Results 6,681-6,700 of 50,136 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (15 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: My Department has not provided any funding to my constituency office or the constituency offices of the Ministers of State at this Department for leaflet design, production, delivery or other related costs in 2007, 2008, or to date in 2009.

Written Answers — Ministerial Travel: Ministerial Travel (15 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: As the Deputy will appreciate, Ministers serving at my Department, by the nature of its responsibilities, are obliged to undertake a significant amount of official travel overseas. In regard to official travel overseas, I have included below, in tabular form, the total costs incurred on accommodation, commercial flights and travel subsistence for 2007, 2008 and 2009 (January - August) in...

Written Answers — Kidnapped Aid Workers: Kidnapped Aid Workers (15 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: I am extremely concerned for the welfare of Sharon Commins and her Ugandan colleague Ms.Hilda Kawuki, who have been in captivity for over 100 days now. Mr Al Gailani, the Sudanese Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, was appointed by the Sudanese Government as our official point of contact and has been in contact on almost a daily basis with our Ambassador to Sudan, Mr Gerry Corr, who remains...

Written Answers — Ministerial Travel: Ministerial Travel (15 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: In regard to official domestic travel, I have included below, in tabular form, the total costs incurred on such travel for 2007, 2008 and 2009 (January - August) in regard to each Minister and Minister of State who has served in my Department in this period. My Department is fully compliant with the Department of Finance guidelines on travel. My Department also operates its own detailed...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (15 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: In reply to Priority Question No 7 on 23 September 2009, Minister Roche on my behalf gave the Government's initial views on the Goldstone Report and the findings it contains. As stated in that reply: The exhaustive findings and recommendations made by Judge Goldstone and his colleagues deserve the most serious consideration by all those concerned with the defence of human rights. It is...

Written Answers — Emigrant Support Programme: Emigrant Support Programme (20 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: The Government continues to attach a high priority to the development of relations between Ireland and the global Irish. Through the Emigrant Support Programme, managed by my Department, we have allocated some €60 million to Irish welfare and community organisations across the world since 2004. Of these funds, almost $15 million has been awarded to community organisations in the United...

Written Answers — Ministerial Travel: Ministerial Travel (20 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 378 and 379 together. It is standard recognised international practice for a Minister in any government to be met on arrival in a foreign country by their Ambassador or an embassy official, to be accompanied by their embassy throughout the visit and to be seen off by the embassy on their departure. It is also standard practice for the embassy to arrange...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (20 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: In my Department, five officers at Principal Officer level or higher are due to retire under the Incentivised Scheme of Early Retirement. The total number of staff in my Department at Principal Officer level or higher is currently 140. Following full implementation of the ISER, the number of staff at Principal Officer level or higher will be 135. This represents 8.5% of the Department's...

Written Answers — Arms Trade: Arms Trade (20 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 382 and 383 together. As the Deputy is aware, the Government has been working towards a binding and comprehensive global treaty on the arms trade, covering all weapons and ammunition. At the United Nations, Ireland has been actively promoting the proposal for an Arms Trade Treaty to secure agreement on common international standards for the import, export...

Written Answers — Middle East Peace Process: Middle East Peace Process (20 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: The European Commission concluded a technical agreement with Israel in 2005, whereby Israel agreed to provide proof of origin notes on consignments to the EU, which should enable customs authorities in the EU to distinguish between goods originating in Israel and in settlements, based on the postcodes of the place of origin. I understand that it is in the first instance an obligation on the...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (20 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: As the Deputy will be aware from my previous reply to him on 16 September, I am familiar with the case of Dr. Tajbakhsh, who was arrested at his home on 9 July in Iran. Our Embassy in Tehran is continuing to follow his case. Unfortunately, like many of those arrested in the aftermath of the disputed Presidential elections of 12 June, Dr Tajbakhsh's conditions of detention remain unclear....

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (20 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: On 11 August, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to a further 18 months in detention. She was found guilty of breaking the terms of her house arrest by virtue of the illegal intrusion of a US national into her compound in May. She lodged an appeal against this conviction but, not unexpectedly, the appeal was turned down by judges at a divisional court on 2 October. The appeal will now be...

Written Answers — State Agencies: State Agencies (20 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: There are no state agencies operating under the responsibility of my Department. However, there are currently three bodies; two Advisory Committees and one Educational Commission, which operate under the aegis of my Department. All members serving on these bodies do so in a voluntary capacity and are not in receipt of a salary or fee. The Development Education Advisory Committee was...

Written Answers — Missing Persons: Missing Persons (20 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: As mentioned in my previous reply to the Deputy, my Department, through the Consular Assistance Section in Dublin and our Embassy in Madrid, has been providing assistance in the case of the person mentioned by him since her disappearance on 1st January 2008. We have remained in contact with her Spanish and Irish family during this deeply worrying time for them. The Embassy, including the...

Order of Business (21 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: There is no hope of that.

European Union Bill 2009: Order for Second Stage (21 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

European Union Bill 2009: Second Stage (21 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." It is an honour for me to introduce this Bill. The purpose of the Bill is to amend the European Communities Act 1972 in order to give effect to the relevant provisions of the Lisbon treaty in the domestic law of the State, and to provide for related matters. The provisions necessary to enable the State to meet its obligations under the...

European Union Bill 2009: Second Stage (21 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: I know, but they are there. Section 5(1) provides that references in enactments other than the Bill and the 1972 Act to the European Communities shall be construed as including references to the European Union. Section 5(2) provides that references to the treaties governing the European Communities shall be construed as references to the treaties governing the European Union. Section 5(3)...

European Union Bill 2009: Second Stage (21 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: Unless we are going there on holidays.

European Union Bill 2009: Second Stage (21 Oct 2009)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Roche is constantly developing and expanding his capacity to receive e-mails.