Results 6,701-6,720 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: North-South Ministerial Council (11 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: At the most recent Plenary meeting of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) on 18 November 2016 in Armagh the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive agreed on a number of important common principles for dealing with the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union on an all-island basis. This built on earlier commitments to work together to optimise North South...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Issues (11 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: Along with the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald T.D. and the Minister of State for European Affairs Dara Murphy T.D., I met the UK Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, David Davis MP, and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, Robin Walker MP, at Iveagh House on 8 September last. A further formal meeting is currently being...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Peace Process (11 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: Ireland has supported a two state solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict since 1980, and for many years now this has been the overwhelming consensus of the international community. I believe that the two state solution, however difficult it may be to achieve, is the best way to achieve a peaceful future between Israelis and Palestinians in the space they share. I believe the two-state...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Undocumented Irish in the USA (11 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: While I am aware of the comments made by the Mayor of Boston calling for comprehensive legislation to provide clarity to all immigrants in the US, it remains the responsibility of the Government to seek to advance the case of the estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish. In this context the Government and our Ambassador and diplomatic representatives in the US will continue to seek...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (11 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements is a priority for my Department and indeed the Government as a whole. In this context, we are of course also guided by the aspiration contained in Article 3 of the Constitution as amended by the people in 1998. The principle of consent and the possibility of a change in constitutional status in Northern...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: White Papers Publication (11 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I welcome the publication of the Commission's White Paper on the Future of Europe. It is essentially a discussion paper which contains much valuable food for thought both about the international context as it is now and may develop over the coming decade, as well as setting out a number of scenarios for how the EU might evolve and develop in the period ahead. It takes an open and...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: As a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the Government is determined that all aspects of the Agreement will be fully respected through the process of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union and thereafter. Our priority is to ensure that the Good Friday Agreement and the overall balance of the settlement is not in any way disturbed by the United Kingdom's exit from the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I want to make it quite clear that all those persons who are citizens of Ireland are EU citizens and that, after Brexit, assuming that the United Kingdom leaves the European Union in two years or whatever extended period thereafter that is deemed appropriate, all of these citizens will fully retain their right to EU citizenship and all the entitlements that flow from it in accordance with EU...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: It is too early to discuss in detail, or in terms of small print, the potential impact of the withdrawal process but I assure the House and the Deputy once again that, since the outcome of the referendum in the United Kingdom, we have been extremely clear that all the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement must be fully recognised and respected following the United Kingdom's departure from...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Foreign Conflicts (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I assure the Deputy that the Government has supported and encouraged efforts aimed at securing peace and stability in the Basque country. The Government welcomed the declaration by ETA of October 2011 that the organisation had decided on "a definitive cession of its armed activity". I issued a statement last Saturday welcoming the decision of ETA to decommission its weapons. I stated that...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Foreign Conflicts (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I have already stated the Irish Government supports any development towards peace and stability. While I agree with the Deputy that there are circumstances in which the experience of our own peace process on the island of Ireland can provide insight and perspective, obviously the Deputy will agree with me that each conflict situation has its own specific characteristics and its own...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Foreign Conflicts (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: We will continue to offer any assistance that might in the circumstances be required. If the Deputy is urging the Irish Government to take an interventionist role in this, that certainly would not be the intention of the Irish Government. We will continue to support the peace process. We will continue to encourage all and any efforts aimed at securing peace and stability in the region but...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: Ireland has a strong and constructive relationship with the United Kingdom and with our EU partners and we are fully committed to maintaining both in the new set of circumstances which will emerge once the United Kingdom leaves the European Union. There are numerous channels for Irish-British engagement and both Governments are making extensive and effective use of them. Some of these fora...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I am not quite sure what new formal institutions the Deputy wishes to see. I again make it quite clear that the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union and the negotiations that are about to commence must take full account of and show the fullest of respect to all the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement. On the basis of our intensive political and diplomatic engagement over the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: -----regardless of the status of the UK within the European Union.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: There are a number of parliamentary structures in which the Deputy himself is involved, for example, the North-South interparliamentary tier and the British-Irish interparliamentary group, which I understand will meet shortly in Kilkenny. I hope to have the opportunity to address that body. I acknowledge the valuable work done by the British-Irish Council, a body referred to by the Deputy,...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The Taoiseach is in attendance at all times. I believe the use of these bodies will now intensify as the negotiations between the UK and the European Union commence. I acknowledge the importance of the North-South Ministerial Council, which of course cannot meet-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: -----at present because of the absence of an Executive in Northern Ireland.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Irish Prisoners Abroad (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I take this opportunity to express my horror at the two attacks on Coptic churches in northern Egypt on Sunday. I have spoken with the Egyptian ambassador and have conveyed through her my deepest condolences and those of the Irish Government to the victims and their families. The consular case referred to by the Deputy continues to be an absolute priority for the Government, and very...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Irish Prisoners Abroad (12 Apr 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I assure the Deputy that the Government continues to pursue every constructive avenue to achieve the citizen's return to Ireland and we will continue to bring our influence to bear on his behalf through all appropriate channels. I have spoken to a number of my EU colleagues on this issue and, as I said in my initial reply, on the previous occasion, which was last week, I spoke directly to EU...