Results 11,501-11,520 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: United Nations Resolutions (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: It is expected that the UN General Assembly may be asked to vote, perhaps as early as this month, on a resolution to admit Palestine as an ‘Observer State’ at the UN. This would be less than full membership but an advance on Palestine’s current status, that of an observer organisation. This move has long been anticipated. A draft resolution to that effect has just...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Humanitarian Access (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The recent violence which engulfed the city of Bani Walid and claimed up to thirty lives was gravely worrying. The fighting broke out when the authorities attempted to arrest militants alleged to have captured and tortured Omran Shaaban, the rebel fighter credited with Gaddafi’s capture. Given the large number of people killed -- many of them civilians -- during the fighting and the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Illegal Israeli Settlements (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I have stated previously in the House that I believe that Israel’s policy of relentless settlement expansion is now the major obstacle to achieving peace in the Middle East. It is, accordingly, inimical to the real interests of Israelis and Palestinians alike. Many injustices and humiliations, furthermore, are visited upon Palestinians as a consequence of this policy. I am...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Presidency (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: As we approach January 2013 and Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, there has been discussion at all of my recent meetings with partners on our Presidency agenda. At all meetings I have emphasised that the main focus of the Irish Presidency will be on measures to create jobs and growth in Europe. I have also taken the opportunity to discuss the busy foreign...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Staff Recruitment (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: My Department takes the issue of risk extremely seriously. A risk register is maintained by a risk group chaired by an Assistant Secretary. In addition, risk is reviewed at monthly meetings of the Management Committee. The Department also has professionally qualified staff employed in its Finance sections. The Department’s Audit Committee has nevertheless recommended that the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland has been working for many years to assist the office of the Auditor General in Uganda. Building the capacity of key financial oversight institutions in our partner countries is an essential component of our aid programmes. In Uganda, we have increased our support to these key institutions in recent years to ensure that the systems through which Government deliver development...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Missions (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I launched the new Africa Strategy of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in September 2011. A progress report on its implementation was presented by the Minister of State for Trade and Development, Joe Costello T.D., at the second Africa Ireland Economic Forum, which took place in Dublin on 22 October 2012. The progress report details the measures which have been put in place over...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consular Services (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Over the last decade, the number of Irish citizens travelling abroad has increased dramatically, there were over 6.2 million visits abroad by Irish residents in 2011. As the number of Irish citizens travelling and living abroad continues to rise, so also does the need for consular assistance and support. In 2011, this Department assisted almost 1,500 Irish citizens following serious...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The Government’s aid programme, which is managed by Irish Aid in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, is sharply focused on the fight against global poverty and hunger. Our partnership with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) represents a very important element in this effort. About a quarter of Ireland’s development assistance is channelled through development...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Addressing human rights concerns, including conflict, ethnic cleansing and or human rights abuses, remains central to our foreign policy. With its EU partners, Ireland closely monitors the human rights situations in many countries, including post-conflict countries, throughout the world. We do this on the basis of information obtained from a variety of sources, including both official...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Peace Process (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 64 and 65 together. With regard to the prospects for on Palestinian-Israeli issues, I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question 7 (50191/12) earlier today. In relation to the question of a permanent structure, I would refer him to my reply to him in response to Question 70 (45233/12) on 17 October, which included the following: “I do not think...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 68 together. The human rights situation in Iran is profoundly disturbing, and the period since the Presidential election of 2009 has been characterised by an intensification of human rights abuses on many fronts. Although it is difficult to gain reliable statistics and information on human rights abuses in Iran, there are a number of reputable and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Undocumented Irish in the USA (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I am hopeful that the outcome of last week’s US Presidential election will advance the prospects for the necessary reform of US immigration systems and procedures that would help improve the situation of undocumented Irish immigrants in the United States. Much further debate and discussion is likely to be required within the US political system as to what such reform might comprise....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The situation in Sudan and South Sudan continues to be a matter of major concern for Ireland and our EU partners. The EU is working closely with the wider international community, including within the United Nations and with the African Union and neighbouring countries in the region, to exert pressure on the Governments in Khartoum and Juba. We are pressing them to implement fully the terms...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 71 to 76, inclusive, together. Election observation has been a key component of the work of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since 1990, when the Office for Free Elections was established by the Paris Summit of the CSCE – the OSCE’s predecessor. The Office for Free Elections was renamed as the Office for Democratic...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Election Monitoring Missions (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: At the invitation of the United States Government, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) deployed a Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM) for the General Elections of 6 November. The LEOM, which deployed on 3 October, was led by Ambassador Daan Everts of the Netherlands and included 13 core team experts, based in Washington D.C., and 44 long-term...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Public Sector Reform (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: A decision on the future of DEAC will be made in the near future when the Review of the White Paper on Irish Aid is finalised.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Staff Promotions (14 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Promotions in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have been relatively few since the introduction of the moratorium by the Government with effect from 27 March 2009, with any exceptions requiring the specific approval of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. In the period since then the Department’s core staffing decreased by approximately 190, or about 12%....

Leaders' Questions (15 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: First, I take the opportunity to express my own deepest sympathy to the family of Savita Halappanavar. This is an appalling loss which has, rightly, touched the hearts of all Irish people. It is, of course, true to say we do not yet know the full circumstances of what happened, but anybody who listened to Savita's husband yesterday has to be deeply concerned having heard his very dignified...

Leaders' Questions (15 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I agree that we should discuss the issue in the House. It should be discussed in a reasoned and informed way. I hope I did not give the Deputy the impression that the report will not be published. It is simply the case that the Government must make a formal decision to publish the report. I accept that the debate must be fully informed. We must examine the group’s recommendations....