Results 161-180 of 189 for going forward speaker:Charles Flanagan

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Enlargement (26 Nov 2014)

Charles Flanagan: .... In addition, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo are potential candidate countries. Enlargement is a conditional process: prospective member states must achieve progress on reforms in order to move forward on their EU paths and each of these countries is at a different stage on its path towards membership of the European Union. They face unique challenges which they must attempt to overcome...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Update on Foreign Affairs and Trade Issues: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (11 Nov 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I can be back at 6.30 p.m. and we can go on until 7.30 p.m. or 8 p.m. if members are that way disposed. We were discussing the Middle East peace process and I was coming to a conclusion by reference to the settlements. I very much take the view outlined by Deputy O'Sullivan to the effect that the position is entirely unacceptable. The issue of settlement products was raised by Deputy...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (17 Sep 2014)

Charles Flanagan: ...; Ireland further stated that it agreed that any breaches of international law should be investigated. The EU group at the HRC, including Ireland, had however signalled a number of problems with the resolution, and had negotiated with the Palestinian delegation to try and resolve these. These reservations were not about the general thrust of the text, but about the precise terms of the...

Other Questions: Adoption Legislation (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: My Department is continuing work on the adoption (information and tracing) Bill and I hope to be in a position to seek Government approval to publish heads of the Bill as soon as possible. While I am anxious to improve the legal basis for access to adoption records, proposals to government must reflect the constraints on the Legislature in providing such access if it is not to fall foul of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: ...his written submission. As I told Deputy Troy, I intend to proceed with the process of consultation which I have found to be both informative and engaging. Deputy Ó Caoláin will be aware that the Government has undertaken to establish a commission of investigation into the concerns that have arisen about mother and baby homes. The decision to establish a commission into these...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Government has undertaken to establish a Commission of Investigation into concerns regarding conditions and related practices in Mother and Baby Homes. I have also publicly confirmed that the intended scope of this investigation will go beyond the home operated by the Sisters of Bon Secours in Tuam, Co. Galway and these announcements have been widely welcomed. I wish to acknowledge the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (1 Jul 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Government has undertaken to establish a Commission of Investigation into the disturbing revelations on conditions and related matters in Mother and Baby Homes. I have publicly confirmed that the intended scope of this investigation will go beyond the home operated by the Sisters of Bon Secours in Tuam, Co. Galway and will include the Bethany Homes. These announcements have been widely...

Open Adoption Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (9 May 2014)

Charles Flanagan: ...to know their identity, particularly those who will not benefit from any future changes in the law which might permit open adoptions. In March 2014, my predecessor, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, made the Government aware of her intentions in a memorandum for information, including the provision, through the adoption (information and tracing) Bill, of a greater level of access to records and...

Report of the Expert Group on the Judgment in the A, B and C v. Ireland Case: Statements (Resumed) (7 Dec 2012)

Charles Flanagan: I welcome the report and recommend its reading by as many citizens of the State as possible. I hope the report is available in all public libraries, schools and colleges. I encourage everyone to go online to read it. The Government must ensure that hard copies of the report are available because of its importance. I acknowledge the great work of the expert group and its composition of...

Mahon Tribunal Report: Statements (Resumed) (28 Mar 2012)

Charles Flanagan: The Mahon recommendations must be examined systematically and acted upon within a clearly defined timeframe over the lifetime of the Government. It comprises a sad and sorry saga of widespread corruption, deceit and fraud at the heart of Government and the corrosive effect the consequences had on society and democracy. Corruption, as outlined in the Mahon report, represents a fundamentally...

Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Second Stage (5 Oct 2010)

Charles Flanagan: ...at some length with the detail on Committee Stage. The Bill is very much court-oriented in content. It is somewhat difficult to grasp a sense from this legislation of the overarching direction the Government is taking in respect of child protection. It is the first amendment to the Child Care Act 1991 since the publication of the Ryan report. There is no doubt but that the grave...

Irish Prison Service. (27 Apr 2010)

Charles Flanagan: This debate has been prompted by the resignation of the Governor of the Dóchas Centre, Ms Kathleen McMahon, to whom I pay tribute. I commend her work during her time at the Dóchas Centre. The matter of the resignation should, at long last, cause the Government and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in particular, to come forward with a prison plan. The resignation of...

Criminal Procedure Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Second Stage (11 Feb 2010)

Charles Flanagan: ...victims would have the option of making the names of the accused public while theirs remained anonymous. The current position is that for the accused's name to be made public the victim must also go public, an unfair provision that places the victim in an invidious position. The Bill proposes the establishment of a victim's charter of rights which may be asserted by way of application to...

Civil Partnership Bill 2009: Second Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Charles Flanagan: ...led to painful turmoil for gay people in this country. Thankfully, we have made great strides as a nation and we now live in a more tolerant era, characterised more by reason and science than by bigotry, superstition and fear. This Bill will help us move to a place where tolerance, diversity and inclusivity are more than mere buzz-words, but are characteristics that define our corpus of...

Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Bill 2009: Second Stage (19 Nov 2009)

Charles Flanagan: I welcome the Bill and thank the Minister for his somewhat detailed overview of it. I look forward to teasing out the Bill in greater detail on Committee Stage. Progress on this matter has been tortuously slow. It is four years since the European Council passed the third EU money laundering directive. This directive was due to be transposed into Irish law by way of legislation in this...

Courts and Court Officers Bill 2009: Second Stage (24 Sep 2009)

Charles Flanagan: However, of that overtime, an amount in excess of €10 million has been expended on gardaí going to Criminal Courts and District Courts during their time off. It has been suggested that up to 1,400 gardaí per day spend their time in District Courts and Circuit Courts throughout the country. It is important that the law can be reformed to allow for a court sergeant in charge to engage in...

Land and Conveyancing Bill 2008 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (1 Jul 2009)

Charles Flanagan: ...of foreign investment in the Irish property market as income streams will be less secure than in the United Kingdom, for example. I trust the Minister has taken these issues into consideration. Going back to the initial point raised by Deputy Ciarán Lynch, it may have been wiser to have a stand-alone piece of legislation, rather than attaching this at the 11th hour to a Bill that has...

Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2009)

Charles Flanagan: ...difficulty with people responding to notices from the courts. They are served with notice to appear in the High Court in Dublin, usually in the following eight or ten days. One of the reasons put forward for not taking such actions in the local Circuit Court was that people were reported to have said they did not want to attend a court where they would be readily identified, where there...

Prison Building Programme. (20 May 2009)

Charles Flanagan: Regarding where we go from here, the Minister, Deputy Ahern, speaks of other options. Will he confirm to the House that this massive project is, in effect, dead in the water and the option to be explored now is in line with best international practice? He should go back to the drawing board and bring forward realistic plans for a smaller, scaled-down version of Thornton Hall, to deal with...

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (20 May 2009)

Charles Flanagan: ...states of the EU should maintain a DNA database and participate in sharing information on this. The Minister has indicated his intention to publish the legislation during this session, and I look forward to it. However, as in the Thornton Hall debacle, there are cost implications here. For example, how prepared is our "Pulse" system for participation in such an EU friendly database?...