Results 6,561-6,580 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Promotion (22 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: Advancing Ireland’s trade, tourism, education and investment objectives through economic diplomacy and related activities is a key goal of Ireland’s foreign policy, informing and directing the work of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and our mission network. Efforts have intensified in recent years to equip the mission network in particular to take advantage of new...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Enlargement (22 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: There are currently five countries which have EU Candidate Status: Montenegro, Serbia, the Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Turkey. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are potential candidate countries. Ireland is a strong supporter of the enlargement process, and views it as a transformative driver for peace and stability in the region. The European Commission continues to work actively to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad (22 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: This consular case continues to be a top priority for the Government and substantial resources and time are being devoted to it. The Government is doing everything it possibly can to ensure that the Egyptian authorities are in no doubt about our determination to see this young man returned to his home and his family in Ireland as soon as possible. The Irish Government has been present at and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (23 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The Passport Service issued 733,060 passports in 2016. This represented an increase of over 9% on the previous year. We expect the number of passport applications to continue increasing throughout 2017. The increase in demand is driven by a number of factors including a general increase in the number of Irish residents travelling abroad, a growing population, as well as a significant rise...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Israeli Settlements (23 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I have consistently argued at EU and international level that, in addition to the obvious priority of encouraging negotiations to reach a peace agreement, there needs to be a strong international focus on the unjust and damaging policies being carried out by the Israeli occupation administration, which are deeply provocative and threaten to make impossible any future negotiations. Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (23 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I refer the Deputy to my replies to Questions 29 and 33 in the oral Parliamentary Question session yesterday, which dealt with the position of the US Government and the issue of recognition. Ireland and our EU partners have made clear, and will continue to make clear, our continuing full support for a two state solution in the Middle East. The strong international consensus in favour of this...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Agreements (23 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: In the margins of the Foreign affairs Council on 12 December 2016 I joined my fellow EU foreign ministers and the Cuban Minister for Foreign Affairs in signing the EU-Cuba Agreement on Political Dialogue and Cooperation. This is the first such agreement between the EU and Cuba. Its signature marks a further positive step forward in relations between Cuba and the EU, which have improved...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Records (23 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The main file store and Departmental Archive is located in premises in North Co. Dublin. Part of the duties of staff based there is the retrieval and return of hardcopy files stored at that premises. The related costs are set out below: Year Cost 2014 €2,850 2015 €2,610 2016 €2,860 As part of the phased implementation of the 20 Year Rule in relation to the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Records (23 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: My Department has not incurred costs on the storage of corporate data on third party or cloud servers. I am aware of the benefits offered by cloud computing and any future activity in this area will be guided by the Public Service ICT Strategy.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Regulatory Impact Assessment Data (23 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The Regulatory Impact Assessment in relation to the Diplomatic Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill is available on my Department’s website at . The other recent relevant legislation originating from my Department is the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict (Hague Convention) Bill. As the purpose of this Bill is to enable adherence by the State to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Staff Data (23 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: There is one such case in my Department. There are no State agencies under the aegis of my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (28 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: At the outset it is important to state that the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes (and certain related Matters) is independent in the conduct of its investigations. Therefore, the communications strategy is a matter for the Commission. No request has been received by my Department in this regard. However, I am informed that the Commission has used information published...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Freedom of Information Data (28 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: During the period specified by the Deputy, no legal fees were incurred in relation to FOI requests received in my Department. In relation to the staff hours involved in processing FOI requests, as the Deputy will be aware, the first five hours spent by staff in search, retrieval, scheduling and copying, do not attract fees; this time forms part of the duties of officials with responsibility...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (28 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: In the immediate aftermath of the UK referendum on EU exit, the European Council agreed, inter alia, that there would be no negotiations with the UK in advance of the Article 50 application being triggered. Accordingly, the UK’s decision to withdraw from the European Union has not to date been an item on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC). Although formal discussions on...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Staff Data (28 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: There are currently twenty-six officials assigned to EU Division. Its resources will be kept under constant review in response to evolving needs. I would also add that a number of officers of my Department are seconded to the Department of the Taoiseach and working on EU matters, while two officers are seconded to the International and EU Relations Division of the Department of Finance.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Cabinet Committee Meetings (28 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The Cabinet Committee on Brexit, chaired by the Taoiseach, has met six times to date. A further meeting is scheduled to take place on 8 March, just in advance of the European Council in Brussels (9-10 March). I have attended five of the six meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Brexit, missing only the Committee meeting on 7 November 2016, as at that time I was accompanying President Higgins...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (28 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: My Department periodically reviews Ireland’s representation abroad, taking 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. A further consideration is the availability of resources to expand the diplomatic network. In recent years, my Department...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (28 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: A decision was taken in the 2005 budget to exempt applicants aged 65 and over from the passport fee. In 2011 the Government decided in light of the budgetary situation to discontinue the exemption and to apply the same ten-year passport fee to all applicants aged 18 years or over. The annualized fee for a standard ten year Irish passport compares favorably with many other jurisdictions....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (28 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 464, 465, 470 and 471 together. The Bedouin community of Khan al Ahmar has been under demolition orders for some years, although there has also been an injunction on execution of these orders. The issuing of 42 new Stop Work orders, and military activity in the area, has given rise to fears that a mass eviction and demolition action against the village was...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Living Wage (28 Feb 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The remuneration of the staff of my Department is as sanctioned by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in line with Government policy. It is difficult to estimate the potential cost of introducing an hourly rate of €11.50 per hour for all employees of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as the Department recruits a large number of temporary clerical staff on a...