Results 5,681-5,700 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: Water supply is a critical issue across the Middle East, but there are specific additional stresses on Palestinian people resulting from the Israeli control of their land and resources. Ground water drawn from the shared aquifer is allocated disproportionately in favour of Israel itself and Israeli settlers in Palestinian areas, and Palestinian water infrastructure is routinely demolished to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: On 23 June, the day the announcement was made in Havana, Cuba, I issued a public statement warmly welcoming the historic signature of an agreement between the Government of Colombia and the FARC guerrillas on a bilateral and final ceasefire and cessation of hostilities. This is an important step in bringing to an end a 52-year conflict in which more than 220,000 people have been killed and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Dublin-Monaghan Bombings (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: Dealing with the legacy of the past relating to the conflict in Northern Ireland and pursuing the issue of the Dublin Monaghan bombings is a major priority for me as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and for the Government. This commitment is reflected in the Programme for a Partnership Government that was agreed in May. The all-Party Dáil motion on the 1974 Dublin Monaghan...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: I share the serious concerns about the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which we are following closely with our EU partners. The Foreign Affairs Council which I attended on 23 May adopted Conclusions expressing deep concern at developments and calling on the Government and all other stakeholders, particularly the Independent National Electoral Commission, to create...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: The Government is strongly committed to Ireland’s overseas aid programme, and to its place at the heart of our foreign policy. We have restated this clearly in the Programme for Government. “One World, One Future”, our policy for international development, articulates our commitment to the UN target of providing 0.7% of Gross National Product (GNP) as Official...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: The statement referred to was in reply to a Parliamentary Question last month, and the Deputy will have noted that the full sentence was to the effect that the Government does not agree with this policy, but accepts that it is a legitimate political view. I have made clear on a number of occasions my opposition to boycotts. As successive Ministers of all parties have pointed out, there is no...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Agreements (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: On 7 June the European Commission published a new results-oriented concept of cooperation with third countries, the Migration Partnership Framework, which brings together the EU and its Member States, and focuses on ensuring the necessary coherence between the Union's migration policy and other Union policies, notably development and trade policies. The Communication states that the ultimate...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: We have from time to time discussed in this house the difficulties experienced by Palestinian universities and colleges, and notably Bethlehem University, arising from the range of restrictions on movement, residence, construction and other areas which are imposed by the Israeli occupation. These can create significant practical obstacles for academics and students, and for the institution...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: I am aware of the reports of violence and deaths resulting from strikes by schoolteachers in Mexico to which the Deputy refers. These developments are of great concern and are being closely monitored by the Embassy of Ireland in Mexico. Ireland and other EU Member States engage with the Mexican authorities on human rights and civil society-related issues on an ongoing basis. In...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Engagements (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: I had the pleasure of greeting Vice-President Biden on his arrival at Dublin Airport last week and of welcoming the Vice-President and his family to Ireland. In our brief discussion, Vice-President Biden and I spoke about his close ancestral ties and deep affinity to Ireland and the Vice-President emphasised that he and his family had been greatly looking forward to the visit, which he had...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: UK Referendum on EU Membership (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: Over the past few months the Government has prepared a contingency framework in the event that the UK voted to leave the European Union. A summary of this framework document was published on Friday 24 June after the result of the Referendum was announced. My Department, in partnership with the Department of the Taoiseach, will be central to this work and the Deputy has correctly identified...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Military Aircraft Landings (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: The Embassy has reconfirmed details which it had provided in relation to the aircraft to which the Deputy refers. The Embassy has further stated that the aircraft were not carrying passengers or equipment intended for use in Exercise Anakonda and that the aircraft did not participate in that exercise. I am satisfied that the US is aware of the need to comply with the strict conditions...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Issues (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: The issues which the Deputy raises are complex and there will be many views on the factors that gave rise to the outcome of the referendum and the roles played by the political parties and groups in the campaign. Of course, conditions with regard to public discourse and debate on the Union within each Member State are different. I am well aware that, in individual Member States, there are...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Terrorism (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: The atrocities perpetrated by terrorists in France, Belgium, Turkey and other countries have been discussed and condemned at numerous EU and UN fora. These brutal attacks continue to represent a serious threat to international peace and security. The issue of how best to respond to the threat posed by terrorism has been high on the EU agenda over the past 18 months. Foreign Ministers have...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: The treatment of Palestinian children in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem is of deep concern, and an issue on which Ireland has been active for some time. The significant rise in the number of children arrested, which has been highlighted in reports by UNICEF and others, is largely connected to the wave of violent incidents over the last ten months in which, tragically, many...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Free Trade Area (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is an intergovernmental organisation set up for the promotion of free trade and economic integration to the benefit of its four Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The European Economic Area Agreement enables three of the four EFTA Member States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) to participate in the EU’s Internal...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Emigrant Support Services (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: In September 2014 RTÉ announced plans to shut down their longwave 252 service which enables RTÉ Radio 1 to be broadcast into Britain. While the initial plan was for the longwave service to close on 27 October 2014, this was further deferred until 19 January 2015. On 18 December 2014 a decision was taken to continue Longwave Radio services until 2017. Following this announcement I...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: The Government is committed “to recognise the State of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict”. The Government works consistently to achieve a free, independent and sovereign Palestinian state, not just in theory but in fact, and all of our actions on the Israeli/Palestinian issue are directed to that end. It is central to our objective of a two state...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: I am aware of the report on Sri Lanka presented by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the 32nd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Ireland is a strong supporter of the work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and has welcomed this update on Sri Lanka. On Wednesday 29 June, Ireland delivered a national statement at the Human Rights...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: UK Referendum on EU Membership (5 Jul 2016)

Charles Flanagan: There is no change to the status of the Good Friday Agreement or the workings of the European Court of Human Rights arising from the result of the UK referendum of the EU last week. As reflected in the Programme for a Partnership Government, the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and the subsequent agreements, including the 2014 Stormont House and the 2015 Fresh Start...