Results 6,221-6,240 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Appointments to State Boards (16 Dec 2016)

Charles Flanagan: There are no State boards under the aegis of my Department so the issue raised by the Deputy does not arise.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Issues (16 Dec 2016)

Charles Flanagan: Since the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, the Government has been very clear that Ireland’s own position is unchanged: we remain a committed member of the EU and of the Eurozone. EU membership has been central to Ireland’s economic and social progress of recent years. Now, more than ever, our membership of the EU must remain at the heart of our engagement...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (16 Dec 2016)

Charles Flanagan: The Department is responsible for two Votes – Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs and Trade) and Vote 27 (International Cooperation). Monthly profiles of projected expenditure are established at the beginning of each year and expenditure against profile is monitored and reported on monthly to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and is published as part of the Monthly Exchequer...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (16 Dec 2016)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 264 to 266, inclusive, together. My Department takes a range of factors into account when considering the expansion of the Embassy and Consular network overseas. These factors include our national political, economic and trade priorities, as well as the availability of resources. The configuration and scale of the State’s diplomatic and consular...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Issues (16 Dec 2016)

Charles Flanagan: The UK House of Lords EU Committee’s report on “Brexit: UK-Irish relations” is a welcome contribution to the debate. It highlights the significance of the issues the UK’s exit raises and the need for these to be addressed comprehensively and creatively. The report forms part of a body of parliamentary work being carried out both in Westminster and here in the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (16 Dec 2016)

Charles Flanagan: Full and timely implementation of the Fresh Start Agreement is a key priority for the Government and this is reflected by its inclusion in the new Programme for Government. The Government continues to work closely with all relevant stakeholders in this regard. Progress on implementing the provisions of both the Fresh Start and Stormont House Agreements are considered at periodic review...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (16 Dec 2016)

Charles Flanagan: On 6 December, the First and deputy First Minister announced the formation of a civic advisory panel, which was provided for under the Stormont House and Fresh Start Agreements. The 6-person panel will consider specific issues relevant to the Executive’s Programme for Government and engage with civic society stakeholders. Reporting to the Executive, the panel may also propose...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (16 Dec 2016)

Charles Flanagan: The vast majority of passport applications from both sides of the border are made through the post office networks on this island. This remains the most efficient and cost-effective way to apply and applications can be submitted at some seventy post offices in Northern Ireland and at over one thousand post offices in the state. To accommodate a relatively small number of people with...

Northern Ireland: Statements (17 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I acknowledge the importance of this debate and thank all Members for their contributions. I want once again to agree with Deputy Adams about having regular and frequent debates on Northern Ireland in the House. That is a matter, of course, for the Business Committee, but it has the support of myself and my party. It is not the first time I have said that on the basis that Northern Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Issues (17 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: Since the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, the Government has been very clear that Ireland’s own position is unchanged: we remain a committed member of the EU and of the Eurozone. EU membership has been central to Ireland’s economic and social progress of recent years. Now, more than ever, our membership of the EU must remain at the heart of our engagement...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Religious Persecution (17 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I have repeatedly addressed the question of the protection of Christians and other religious minorities in Syria and Iraq in particular in my meetings and engagements at both the EU and the UN. The protection of minorities from violence and terrorism is inseparable from achieving peaceful resolutions to the conflicts in both Syria and Iraq. Ireland has also raised our concerns over the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Maritime Jurisdiction (17 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 679 and 680 together. Since the 1930s the territorial sea and fishery limits of the State have been progressively extended in line with developments in international law. The present rules are set down in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which Ireland became a party in 1996. The Convention extended the maximum permissible...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (17 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I can confirm that our Permanent Representative to the EU met with the new UK Permanent Representative at last week’s Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper II) meeting. He and the other staff at the Representation will continue to engage fully with their British counterparts, as with their counterparts from all other Member States, in the normal course of EU business.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Directives (17 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The responsibility for transposing EU measures into Irish law rests with those Departments with responsibility for the policy areas covered by those measures. Consequently, it is the responsibility of each Department, and of relevant agencies, to make the public, including concerned organisations and businesses, aware in an appropriate and timely manner of the implications of EU measures in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Religious Persecution (17 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 683, 684 and 707 together. I am aware of a raid at the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Rabwah, Pakistan. Ireland’s Embassy in Ankara, which is accredited to Pakistan, is monitoring this situation. Ireland strongly condemns all forms of persecution on the basis of religion or belief, irrespective of where they occur or who the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Catalan Referendum (17 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The constitutional status of Catalonia in Spain is the subject of ongoing debate. As I have previously stated, constitutional and political issues in any country of the European Union can only be determined by its own institutions and people. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on any particular country.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Agreements (17 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The Government warmly welcomes the conclusion of the EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, which I had the honour to sign on behalf of Ireland, along with my EU colleagues and the Cuban Minister for Foreign Affairs, in the margins of the Foreign Affairs Council on 12 December 2016. As the Deputy will be aware, this is the first bilateral agreement between the EU and Cuba. Its...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (17 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I have received the report to which the Deputy refers, which was presented by the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Pablo de Greiff, to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2016 and published in November. The report was prepared following the UN Special Rapporteur’s visits to Northern Ireland in November 2015 and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (17 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: At its meeting in Strasbourg on 7 December, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers discussed the implementation of the judgments in the McKerr and Others group of cases which includes the case of the late Pat Finucane, to which the Deputy specifically refers. Ireland’s statement to the Committee expressed the Government’s disappointment that the legacy institutions...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (17 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The Convention on the Rights of the Child requires regular reporting by States parties on how the rights contained in the Convention are being implemented. The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) engages in dialogue with states on the basis of these reports, raising concerns and making recommendations for improved implementation. Ultimately, implementation is a matter for the State...