Results 4,481-4,500 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Military Aircraft Landings (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Security arrangements at Irish airports do not come under the remit of my Department. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has primary responsibility for the matter. Neither he, nor the Minister for Defence, has raised any issues in this regard with me.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: UN Issues (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: In international efforts to find political solutions to end conflict we naturally look to the UN and the UN Security Council for leadership. In some situations of protracted conflict where Ireland has limited ability to affect real change on the ground, we focus on the humanitarian relief effort to alleviate suffering, in those areas where we can make a difference. I believe that the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Sovereign Debt (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I am aware of the challenges faced by a number of countries with regard to the restructuring of their sovereign debt. In the case of Argentina, where a minority of creditors have withheld their agreement to a proposed restructuring, a particularly bitter dispute has developed involving adjudication by a United States Court. We greatly regret that it has not proved possible to resolve this...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Membership (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: As the Minister for Finance has advised the House, Greece continues to be the focus of considerable contacts among EU Finance Ministers, whose most recent meeting on the issue was held last week in Brussels. The Eurogroup statement of February 20th guides these considerations and work is ongoing. Direct bilateral trade and financial linkages between Ireland and Greece are limited. In...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: UN Conventions (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Ireland continues to support and encourage universalisation of the Convention in all multilateral fora and is deeply concerned about reports of any use of cluster munitions including recent allegations of their use in Yemen. I call upon all states, including those States who have not signed the Convention, as well as non-state actors to refrain from using these weapons. My Department is now...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Common Security and Defence Policy (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The appalling tragedies in the Mediterranean are the result of continuing conflict and underdevelopment across the neighbouring region. Already this year more than 1,800 people are known to have drowned attempting the crossing to Europe, compared to just over 400 over the same period in 2014. It is essential that the European Union play its part in tackling this humanitarian challenge, in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I am aware of the situation as outlined by the Deputy. Officials at the Irish embassy in Cairo remain in ongoing contact with Egyptian Government departments and officials regarding all aspects of the case. I can confirm to the Deputy that the Embassy has lodged a formal request with the relevant authorities seeking a move within the prison. Given that the trial is under way, the Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I welcome the re-appointment of Theresa Villiers MP as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. As Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, my working relations with Theresa Villiers have been very close and constructive, involving regular and in-depth engagement, in particular in the context of the Stormont House Agreement. I had a constructive telephone conversation with Secretary of State...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: There have been a number of security incidents in Northern Ireland in recent weeks that have put lives at risk. A man was murdered while his neighbours were going to work and to school. There were a number of bomb attacks in the Derry area and a device left in Ardoyne saw the public unable to attend mass in the Holy Cross monastery for the only time since its foundation in 1869. I am...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: We are now entering an important point in the implementation process of the Stormont House Agreement. A number of target dates over a range of the areas included in the Agreement will arise in the weeks ahead. To achieve these will require a concerted effort and an intensive political investment from the Northern Ireland Executive and from both Governments. It is important to recall how...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Common Security and Defence Policy (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 389 and 401 together. Along with the Minister for Justice, I attended a joint Council meeting on 20 April, the outcome of which informed the discussions of Heads of State and Government at the special European Council later that week. That European Council agreed a comprehensive strategy to respond to the humanitarian crisis, which includes tackling the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: This issue was not on the agenda at the European Council meeting in December 2014. I have discussed the matter at senior European level including with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini. The EU remains supportive of our position, and has expressed this support for our concerns at appropriate opportunities with the Egyptian authorities at a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Dublin-Monaghan Bombings (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The 41st anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings took place on Sunday, May 17th.The survivors of those terrible attacks, and the families of the victims, are now into the fifth decade of their search for answers. Commemorations took place last Saturday, 16th May, at which the Government was represented by Minister of State Aodhán Ó Ríordáin.I am conscious that...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Legal Matters (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: My Department has been in regular contact with the family at the centre of this case over recent years, both in Dublin and through officials at the Irish Embassy in Abu Dhabi. Our Embassy in Abu Dhabi has raised the case a number of times, most recently in March, with the UAE authorities. The Office of the Prosecutor has indicated that the competent national authority continues to have...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The promotion and protection of human rights is a core principle of Ireland's foreign policy and we have prioritised the protection of trades unionists, human rights defenders and others who are in immediate danger. I am concerned at reports of violence against civil society leaders in Colombia, including the cases to which I believe the Deputy refers, involving the murder of community...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I am aware of the organisation the Deputy mentions and officials from my Department have met with their representative to hear their experiences and concerns as human rights defenders in their part of Honduras. This meeting took place while we were in the process of considering our recommendations to Honduras for their Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council. As a matter of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Respect for human rights is an essential element of the EU Free Trade Agreement with Colombia and Peru which contains, in addition, important provisions in the area of labour rights and protection of the environment. The EU-Colombia Human Rights Dialogue is the key mechanism for engagement on human rights issues with Colombia. Through this mechanism, which addresses the subject directly...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consular Services Provision (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: My Department is aware of this case and has been providing consular assistance to the citizen and his family since July 2013. The Embassy of Ireland in Singapore, which is accredited to the Philippines, as well as the Honorary Consulate General in Manila have provided ongoing assistance to this citizen, including providing a list of lawyers; making representations to the prison service...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Israeli Settlements (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I have very clearly expressed my condemnation of Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territory on a number of occasions, and I have also focused strongly on this issue in discussions at EU level and bilaterally. The issue informed our discussions at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels yesterday. It is clear that continued settlement expansion is gravely damaging to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Cyprus Reunification (19 May 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Ireland fully supports the aim to find a solution that provides for a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus, based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality, as set out in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Ireland remains supportive of all efforts to assist in the search for a mutually acceptable settlement to this long-standing problem. In this context, the...