Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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147. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the location of the submissions made to the consultations undertaken by his Department in each of the past ten years in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44860/18]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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148. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the consultations undertaken by his Department in each of the past ten years in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44878/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 147 and 148 together.

In accordance with “Reaching Out - Guidelines on Consultation for Public Sector Bodies”, and its 2016 successor, “Consultation Principles and Guidance”, my Department undertakes consultation, where appropriate, with citizens in a meaningful and timely manner. The ultimate objective is to ensure better outcomes and understanding by all of a particular policy or legislative proposal.

In accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Management Act, 1997, my Department has produced five distinct Statements of Strategy over the past ten years (2008-2018). As part of the drafting process for each of these, external consultations with Government Departments and State Agencies were undertaken. Public consultations were also undertaken in the development of the Statement of Strategy in 2010, 2011 and 2016.

A Review of the White Paper on Irish Aid was undertaken in 2012 and was led by the Minister of State for Trade and Development. Public consultation took place between February and April 2012. Overall, over one thousand people were consulted during review and 165 written submissions were received. The Irish Aid Expert Advisory Group provided independent oversight for the Review. A new policy to guide Ireland’s role in international development, “One World, One Future”, was launched in May 2013.

An extensive public consultation process was undertaken between November 2013 and February 2014 as part of the Foreign Policy Review 2015. The Foreign Policy Review was a broad-based examination of Ireland’s foreign policy and led to the publication of “The Global Island: Ireland’s Foreign Policy for a ChangingWorld”. These consultations also fed into the Department’s Statement of Strategy 2015-2017.

In October 2013, at the third Global Irish Economic Forum, the Government announced that a review of our diaspora policy would be undertaken; following which a consultation paper was launched on 18 March, 2014. More than 130 written submissions were received.

On 24 June 2014, the Government decided to develop a National Plan for the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The coordinating role for developing the Plan was assigned to my Department which adopted an inclusive and collaborative approach to developing the Plan, working closely with Government Departments, State Agencies, business enterprises and civil society. My Department’s annual Civil Society Forum in that year was dedicated to the theme of “Business and Human Rights - Implementing the UN Guiding Principles”. This event was attended by approximately 250 civil society actors.

In February 2015, my Department initiated a public consultation which received over 30 submissions and hosted a workshop with business and civil society representatives to discuss priorities for the Plan. In January 2016, a consultation event was held in Iveagh House on the Working Outline of Ireland’s National Plan on Business and Human Rights. Following an invitation for submissions based on the Working Outline, responses were received from civil society and the business community. The “National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights” was launched in November 2017.

In 2015 in accordance with the Official Languages Act 2003 my Department drafted our second Irish language scheme. The scheme was drafted to comply with our obligations under the Act and to ensure better availability and a higher standard of public services through Irish. The Department invited submissions in relation to the preparation of the scheme from any interested parties.

In December 2017, I asked Ireland’s Ambassador in Berlin, Michael Collins, to undertake a comprehensive review of our relations with Germany. As part of the review, an extensive programme of consultations was undertaken with key stakeholders. Details of these consultations are set out in the published review, “Ireland in Germany: A Wider and Deeper Footprint”.

During the first half of 2018 my Department organised a series of Citizens’ Dialogues; engagement with key stakeholders and other events across the country focused on the Future of Europe. The public were invited to contribute to the wider European debate by attending one of these events or making a submission online. Regional events were held in counties Galway, Kildare, Cork, Donegal, as well as an NGO forum in Dublin. This culminated in the National Citizens’ Dialogue on the Future of Europe at the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Dublin on Europe Day, 9th May last. This event was hosted by Minister of State for European Affairs, Helen McEntee T.D. and myself, along with 250 members of the public and civil society representatives.

Last year I said that the Government would bring forward a new policy on international development, echoed in the Global Ireland document in which the Government committed to publishing a new White Paper on Ireland’s International Development Cooperation. The intention is to publish the White Paper before the end of the year.

I launched a public consultation on the new international development policy on 12 July 2018. This was on the basis of a public consultation document generated following a series of meetings with stakeholders across my Department and in other Government Departments, as well as a number of thematic workshops. The public consultation concluded on 2 October 2018. Over 185 substantive written submissions were received from Irish people and non-governmental organisations, as well as UN and other international bodies. Another 14,000 emails expressing general support for the aid programme were received. Five well-attended public meetings were held, in Cork, Galway, Sligo, Limerick, and Dublin.

The submissions received as part of these various consultation processes are retained by the appropriate business units of my Department, with details of each process, and the resulting reports and outcomes published on my Department’s website, www.dfat.ie or www.irishaid.ie, as appropriate.

There are no State agencies under the aegis of my Department.

The following table provides summary information on each of the consultations outlined: