Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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163. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the preliminary statements issued by two election observation research missions that were in attendance at the independence referendum in Catalonia held on 1 October 2017; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that a number of Irish election roster observers took place on these missions; if he will invite them to attend a debriefing session to give first-hand evidence of the events they observed on referendum day including armed masked men entering polling stations to prevent voting happening; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45171/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am aware that a number of public representatives participated as observers at the independence referendum in Catalonia on 1^stOctober last. Neither of the election observation research missions, to which the Deputy refers, have submitted a report to me or my Department.Should they do so, these will be given appropriate attention.

As regards the events of 1 October, I share the dismay felt by many in Ireland and elsewhere at the violent incidents. Violence has no place in politics.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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164. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the arrangements in place whereby his Department provided funding to an organisation (details supplied) to support the deployment of Irish election observers; if it will be extended to a unit of a university (details supplied) that is planning an election observation mission to Somaliland and that would use funding to deploy additional Irish observers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45172/17]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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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 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). However, they have also participated in missions organised by the Council of Europe, the United Nations and The Carter Centre.The Department has in the past supported The Carter Center under its Civil Society Fund Programme to facilitate its work on democracy in fragile states. In support of this programme, an election observer was deployed under the auspices of The Carter Center to the 2013 Kenyan elections.This particular programme finished in 2015.

In the absence of a call from either the OSCE or the EU, the Department has no plans to provide funding for Irish Election Observers to the Somaliland elections.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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165. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 394 of 26 July 2017, the number of late applications received to join the current election roster; the reason these three particular late applications were admitted to the process in view of the fact that this was explicitly ruled out in the public call; the level at which this decision was made to admit these persons that resulted in others being displaced; if there were other departures from the published process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45173/17]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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170. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is satisfied with the workings of the election observation roster operated by his Department in view of concerns regarding same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45179/17]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 165 and 170 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 and administers a roster of observers for such missions. We aim to ensure that, when requested, Ireland is represented at an appropriate level in international observation missions for both elections and constitutional referendums.

As outlined in my reply to Parliamentary Questions 393, 394 and 396 on 26 July 2017, following a comprehensive review and a public call for applicants, a new roster of 200 members with a reserve panel of 10 was established in May 2013. The roster was determined by an independent appraisal process.

Two applications submitted curricula vitae along with their application form. This had no impact on the final selection of roster members.

Threelate applications were permitted, which were subject to the same independent appraisal process. The decision to permit the late applications was taken at official level.

The roster currently stands at 193 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.

Officials have begun working on the criteria and methodology for the call for applications for the next election observation roster and are consulting with the EU, OSCE and international Focal Points.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). 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)
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166. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 397 of 26 July 2017, if the election consultant observer who had the volunteer grant written off had to provide vouchers to account for the grant; if the details of the grant scheme will be published in order to ensure accountability and transparency in the operation of this grant scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45175/17]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains a roster of observers for election monitoring missions. We aim to ensure that, when requested, Ireland is represented at an appropriate level on international observation missions for elections and constitutional referendums. Irish observers participate primarily in missions organised by the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Further to my reply to Parliamentary Question No 397 of 26 July 2017 members of the election observation roster undertaking a mission, receive a once-off grant annually of €600 from the Department to cover pre-departure mission expenses including vaccinations and transport costs, ahead of travel to the country in question.

In this particular case, the pre-departure grant was paid to a nominated observer who had commenced preparations for an EU upcoming mission. At a late stage, this observer was appointed by the EU to the Core Team overseeing the Mission. Given the extreme lateness of the appointment – within a day or two of departure - pre departure expenditure such as vaccination had been incurred. Under the circumstances the Department did not seek the repayment of the grant.

As part of the roster application process in 2013, the Information Note for Applicants advised all potential applicants of the eligibility requirements for the pre departure grant, prior to submitting their application. It is intended to again provide details on the pre departure grant as part of the application process when the next roster recruitment process gets underway, later this year.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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167. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the names of the members of the election observation roster; the date that each was appointed or reappointed; the number of missions completed by each member since 2013; if he has satisfied himself that all members of the roster are suitable for deployment overseas; the mechanism to appoint replacement members to fill vacancies on the roster; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45176/17]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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172. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to concerns regarding an uneven distribution of opportunities for election observers on the roster with some still waiting for their first mission while others have been awarded two or more missions; his plans to prioritise members that have not been on missions in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45181/17]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to answer Questions Nos. 167 and 172 together.

The Election Observation Roster was established in May 2013 for a period of five years following a review of the previous roster and a public call for applications. Upon completion of an independent appraisal and ranking of the 263 eligible applications, the 200 individuals who achieved the highest scores were selected to serve on the new roster and a reserve panel of the next 10 highest scoring individuals was also established, from which replacements would be drawn should any members leave the roster during the five year period.

