Results 7,781-7,800 of 50,213 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (29 Sep 2010)

Micheál Martin: The Government is closely engaged at the European Union and international level in monitoring the situation in Burma and in supporting the struggle of the Burmese people for democracy and human rights. I have met with representatives of some of the main ethnic minority groups in the country. I remain deeply concerned about the allegations that have been made by these groups that they have...

Written Answers — Passport Applications: Passport Applications (29 Sep 2010)

Micheál Martin: The Passport Office database records and collates data on applicants by place of birth rather than place of residence. In many cases this information is incomplete or inaccurate e.g. applicants may specify place of birth as Ireland rather than their county of birth. It is therefore possible only to give estimated figures in response to this question. It is estimated that approximately...

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (29 Sep 2010)

Micheál Martin: My Department pays the rent on office space in one building in the State, Ground Floor, Findlater House, 27-31 Upper O'Connell Street, Dublin 1. The premises are used by the Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre and is fully occupied. All other rent commitments relating to properties in the State occupied by the Department of Foreign Affairs are discharged by the Office of Public...

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (29 Sep 2010)

Micheál Martin: My Department pays the rent on office space in one building in the State, Ground Floor, Findlater House, 27-31 Upper O'Connell Street, Dublin 1. The lease on these premises was negotiated by the Office of Public Works on behalf of my Department . The details requested by the Deputy are as follows: The area rented is 636 metres square. The rental cost in 2010 is €419,175. The lease is for...

Written Answers — Passport Applications: Passport Applications (29 Sep 2010)

Micheál Martin: On 12 August last I confirmed that the Passport Service had cleared the backlog of applications allowing the resumption of normal processing times. For passports submitted through the Passport Express and the Northern Ireland Postal Express services, a return within 10 working days is now guaranteed. This service is available through local post offices and offers the simplest and most...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (29 Sep 2010)

Micheál Martin: The table below sets out details of mobile phone bills paid by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the numbers of staff who are provided with mobile phones over the period 2007 to 2010 to date. The Department avails of the Mobile Telephony Services Framework operated by the Department of Finance. Under this Framework, O Year Amount Spent on Mobile Telephony Services No of Staff provided...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (29 Sep 2010)

Micheál Martin: The table below gives details of the number of staff by grade employed by my Department. Grade Number (September 2010) Secretary General 1.00 Second Secretary General 2.00 Deputy Secretary General 5.00 Assistant Secretary General/Legal Adviser/Chief Medical Officer 38.00 Principal Development Specialist/Higher Principal Officer/Counsellor/Principal Officer/Senior Development...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (29 Sep 2010)

Micheál Martin: On 28 July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on the human right to water and sanitation. The resolution was adopted following a recorded vote of 122 in favour to none against, with 41 abstentions. Following careful consideration Ireland, along with seventeen of our European Union partners, took the decision to abstain from voting on this issue. Ireland is...

Written Answers — Commemorative Events: Commemorative Events (5 Oct 2010)

Micheál Martin: The United Nations General Assembly has designated 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives. The aim is to highlight the contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic development and to draw attention to their impact on poverty reduction, employment generation and social inclusion. It is hoped that this UN initiative will help enhance public awareness of cooperatives and their...

Written Answers — Northern Ireland Issues: Northern Ireland Issues (5 Oct 2010)

Micheál Martin: No record of the authorities of the State having received any such representations or proposals has been located in my Department.

Written Answers — Northern Ireland Issues: Northern Ireland Issues (5 Oct 2010)

Micheál Martin: No record of the authorities of the State having received any such notification has been located in my Department.

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (5 Oct 2010)

Micheál Martin: I drew attention to the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran in my address to the UN General Assembly on 27 September. In my remarks, I called upon Iran to respect and fulfil the international obligations it has undertaken in the field of human rights. I referred to some profoundly disturbing recent instances of human rights abuses, including the appalling sentencing of Ms Sakineh...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (5 Oct 2010)

Micheál Martin: The Department of Foreign Affairs has no EU Directives awaiting transposition. While my Department has an overall coordinating role in EU matters, responsibility for transposing EU measures into law rests with those Departments with responsibility for the policy areas covered by individual EU measures. My colleague, Mr Dick Roche T.D., Minister of State for European Affairs, chairs an...

Written Answers — Foreign Direct Investment: Foreign Direct Investment (6 Oct 2010)

Micheál Martin: The 2006 Comprehensive Study on the All-Island economy identified the need to build on our competitive strengths, particularly in the areas of infrastructure and R&D. The recently published Innovation Task Force report was also clear on the benefits to be gained – not least to border regions - from jointly branding and promoting our 'Innovation Island'. An important initiative in this...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (6 Oct 2010)

Micheál Martin: Three individuals are currently in receipt of public service pensions direct from the Department of Foreign Affairs. The pensions relate to employment in the former Agency for Personal Service Overseas (APSO) which was integrated into the Department a number of years ago. The annual amount in each case is less than €20,000. There are no public bodies under the aegis of my Department.

Written Answers — Irish Language: Irish Language (6 Oct 2010)

Micheál Martin: Details of expenditure by the Department of Foreign Affairs on Irish language training in 2009 and 2010 are set out in the following table, which also shows the number of officers that participated in the training. Year Expenditure Number of officers 2009 â'¬430 3 2010 â'¬1,505 4 My Department is currently finalising arrangements for the provision of Irish language classes for its...

Middle East Peace Process (12 Oct 2010)

Micheál Martin: Despite the many difficulties remaining, the direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders that commenced on 2 September present a historic opportunity to at last achieve a just and lasting peace. Compounding the complexity of the issues has been a deep lack of trust between the two sides, with each believing the other is not serious about negotiations. Ireland and the European Union...

Middle East Peace Process (12 Oct 2010)

Micheál Martin: I have no difficulty with much of what the Deputy has said in terms of the events that have happened which, when taken together, undermine the prospects of a peaceful settlement. I share Deputy Higgins's objections to the proposed oath of loyalty which is provocative and counter-productive to the peace process itself. It is wrong. What is clear is that there are forces within Israeli...

Middle East Peace Process (12 Oct 2010)

Micheál Martin: I travelled to the West Bank two years to meet with the Palestinian team which was in preparation for the Annapolis process.

Middle East Peace Process (12 Oct 2010)

Micheál Martin: Yes, they had a great deal of issues worked out. However, I got the sense that all of it was at one remove from the political process that was under way. In essence, these people had not been called upon in terms of the detailed work which has to go into resolving issues. The Deputy seems to be suggesting a mechanism to pull all of the work that has been done together and which has...