a wide range of people who have expressed an interest in receiving details about the next roster will also be advised.