Results 5,041-5,060 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (24 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 444, 452 and 453 together. I am very much aware of, and would share, the disappointment expressed by a number of Victims’ Groups and NGOs regarding the fact that the Fresh Start Agreement does not comprehensively address the implementation of the provisions of the Stormont House Agreement dealing with the legacy of the past. I want to underline...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Application Refusals (24 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The Passports Act, 2008 (the Act) provides, among other things, that only Irish citizens are entitled to be issued with Irish passports. Each application received by the Department must, therefore, contain evidence that demonstrates that person’s entitlement to Irish citizenship before a passport can issue. The two children in question were born in the State in 2011 and 2013. Their...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (24 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 446 and 447 together. I am aware of the reports referred to by the Deputy. I also note that, in the case of Senator Iván Cepeda, an application for precautionary measures has been made to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Both matters are stark reminders that Colombia faces significant challenges in overcoming decades of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Cross-Border Projects (24 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 448 to 451, inclusive, and 454 to 458, inclusive, together. Following ten weeks of intensive discussions involving the five main Northern Ireland parties and the British and Irish Governments, an agreement entitled ‘A Fresh Start: The Stormont House Agreement and Implementation Plan’ was reached on Tuesday 17 November. I believe that...

Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The Deputy does not know how good he has it here.

Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Before elaborating on the detail of the agreement we reached last week, I will briefly recall where we stood just two and a half months ago. A situation had evolved, and at the time I described the power-sharing institutions as being at the edge of the precipice. A collapse of the institutions was a very real prospect, an outcome that would have represented a grave setback for the delivery...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Agencies (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: There are no State agencies or bodies under the aegis of my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Ireland’s network of embassies, consulates and other missions around the world are critical to the achievement of our foreign policy and trade goals. The resources allocated to the Irish diplomatic network are modest when set against those of comparable states such as Denmark and Finland. The locations of and resource allocation to Ireland’s mission network are subject to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Citizens Imprisoned Abroad (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The senior official in the Filipino Ministry of Foreign Affairs with whom I spoke took note of the case of this citizen who is imprisoned in the Philippines, of our concerns and of our request that the date for the appeal be expedited on humanitarian grounds, while also noting the independence of the legal process in the Philippines. It is important to bear in mind the constrained role of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I utterly condemn the appalling terror attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako on Friday, reportedly carried out by a group, al-Mourabitoun, in cooperation with al-Qaida. I offer sincere condolences to the families of those who have been killed and wish those injured a full and speedy recovery. I strongly condemn all the acts of terror which have been perpetrated in Mali this year,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I welcome the opportunity to address the Chairman and members of the committee on recent developments at the Foreign Affairs Council. I received the sad news this morning that two young Irishmen had lost their lives in an accident in Perth, Australia. As the committee is aware, this year many Irish families have lost loved ones overseas. I am aware of the work and commitment of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Last April the Foreign Ministers of Ireland and 15 other EU countries wrote to EU High Representative Mogherini to ask her to restart work on guidelines for the labelling of settlement products. On 11 November the European Commission adopted the formal notice. It underlines that settlement goods may not be labelled as having been made in Israel or simply as having come from the West Bank...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I will be happy to provide the members of the committee with a note. I stress that the process is in the course of implementation and that it is ongoing. There will be further implementation measures, the particulars of which I will be happy to share with the committee. On Deputy Eric Byrne's question, these issues would be covered by our consumer protection legislation. If people wish...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The Deputy mentioned a food product. That involves the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. In the same way as with the food product from Brazil to which he referred, the implementation will be the same in terms of the labelling. A food product will be a matter that will go to the appropriate Department, which in that case is the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Three questions? I counted six.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: If the Deputy asks six questions, she is entitled to six answers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: In respect of the situation in Colombia, members will be aware of the appointment of my predecessor, Deputy Gilmore, as special envoy. That will feed in, perhaps, to a greater level of engagement on our part in the process in Colombia. I am concerned with regard to the killing of three human rights defenders last week. Representatives from our embassy in Mexico continue to discuss human...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I will communicate privately with Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan on Maghaberry. I am aware of her interest in the matter from parliamentary questions. I am also aware of the recent visit of a delegation. I am happy to engage directly with her on the matter also.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I thank the Deputy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Obviously, there can and must be a number of responses in respect of the horrific atrocity in Paris and the threats in other European capitals and beyond. It is important that the European Union appears as a powerful force. It will do so, assuming that agreement can be reached on a co-ordinated approach. As well as the Foreign Affairs Council being actively engaged, there is an ongoing...