Results 5,061-5,080 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

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

Charles Flanagan: I agree with Deputy Smith that the EU must continue to do more and, indeed, intensify its engagement in tackling the continued threat of terrorism. That involves a multilateral approach on a range of issues, including information and intelligence sharing, international passenger name recognition, the availability of firearms in member states, and a response in the criminal justice area....

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

Charles Flanagan: In response to the Deputy's first question, I am not in a position to comment on any action or otherwise that might be taken by the Russian Government in response to yesterday's action but I would ask the committee to note that Russia has announced it will take a measured response. I repeat my call for restraint on all sides in what is a difficult and challenging time for Europe. The...

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

Charles Flanagan: The humanitarian situation in Ukraine continues to be a matter of concern. While there has been a measure of progress, it must be considered against the challenging and conflicted situation that arose last year. It is important that all sides of the conflict continue to engage in ensuring the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those in most need of it. That cannot be done because it...

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 Middle East, Deputy Smith spoke about the need to have ongoing engagement with both sides. There is a recently appointed new Israeli ambassador. I have had the opportunity to meet with him and have a frank engagement. There was a senior delegation at official level from Israel here last week. I had the opportunity to meet the Palestinian foreign Minister in late...

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

Charles Flanagan: I am more than happy to engage with the committee on Northern Ireland matters. I acknowledge the presence in the Visitors Gallery of members of the Justice for the Forgotten group. I had the opportunity to meet with them recently. It is a source of great regret to me and to the Government that we were not in a position to reach agreement over the entire gamut of legacy issues. However, it...

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

Charles Flanagan: We have stocks in place in Brunei, Dubai and other hubs that are deployed in response to need in various regions. We recently deployed 5,000 blankets for refugees in the Balkan region. We will continue to ensure that we play our part in so far as we can.

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

Charles Flanagan: Notwithstanding the challenge of having stocks in place, which is obviously of great importance, we need to ensure the distribution of the stocks meets urgent need. Everyone would agree that the various crises in diverse parts of the world have from time to time placed strains on stocks. We encourage our EU partners to ensure the stocks are in place and ready to be dispersed in a way that...

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

Charles Flanagan: Both Deputy Mitchell and Senator Walsh spoke about concerns regarding migration. This is a real challenge and migration is never anything like an appropriate solution to conflict. Migration is a consequence of conflict. From an EU perspective, the priority must be to address the root causes, particularly in areas like Iraq, Syria, Libya and other states experiencing conflict and horror,...

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

Charles Flanagan: All of these questions could in themselves warrant a full meeting of this committee, as they are very serious issues for the future of our country, of the European Union and of the people of the world. Senators Mullins, Daly and Walsh and Deputy Mathews asked about my responsibilities in terms of Northern Ireland, the Irish citizen who continues to be detained in Egypt, the horrendous...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (26 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Irish diplomats, including Ambassadors and Heads of Mission, are career civil servants employed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; a number of Ambassadors have served in other Government Departments prior to transferring to my Department. The information on the location of each Ambassador is set out in the table below: MISSION Grade Posted as Head of Mission since Ambassador...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (26 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The Government, on foot of proposals made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, nominates officers to Ambassadorial posts. The nominated Ambassadors are subsequently appointed by the President. Generally, Irish diplomats, including Heads of Mission, are established career civil servants employed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Officers in Head of Mission posts are...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (26 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: My Department comprises two separate votes, Vote 28 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Vote 27 International Co-operation. The Department's general policy on use of credit cards is restrictive and, as a general rule, cards will only be authorised for officers who, due to the nature of their work or for particular circumstances, have a compelling business need for an official credit...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Travel (26 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: All official travel undertaken by Ambassadors and Officers of my Department based overseas, is in accordance with the central aims of the Department’s travel policy, which is based on the travel policy for all Government Departments laid down by the Department of Finance, which is to minimise official travel costs and to achieve value for money for expenditure necessarily incurred,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Programmes (26 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: In the course of the Global Irish Economic Forum my colleague Mr. Jimmy Deenihan T.D., Minister for Diaspora Affairs, announced his intention to pilot a summer camp programme designed to enhance connection with the Irish diaspora. It had already been indicated in ‘Global Irish: Ireland’s Diaspora Policy’that this pilot programme would take place. It is proposed that this...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (26 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: As have other Deputies, I have received a lengthy submission relating to this case. There is clearly a long legal history to the case, on which I am not able to make a judgement. I have consistently focused on the issues surrounding settlements, including evictions and seizures of property, as a major driver of the continuing conflict and an obstacle to peace. These pressures on Palestinians...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (26 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 186, 187 and 189 together. I am concerned by the killing of three human rights defenders in separate incidents in Colombia in recent weeks. I am also aware of reports of recent violence relating to coca eradication in Argelia in the Department of Cauca, Colombia. The incidents are reminders that Colombia still faces significant challenges in overcoming...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (26 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I met the Deputy in question on 27 October to congratulate him on his appointment as EU Special Envoy to the Peace Process in Colombia. Ireland has consistently supported the peace talks underway in Havana. We have engaged with the Colombian government and advisers to the talks to share our experience of peace-building and conflict resolution, and I have offered the Deputy the support of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (1 Dec 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I have intensively engaged with the Egyptian authorities regarding this citizen's case, including the Egyptian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Egypt’s Ambassador to Ireland, and with EU and international partners, including the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms. Federica Mogherini. The Taoiseach also raised the case in person on two...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (1 Dec 2015)

Charles Flanagan: All passport applications are subject to the terms of the Passports Act, 2008, as amended (the Act). This provides a legal basis for the various policies and practices which are applied by the Passport Service in the processing of passport applications. Section 10 of the Act provides that a passport will issue in the name of a citizen as it appears on his/her birth certificate. However, a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (1 Dec 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 486, 487 and 490 together. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has a clear strategy in this case which is focused on achieving a positive outcome at the earliest time possible for this citizen. That strategy is based on two key objectives: Firstly, to see this citizen released by the Egyptian authorities so that he can return to his family and...