Results 11,401-11,420 of 18,496 for speaker:Brendan Smith

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: For Northern Ireland truly to progress and move forward mechanisms need to be put in place to deal with the legacy of the past. Victims and survivors, be they of atrocities committed in the North or the South, have a basic entitlement to the truth. Anger, frustration and disappointment are the responses of survivors and victims' families to the agreement, A Fresh Start. I would appreciate...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: I thank the Minister for his reply. I am sure he will agree that the necessary mechanisms to get the facts must be put in place. Thorough and unimpeded investigations are needed and no Government, State agency or political grouping can be allowed to continue to block a truth process. It is not acceptable that the British Government is exercising a veto, citing national security concerns,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: I thank the Minister for his reply. I raised issues in our previous discussion on Northern Ireland a week or more ago. Does the Minister agree that we need to deal with them with the utmost urgency? We do not want the atmosphere to be poisoned even more and people to continue to be disappointed. Does the Minister have in mind a timeframe in which he could envisage some progress being made...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Undocumented Irish in the USA (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: 4. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of the proposed immigration reform legislation in the United States of America; if any further discussions are planned with the authorities there, given the ongoing concern of many Irish emigrant representative organisations, the difficulties facing the undocumented Irish and the concerns of their families at home; and if he will...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Undocumented Irish in the USA (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: In November 2014, we welcomed the administrative measures announced by President Obama, which could have benefited thousands of undocumented Irish emigrants based in the United States. Unfortunately those measures now face a legal challenge in the US federal court. Can the Minister inform the House, from his contacts in the United States, if there is any prospect of progress in the area of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Undocumented Irish in the USA (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: Our minds are probably more focused on this issue now than at other times of the year. Living without documentation can mean living in the shadows and in fear in a country which many consider their home. It also means that people might be unable to travel to Ireland to see friends and family. It can mean missing family occasions, be they celebratory occasions or occasions of bereavement....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Undocumented Irish in the USA (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: We need to keep the issue on the agenda and to assure the undocumented Irish, of whom all of us know and whose family members we know at home, that this is an issue that will continue to be treated with the utmost urgency, be it through political contacts or contacts at official level. There was a proposal to have visa waivers for the undocumented Irish, which focuses on permitting...

Other Questions: Foreign Conflicts (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: 7. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the proposals he put forward at recent meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council in relation to the very urgent need to address the ongoing conflict in Syria and the horrendous loss of life and displacement of persons; the decisions reached at those meetings on additional measures to be taken by the European Union and the international...

Other Questions: Foreign Conflicts (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: The loss of life and the displacement of people as a result of the ongoing conflict in Syria are horrendous. More than 250,000 Syrians have lost their lives in the four and a half year conflict, 6.6 million people are displaced within Syria and more than 4 million people have fled the country. Nearly 14 million people in Syria, half the country’s population, are in dire need of...

Other Questions: Foreign Conflicts (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: I thank the Minister for his reply and sincerely hope, given the views expressed by the EU High Representative after the Vienna talks, that a political solution to be achieved with the utmost urgency is the way forward. We fully realise the difficulties in achieving it. In the aftermath of the Paris attacks by Daesh the House had the opportunity to condemn the attacks. The...

Other Questions: Foreign Conflicts (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: As I stated previously, we need a fair, equitable and proportionate EU resettlement programme in response to the migrant challenge. Ireland must play a part in providing a safe haven for those escaping conflict. We must also put in place robust safeguards to ensure those who seek refuge in Europe, including Ireland, are genuine migrants. This is important as we deal with the issue. On...

Other Questions: EU Issues (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: 10. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions, he has had with his European counterparts in relation to Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45308/15]

Other Questions: EU Issues (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: Fianna Fáil values the key role that Britain plays as an ally and friend of Ireland in the European Union. We will be vocal in supporting the UK remaining as a full member state of the EU. We believe it would be a political and economic disaster, both for Ireland and Britain, if Britain exited the EU. It would also have a serious impact on British-Irish trade. We must also factor in...

Other Questions: EU Issues (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. I also thank the Minister for his reply. We must have a better national debate on this issue throughout all of our island because it is of critical importance. We do not want to see the nightmare again of passport controls and customs posts on the Border between North and South in this country. Peace funding provided by the EU has been critical in building a...

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2015: From the Seanad (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: Did the Minister of State say that LAMA would have the right to nominate a candidate to the Administrative Panel? Correct. I take it that is the sum total of the Government's Seanad reform as well. I think we should put it on the record that it brought in one piece of reform.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2015: From the Seanad (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: It was important that this Seanad was kept. It is a very important part of our Legislature.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2015: From the Seanad (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: Seamus Mallon.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2015: From the Seanad (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: I welcome the Minister of State's comments. I believe all election expenditure should be transparent and in the public domain. Most of us do not have problems with donations because we do not get them and so disclosure is not an issue. I am speaking for myself and, I am sure, the vast majority of public representatives as well. We generally go into debt to try to fight elections. I am...

Technological Universities Bill 2015: Second Stage (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: As Deputy John Paul Phelan said, this legislation requires detailed and critical scrutiny. I disagree with his remarks on what the former Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Martin, did in the context of supporting the regional technological colleges and the institutes of technology. During the period he held the office that the Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, holds now, there was...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Migration Crisis (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Smith: 12. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to report on the European Union-Turkey migration agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45306/15]