Results 11,181-11,200 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (11 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: My Department did not allocate any money to Ballina, Castlebar and Westport Town Council during the period in question. There are no State agencies under the aegis of my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Relations (11 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland’s trade with Israel currently amounts to over €1bn per annum. Israel is an important trading partner and under its trade promotion strategy, the Government is committed to growing Ireland’s exports in all foreign markets, and expanding our trade footprint outside our main trading partners. It has been a long-standing position of successive governments that...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (11 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I join the Chairman in welcoming Deputies Brendan Smith and Seán Crowe as members of the select committee. I had an opportunity at a meeting of the Joint Committee on European Affairs Committee to have a discussion with Deputy Crowe in his new capacity and I look forward to working with both Deputies. Our exchanges this afternoon represents another step in the ongoing reform of the...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (11 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: It is important to explain what we are seeking to do in regard to trade. A number of Departments and agencies are involved in the trade function. These include the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has responsibility for Bord Bia and food exports. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (11 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I apologise to Deputy Mitchell for not answering her earlier question. It was a hard question and I ask her to give me a bit more time to think about it. The Department has made considerable savings over the last three years in respect of money and staff numbers. I pay tribute to the staff of the Department for meeting increased demands for services with fewer people and resources. We...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (11 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The issue of co-operation and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and throughout the island has been one of the main functions of my Department for some time and we work on it at a number of levels. There is North-South co-operation, the work of the North-South Ministerial Council and work I do in conjunction with both the First Minister and Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland at a...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (11 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I agree with Deputy Smith that the landscape in Ulster has changed dramatically since the settlement. However, we need to continue to work on it, which is why my Department continues its very vigilant engagement on Northern Ireland and the North-South relationship. That is why we had people on the ground during the parades and other events that took place during the summer. It is a...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (11 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: It is related to that. I was pleased to hear the UN High Commissioner for Refugees say, both in his meeting with me yesterday and again on radio this morning, that there is appreciation among the international community that despite our economic difficulties we are maintaining our faith. Deputy Crowe is correct. We do not want to be in a situation where we must cut back programmes which...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (11 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: People see what is happening in refugee camps, be it in Syria or Sudan. I saw it myself during the summer when I went to Mogadishu. I was the first Irish Minister to go there for about 20 years. We see appalling conditions in refugee camps. One sees our financial commitment, the support we give to NGOs and how much it means. I saw children attending schools and the rubble of a devastated...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 27 - International Co-operation
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (11 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: We are determined to reach the commitment. The State's objective is to reach the 0.7% target and we are not demurring from that. We remain committed to it. As everybody knows, the question of when we reach that target is dependent on our economic recovery. We have maintained the figure above 0.5%, which is still in the top end of the league table of commitment internationally. There is...

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (16 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I welcome the contributions of the Deputies to this debate. It is important the House has an opportunity before European Union summit meetings to discuss the issues that will arise and to have its input. It struck me, however, that some of the contributors appeared to be speaking as if the 29 June meeting never happened and the conclusions were never made. I will travel to Brussels on...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (16 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade plays an active role in providing support to Irish companies and promoting foreign earnings opportunities for Irish business, including through the implementation of the Africa Strategy which I launched last year. Last month my colleague, the Minister of State for Trade and Development, Mr. Joe Costello, T.D., launched the ‘Winning Business...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications (16 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Applicants applying at the Passport Service public offices can ask to have an application expedited in the case of urgent travel need. In such cases, the Passport Service will issue a passport within 3 working days. A fee of €55, which is additional to the applicable fee for the issue of a passport, must be paid by the applicant. When applying through a public office, the applicant...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Presidency Expenditure (16 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 129 and 148 together. An overarching focus of the Government in planning for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the first half of 2013 is to run an efficient and cost-effective Presidency. The Government decided in December 2011 to allocate a budget in the order of €60m over 2012 and 2013 to resource the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Illegal Israeli Settlements (16 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 131 together. I have answered many questions on the issue of settlement products and the situation has not changed. Notwithstanding the EU’s view on the illegality of Israel’s settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, there is, in my view, no prospect of securing agreement on the banning of products produced in the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Staff Career Breaks (16 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 132, 154 and 155 together. Details by grade of the thirty-one staff currently availing of career breaks, including under the 2009 special incentive career break scheme, are provided in the following table: Grade Standard career break Special incentive career break First Secretary 2 1 Third Secretary 3 1 Clerical Officer 17 1 Total 28 3...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (16 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: As the Deputy will be aware the aim of the Official Languages Act 2003 is to increase and improve in an organised manner over a period of time the quantity and quality of services provided for the public through Irish by public bodies. The intention of the legislation is to create a space for the language in public affairs in Ireland. My Department is fully committed, through its customer...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Statistics (16 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland's trade with Israel currently amounts to over €1bn per annum. Israel is an important trading partner and under its trade promotion strategy, the Government is committed to growing Ireland’s exports in all foreign markets, and expanding our trade footprint outside our main trading partners. The export and import figures are laid out in the following table. €m...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Common Foreign and Security Policy (16 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Mr. Pierre Vimont, Secretary General of the European External Action Service, visited Dublin on 3 October. While here, he met with the Secretary General of my Department and other senior officials. I was unable to meet Mr Vimont on that occasion as I was in Brussels for consultations between the Government and the EU Commission on plans for our EU Presidency. Bosnia and Herzegovina features...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Presidency Expenditure (16 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: As Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union nears, many of my recent high-level meetings have focussed on the emerging priorities for Ireland’s six month term in office. During all meetings I have stressed that the priority of the Irish Presidency will be to work on measures dedicated to creating jobs (particularly for younger Europeans), including by working to...