Results 9,781-9,800 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Order of Business (16 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: -----to address the needs of the 440,000 people who are out of work and is now being opposed by the same people-----

Order of Business (16 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: -----has already been debated on Second Stage since Tuesday. We propose to conclude the Second Stage debate today in accordance with the arrangements I have proposed. Regarding Committee Stage, as I understand it, the committee itself normally makes arrangements for the timetabling of the handling of the Bill. I know that in the past there were arrangements where time was allocated for...

Order of Business (16 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: We are a democratic institution - the committee decides.

Order of Business (16 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The civil registration amendment Bill is on the C list. The heads are being drafted and it is expected to be published later this year.

Order of Business (16 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: It is expected that the fiscal responsibility Bill will be taken later this session. There are two Bills relating to the European Financial Stability Facility. I will introduce a European Communities (Amendment) Bill. The heads of this Bill have been approved by the Government and it will be introduced this session. A separate and related Bill will be introduced by the Minister for Finance.

Order of Business (16 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: It will be towards the end of the session. The Bill from the Department of Finance will follow it. The Attorney General has yet to present her advice on the treaty and the conclusion of the European summit in January.

Order of Business (16 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I join Deputy O'Dea in welcoming the conviction yesterday. We all recall with horror when Shane Geoghegan was killed. I welcome the conviction yesterday. It does not bring back Shane and that is the awful sentence that families must live with after something like this occurs. The Garda Commissioner has expressed his satisfaction that the existing legislation is adequate. The adequacy of...

Order of Business (16 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The betting (amendment) Bill is being worked upon as a priority and we expect to publish it this session. I do not have a date for the second matter raised by Deputy Durkan. Preliminary work is under way on the Criminal Justice (Victims Rights) Bill but it is impossible to indicate a publication date at this stage. The final Bill Deputy Durkan referred to is expected later this year.

Order of Business (16 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The EPA report underscores and supports the urgency and priority that the Government is giving to issues of water pollution. Certainly, the Government will not shirk its responsibility in bringing forward legislation. When statutory instruments, to which the Deputy referred, are made they are laid before the House and it is then a matter for Members how they wish to deal with the secondary...

Order of Business (16 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The report of the Financial Services Ombudsman is being considered by the Minister for Finance. If he considers that legislative change is necessary then he will bring proposals to Government in that regard.

Written Answers — Summit Meetings: Summit Meetings (16 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I am aware of the UK-Nordic-Baltic Summits which were held in London in January 2011, and in Stockholm earlier this month, under the title 'The Northern Future Forum'. These are informal meetings, attended by representatives of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and Britain, and are organised outside European Union structures. Ireland was not invited to...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (16 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The tables give a breakdown of the number of employees in each salary band as of the most recently processed payroll (16 February 2012). 0-10k 11-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 0 97 265 304 144 120 36 70-80 80-90 90-100 100-115 115-125 125-150 150+ 150 48 67 26 0 33 9 Salary payments for locally-engaged staff in missions abroad are administered locally and it is not possible to...

Diplomatic Representation (21 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The decision to close Ireland's resident embassy to the Holy See was taken by the Government in response to budgetary pressures and on the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which sought to assess where budget cuts would impact least on the national interest at this time of economic crisis. The total cost saving in a full year from the closure is estimated at...

Diplomatic Representation (21 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The issue of which embassies might be closed in these difficult economic times had been under consideration in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for some time. The Deputy's party leader, my immediate predecessor, acknowledged here recently that while he was Minister, the possible closure of the Embassy to the Holy See had been under consideration. The confusion may have arisen...

Diplomatic Representation (21 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The recommendation, the memorandum to Government and consideration of the issue by Government was done in the normal way. Deputy Ó Feargháil will be quite well aware of the doctrine of Cabinet confidentiality with which we all are obliged to comply. The issue was considered by the Government in the normal way. As the Minister concerned, I take political responsibility for making the...

Middle East Peace Process (21 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: It still remains very much my conviction that the continuing Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories and the growth of illegal settlements on occupied lands represent the major obstacles to securing political progress in the Middle East peace process. I have visited Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in recent weeks and had an opportunity to see for myself the...

Middle East Peace Process (21 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The international community is very much engaged on this issue. As the Deputy knows, at the UN General Assembly in September a statement was agreed by the Quartet, comprising the United Nations, the European Union and so on, setting down a timetable for discussions to take place between Palestine and Israel. It is regrettable that this timetable has not been complied with and has slipped...

Middle East Peace Process (21 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland has taken a very strong interest in the Middle East peace process, particularly the situation on the West Bank and in Gaza. I have conveyed our concerns in clear terms at meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union. I set them out clearly in my statement to the United Nations General Assembly last September. The Deputy and other Members urged me strongly in the...

Foreign Conflicts (21 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland has been working intensively with the European Union, the United Nations, the Arab League and other partners in the international community to compel the Syrian regime to cease its appalling and unacceptable attacks on the Syrian people through a series of robust economic, political and diplomatic measures. At EU level, the Foreign Affairs Council agreed on 1 December and 23 January...

Foreign Conflicts (21 Feb 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I thank the Deputy for commending me on the actions the Government has taken on the situation in Syria and the successful visit of the Vice President of China over the weekend. The Foreign Minister of China also was part of the delegation and I had the opportunity to talk to him separately. We discussed the situation in Syria and shared our respective views on the seriousness of the issue....