Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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84. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the continuation of the decision due to Covid-19 restrictions to suspend the deployment of any of the 500 persons who have been vetted and trained as election monitors to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe or the EU Election Monitoring System; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45739/21]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I refer the Deputy to Parliamentary Questions No. 304, 305 and 311 of 26 May 2021, Parliamentary Questions No. 303 and 310 of 26 May 2021 and Parliamentary Question No. 777 of 24 March 2021 on international election observation.

The Department of Foreign Affairs facilitates an Election Observation Roster of suitably skilled and vetted volunteers who are available to participate at short notice in election observation missions, organised by the OSCE and EU. The current Roster of approximately 199 volunteers is in place since 1 January 2019. Issues related to the size and duration of the roster were addressed in Parliamentary Question No. 410 of 24 November 2020.

Participation in election observation missions poses particular COVID-19 risks due to transit through international airport hubs, extensive in-country travel and interactions with observers from a significant number of other countries. This potentially exposes to COVID-19, not only election monitors, but also those whom they come into contact with in the host country and when they return home. As such, since March 2020, Ireland has not nominated election observers for EU and OSCE Election Observation Missions.

However, given the re-opening of non-essential international travel and the progress of Ireland’s vaccination programme, my officials are working to clarify the safe conditions for volunteer election observers before, during and after their participation in Election Observation Missions. This is with a view to early resumption of nomination of volunteer observers from the roster for EU and OSCE Election Observation Missions on a case by case basis, subject to adjudication of duty of care.