Taking account of members who have left the roster, and those who have been added from the reserve panel, the current roster complement stands at 193 and the reserve panel has been fully utilised.

Overall Irish nominees have a high success rate and so far in 2017 a total of 42 observers have observed in OSCE and EU missions. I am confident that the current roster is well equipped to deal with the requisite requirements of the EU and OSCE.

For each election observation mission, the EU or OSCE set out their specific requirements and as has been the practice to date all roster members are invited to apply to participate in any mission which Ireland proposes to deploy observers with a view to ensuring the widest possible participation in missions by roster members.In many cases, the EU and OSCE also invite Member States to nominate new observers or observers with limited experience. In selecting nominees to be put forward, the specific criteria set by the EU or OSCE, including relevant local and regional experience, language proficiency, gender and length of time since serving on a mission, provide the main basis for decision-making.

Set out in the Table below is a listing of the current roster, the date they were appointed and the number of missions completed since the establishment of the roster in 2013. Many Roster members apply, but are not always selected due to the high level of demand and individual mission criteria.

Current Election Observation Roster listing & Number of observation missions undertaken.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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168. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the nature of training provided to election observers by his Department in 2013; the reason it was felt necessary to train the observers at that time; the cost of the training; the persons that were eligible to attend this training; the names of the persons; the expenses or allowances they were paid to attend the course; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45177/17]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains a roster of observers for election monitoring mission. Irish observers participate primarily in missions organised by the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). A new roster of 200 members plus a reserve panel of 10 was established in May 2013, following a public call for applications.Following the establishment of this Roster in 2013, the Department organised training which was open to those members who had been selected and appointed to the roster in May 2013. This one day training course provided an overview of all aspects of the Election Roster, including introductory training in electoral observation, role of a short term observer and international electoral and observational standards.

This course was delivered on four separate dates in November 2013 in Dublin and the total cost of the training including fees for the course providers and expenses for the Roster members was €21,526.04.

From the available information, the following Election Roster members attended the training course and were paid the following expenses:

Where no figures are entered in the above table, no expenses were paid.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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169. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if civil servants who partake in election observations are entitled to the higher remuneration; the arrangement for expenses paid to such civil servants; if they are higher or lower than those given to other Irish election observers deployed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45178/17]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains a roster of observers for election monitoring missions. We aim to ensure that, when requested, Ireland is represented at an appropriate level on international observation missions for elections and constitutional referendums. Irish observers participate primarily in missions organised by the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Election monitors who are nominated as long or short term election observers by the Department do not receive remuneration. They are paid a daily in country expense allowance, determined by the EU and the OSCE, based on local cost of living to cover the cost of food, accommodation, local transport costs and expenses in country. A once off annual pre departure grant of €600 and a return air fare is also provided.

Officials from the Department, who work on relevant geographic desks, or election Focal Points occasionally participate in such election observation missions. The in country expense allowances paid to officials are the same as those paid to members of the Roster, but no pre-departure grant of €600 is provided.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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171. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if 25% of the marks were awarded to those who claimed fluency in Arabic, French, Spanish, Russian and Portuguese; the reason such an emphasis was placed on these languages in view of the fact the majority of election missions are conducted through English; the number of missions each year since 2010 that required observers to have Arabic, French, Spanish, Russian and Portuguese, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45180/17]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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International election monitoring missions play an important role in the promotion of democracy and human rights. Ireland’s election observation roster has been put in place to facilitate the deployment at short notice of suitably qualified individuals to participate in international election observation missions, organised in the main by the EU and the OSCE. While some election dates can be anticipated in advance, many ballots can take place unexpectedly, with decisions to mount observation missions typically taken by the EU or OSCE when an election is in prospect, at times at short notice.For each election observation mission, the EU or OSCE set the specific skills and requirements for that mission, including relevant language skills.

In many cases, and when circumstances of a mission demand, the EU seek observers who can demonstrate fluency in English and another language. An example of this was the Honduras elections in 2017 where the working and reporting language of the mission was Spanish (language of the mission) and English (reporting language).In the case of OSCE missions, the working language is normally English, but knowledge of the language of the country in question is also considered an advantage.

From the available information, the language breakdown of missions since 2010 are listed in the following table:

The Information Note for Applicants provided as part of the 2013 roster recruitment process set out the four criteria which included language Skills; experience of election observation; knowledge of human rights and / or governance issues; and experience of living in challenging environments.

For the language element, all applicants were required to set out their language proficiency in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Arabic, which together with English are the official working languages of the United Nations.Applicants could also indicate their proficiency in other languages.Candidates were asked to indicate their levels of proficiency; what formal study had been undertaken by them; and, their usage of any of the five UN official and working languages other than English. In the assessment, up to 5 marks were awarded for fluency in each of the five specified languages.

It is important to note that the EU carries out spot checks on language proficiency among candidates nominated to take part in election observer missions prior to their final decision.