Results 8,001-8,020 of 50,294 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — United Nations Initiatives: United Nations Initiatives (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: The Alliance of Civilizations was established in 2005 as an initiative of Spain and Turkey under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General, to improve understanding and cooperation among nations and peoples across cultures and religions and to help counter forces that fuel polarisation and extremism. Ireland is a member of the Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilisations which now...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: Recent events in Yemen highlight the fragility of the state and the challenges it faces in combating terrorism. The mail bombs discovered last month in aircraft in the UK and Dubai coupled with the assassination of approximately 100 government officials in recent months underscore the serious nature of the threat posed by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The stability of the country is...

Written Answers — United Nations Initiatives: United Nations Initiatives (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: The UN Secretariat's Department of Public Information has responsibility within the UN system for promoting global awareness and greater understanding of the work of the United Nations. The DPI works across all communications media, and the United Nations website and the UN News Service (including UN Radio) run by the DPI serve as key sources in providing information and news on the UN. The...

Written Answers — Overseas Elections: Overseas Elections (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: Elections took place during May 2010 in Ethiopia to the House of People's Representatives and the State Councils. The ruling EPRDF party and its partners won 544 of 547 seats in the House of People's Representatives in a first past the post electoral system. I welcome the publication on 8th November last of the final report of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM)....

Written Answers — G20 Summit: G20 Summit (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: G20 leaders met in Seoul, Korea on 11 and 12 November. The meeting was an important stock-taking opportunity and enabled G20 members to follow-up on commitments made previously on a coordinated global response to the financial crisis. Discussion at Seoul centred on the global economy and the framework for growth, IMF governance and financial regulation. At the Summit, G20 leaders agreed on...

Written Answers — European Union Accession: European Union Accession (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: The European Commission adopted its 2010 enlargement package on 9 November, which included the Commission's 2010 Enlargement Strategy and Progress Reports on Western Balkan countries. These reports will provide a basis for further discussion and conclusions at the December Council. Commissioner for Enlargement and External Relations Stefan Fuele emphasised the importance of the EU's...

Written Answers — Departmental Investigations: Departmental Investigations (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: There are no state agencies operating under the responsibility of my Department. There are currently four boards which operate under the aegis of my Department: the Development Education Advisory Committee; the Government Emigrant Services Advisory Committee; the Fulbright Commission (The Board of the Ireland – United States Commission for Educational Exchange) and the Irish Aid Expert...

Written Answers — EU Enlargement: EU Enlargement (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: The prospect of accession to the Union is a very important element in the overall diplomacy of the EU in its neighbouring Balkan region. It bolsters and acts as an incentive to reform efforts, both economic and political, promotes regional cooperation and the resolution of disputes and should lead over time to greater stability, progress and benefits for Europe as a whole. Ireland is...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: I am gravely concerned about the deterioration in the human rights situation in general in Iran since the Presidential election in 2009. We have witnessed the continued repression of civil and political rights in Iran, including in relation to freedom of expression and assembly, arbitrary arrest and torture in detention. This highly targeted repression has been particularly stringent...

Written Answers — EU Enlargement: EU Enlargement (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: The European Commission adopted its 2010 Enlargement Package on 9 November. Commissioner for Enlargement and External Relations Stefan Fuele emphasised the importance of the EU's Enlargement policy and stressed the significance of credibility in the process, in terms of conditionality and the efforts of candidate counties. Regarding Croatia, the Commission confirmed that the accession...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: EU Ministers last discussed the situation in Colombia in 2007 when we adopted Conclusions which expressed the Council's full support for the Colombian government in its search for a negotiated solution to the internal armed conflict. The Council reaffirmed its readiness to assist the Colombian government, state institutions, civil society and international organisations in providing support...

Written Answers — Diplomatic Representation: Diplomatic Representation (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: I met with the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez Parilla on 19 May during his visit to Dublin. During this meeting, we discussed a range of bilateral and multilateral issues, including EU-Cuba and Cuba-US relations. At the Foreign Affairs Council in October, Ministers considered recent developments in Cuba, including the ongoing release of political prisoners and the announcement of...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: There are several countries in Africa which are suffering from conflict, food shortages, and human rights abuses, and some which have suffered genocide. I do not propose to go into details on each of them individually. The international community continues to intervene to address these issues on the African continent, whether on a bilateral or multilateral basis. With regard to the issue of...

Written Answers — EU Treaties: EU Treaties (18 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: At its meeting of 28-29 October, the European Council endorsed the report of the task force on economic governance chaired by President Herman Van Rompuy and agreed on the need for Member States to establish a permanent crisis mechanism to safeguard the financial stability of the euro area. The European Council has agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting on 16 and 17 December,...

Written Answers — Passport Applications: Passport Applications (23 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 221 and 226 together. Citizens over the age of 65 are currently entitled to a passport free of charge. Introducing an arrangement whereby adults of any age would be eligible to apply for a passport for a period of less than 10 years would increase the total demand for passports and thereby require the recruitment of additional staff, something which cannot be...

Written Answers — Diplomatic Representation: Diplomatic Representation (23 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: As the incident to which the Deputy refers is the subject of legal proceedings in another jurisdiction, I will not comment on any elements which are sub judice, but will limit my reply to the role of my Department in providing consular assistance to the person concerned. In regard to this case, the relevant Irish Embassy dealt with an Irish citizen who requested consular assistance on...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (23 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: On 9 November my Department was contacted by a family member of the person referred to by the Deputy, who alleged that the person concerned had been attacked by prison officers in Barlinnie Remand Prison in Glasgow. On my instruction, our Consulate-General in Edinburgh was in immediate and direct contact with the relevant Scottish authorities at the prison to raise concerns about his...

Written Answers — Passport Service: Passport Service (23 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 224 and 225 together. An annual revenue/cost statement for Passport Service for the period 2006-2009 is set out below. Figures for 2010 will not be available until the Department's Appropriation Account has been signed after the end of the financial year. The statement shows that whereas the number of passports issued fell by 6.75% over the period, passport...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (23 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: The Department of Foreign Affairs is responsible for two Votes – Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs) and Vote 29 (International Cooperation). Within Vote 28 there are two main programmes that provide funding to organisations: the Emigrant Support Programme and Reconciliation and Anti Sectarianism Funds. While some of organisations funded under these programmes have been granted charitable status...

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (25 Nov 2010)

Micheál Martin: Participants at the Global Irish Economic Forum, held at Farmleigh in September 2009, expressed strong support for the development of new structured opportunities abroad for Irish graduates. The Farmleigh Fellowship programme was one such initiative to emerge from the Forum. It was developed by a number of participants based in Singapore and launched in May of this year. The new programme...