Results 11,221-11,240 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Middle East Peace Process (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I can confirm that the Council, which met in Luxembourg on Monday last, discussed the situation in the Middle East and the fact that no progress has been made in talks about a settlement. The Council adopted a strong statement on the Middle East and Palestine at the May meeting and focused particularly on the settlement activity, which is continuing and which is making a two-state solution...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Middle East Peace Process (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: This Government and its predecessor made the Middle East a priority in foreign policy. That will continue to be the case and that is why we pressed hard for a strong statement at the EU Foreign Affairs Council. That is why we took the position that there must be follow through. I have asked that, during our Presidency, we review what was decided in May. On a technical point, the Foreign...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Human Rights Issues (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 5 together. I have made clear to the House on numerous occasions that all charges against the medical professionals should have been dropped. Given the great concerns and doubts that surrounded the case of the medics from the start, and particularly in light of the well-documented reports of ill-treatment to which many of those originally detained...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Human Rights Issues (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The RCSI is an independent organisation and an internationally renowned medical school attracting international students from more than 60 countries. It has a student population of 4,000 people and employs more than 850 people globally, 80% of whom are graduates. I am responsible to the House for the response of the Irish Government to the situation in Bahrain. My concerns, the concerns of...

Other Questions: Commemorative Events (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The decade of commemorations is a regular feature of discussions at all levels with the Northern Ireland Executive and the British Government. I most recently discussed the issue with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP, at our meeting of 17 September 2012. This useful exchange of views built on previous constructive dialogue with her predecessor at the...

Other Questions: Commemorative Events (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I agree with Deputy Smith. In this decade, which is already under way, we will commemorate the events that shaped our independence in this State and shaped the history of the island for the past 100 years. Respect, mutual understanding and reconciliation must be part of our remembrance of our shared history. It is also important that we recognise that the history of that period is not only...

Other Questions: Commemorative Events (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: This year marks the commemoration of the Home Rule Bill and the Ulster Covenant. I know there were concerns, particularly ahead of the events in Balmoral in April and, more recently, on 29 September, and I am very pleased the events passed peacefully. I commend all those who took an active role in working with communities and different interests to ensure that was the case. In a way that...

Other Questions: Human Rights Issues (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The fuel allowance scheme referred to by the Deputy is a scheme administered by the National Protection Unit, which operates under the Colombian Ministry of the Interior. The purpose of the fuel allowance scheme is to facilitate trade union leaders and human rights defenders using protective vehicles as they carry out their difficult and dangerous work. It is my understanding that the...

Other Questions: Human Rights Issues (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The importance of protection for trade unionists and human rights defenders features prominently in our dialogue with the Colombian authorities. I raised it with the Vice President when I met him earlier this year. Our ambassador accredited to Colombia has also raised the issue, and that is ongoing. In the EU context, both Ireland and the EU believe that ensuring the safety of human rights...

Other Questions: Human Rights Issues (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I agree that these discussions are historic. We will pay close attention to what takes place in the discussions in Oslo. I have asked our ambassador accredited to Colombia to continue to raise these issues with the Colombian authorities and to report to me on his observations, conclusions and whatever responses he receives. In so far as the human rights situation is concerned in Colombia...

Other Questions: Human Rights Issues (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The Government is committed to growing Ireland’s exports in all foreign markets, and expanding our trade footprint outside our main trading partners. As part of the Government’s trade promotion strategy, Saudi Arabia has been identified as a priority market with significant potential for Irish companies. Currently, Ireland’s trade with Saudi Arabia amounts to almost...

Other Questions: Human Rights Issues (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: In our relations with any country, be it Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, we look at the totality of the relationship; it is never based on one issue. Our relationship with Saudi Arabia encompasses a range of issues including both trade promotion and human rights. The total level of trade with Saudi Arabia stands at €900 million annually and that is very much tilted in Ireland's favour....

Other Questions: Human Rights Issues (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Our trade with Saudi Arabia is important. It is worth €900 million at a time when we have a huge number of people out of work in this country. We have suffered an economic difficulty and must trade our way out of that. That means we must export and this is an important export market. It is overwhelmingly in our favour, running at €850 million in exports and €50 million...

Other Questions: Middle East Peace Process (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Germany has, for historical reasons, a particularly strong commitment to the security of Israel. The Israeli navy operates three submarines bought from Germany, with a further two understood to be under construction. The report in Der Spiegel alleges that these submarines have been adapted to carry nuclear armed missiles. The Government has no means of assessing the truth of these...

Other Questions: Middle East Peace Process (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I do share worries about the militarisation that is taking place in the Middle East. That is why we support the conference on a zone free of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery in the Middle East which is due to take place in December. The conference facilitator, the Finnish Under-Secretary of State, Mr. Jaakko Laajava, has undertaken substantial consultations with all...

Other Questions: Middle East Peace Process (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: No one is turning a blind eye to anything. There is a European Union Common Position in respect of the export from all the member states of equipment for military purposes. The armaments companies in the European Union must comply with one of the strictest export control regimes in the world. There are eight separate criteria. They take into account the effect that any arms transfer could...

Other Questions: Foreign Conflicts (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10, 41 and 50 together. The crisis in Syria dominated discussions when I attended the UN General Assembly in New York last month. I made clear when I addressed the General Assembly on 28 September that what is happening in Syria represents an affront to humanity with indiscriminate violence, which is not just confined to one side, taking place on an...

Other Questions: Foreign Conflicts (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: It is very difficult to quantify the number of people who have been killed owing to the restricted access. I have seen figures of 22,000 and up to 30,000, as the Deputy mentioned. Some 300,000 Syrians have been forced to flee to neighbouring countries. Approximately 1.5 million Syrians in Syria are in need of sanitation, food and medical aid. I discussed the humanitarian situation in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Language (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: All parties to the Good Friday Agreement recognised the importance of respect, understanding and tolerance in relation to linguistic diversity, including in Northern Ireland, the Irish language and the languages of the various ethnic communities, as part of the cultural wealth of the island of Ireland. In the St Andrews Agreement, the British government committed to introducing an...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Presidency Expenditure (17 Oct 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Our forthcoming EU Presidency is an excellent opportunity to foster closer North-South links across a wide number of areas of cooperation. This will be the first time that Ireland has held the Presidency of the EU during a time when the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement are fully operational. As such, this is a unique opportunity to deepen our cooperation with the Executive, and...