Results 11,541-11,560 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Order of Business (15 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The heads of the education (admission to school) Bill are being drafted and the Bill is expected to be published next year.

Order of Business (15 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I will revert to the Deputy with that information.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (15 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The situation in Mali remains of grave concern. It has been evolving since the attempted coup in March and the de facto secession of much of the north of the country. The UN Security Council has adopted two Resolutions, the latest of which, on 12 October, increases the pressure on the parties in Mali to agree a political ‘roadmap’ for a return to democratic governance. The...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Staff Remuneration (15 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table below. The figures take account of officers of other Government Departments serving in our missions abroad, most notably Ireland’s Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels and in Visa Offices operated within Embassies by staff seconded from the Department of Justice and Equality, except where their salaries and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Consultations (15 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: My Department has undertaken one formal public consultation this year. This consultation was held between February and April and formed part of the Review of the White Paper on Irish Aid. The consultation was overseen by the independent Irish Aid Expert Advisory Group and involved over 1,000 people in Ireland and in our partner countries, including members of civil society, NGOs, the private...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications (15 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: A passport application was approved for the person in question on 5 November 2012. The new passport was then dispatched to our Honorary Consul in Auckland by diplomatic bag on 7 November 2012 for onwards transmission to the person in question.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Presidency (20 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 164 and 165 together. The requirement for hotel accommodation for incoming delegations attending the eleven informal Ministerial meetings in Dublin during the forthcoming EU Presidency was advertised for tenders using the Government Procurement Portal www.etenders.gov.ie. The objective was to leverage the collective buying power of all Government...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (20 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I was pleased to see reports indicating that the hunger strikes by Kurdish prisoners in Turkey ended over the weekend. I welcome the recent moves made by the Turkish authorities, including agreeing to allow family visits to Mr Öcalan, and the submission of a bill to Parliament which will allow suspects to use the Kurdish language during their defence statements in trials. My firm belief...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Programmes (20 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The European Endowment for Democracy (EED) is a new initiative established on foot of a Declaration adopted in December 2011 by the Member States and the EU Institutions that, in the words of its Statute, seeks to “to foster and encourage democratization and deep and sustainable democracy in countries in political transition and in societies struggling for democratisation”. On...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (20 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Monthly profiles for expenditure and receipts are in place in my Department and performance against profile is reported regularly to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and published by the Department of Finance as part of the Monthly Exchequer Statement. In some areas, expenditure and receipts are evenly distributed throughout the year. In other areas there are considerable...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (20 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland’s diplomatic network includes 56 Embassies, 7 multilateral Missions and 10 Consulates General. This includes Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Argentina, South Korea, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Our Ambassador to Singapore is accredited to Indonesia on a non-resident basis. The size and scale of our diplomatic network is considered by the Government on an ongoing basis. Any...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Missions (20 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The programme of Enterprise Ireland trade missions for 2012 was agreed by Minister Bruton and me in January. To date, sixteen trade missions have been completed and another two are scheduled to take place before the end of the year. Minister of State Costello and I are not planning to lead any further trade missions this year. Since becoming Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs...

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (21 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Deputy Ross says the Taoiseach should go to the European Council meeting on Thursday and bark. The problem with Deputy Ross's approach to this issue is that it is all bark and no brain. Let us start with what the meeting on Thursday and Friday is about. This is a special meeting of the European Council. It is not about the issues that have preoccupied the European Council over the course...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (21 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table that follows this reply. The staffing figures take account of staff assigned from Ireland and locally engaged support staff as well as, in the cases of New Delhi and Abu Dhabi, visa office staff of the Department of Justice and Equality, the salary costs of whom are borne by that Department. A small number of staff who are...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Military Neutrality (21 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland’s policy of military neutrality is characterised by non-participation in military alliances. This policy has been underpinned by a set of complementary values which includes the protection of human rights; support for development; and the promotion of disarmament and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction. Ireland is not a party to the Hague Convention (V) respecting...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Agencies (21 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: There are no State or semi-State agencies operating under the aegis of my Department.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Foreign Affairs Council: Discussion with Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (21 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I am sorry for being late.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Foreign Affairs Council: Discussion with Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (21 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I welcome the opportunity to update the committee on discussions at the Foreign Affairs Council in recent months. The Council has a busy agenda and considered a wide range of issues at its meetings in October and November. There continues to be a sharp focus on the conflict in Syria, in light of the continuing deterioration in the situation on the ground there, and the spillover effects on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Foreign Affairs Council: Discussion with Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (21 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The Chairman and Deputy Smith asked about the bomb explosion in Tel Aviv today. What appears to have been a bomb exploded on a local bus in Tel Aviv, and the attack was very close to our embassy there. It is reported that approximately 18 people were injured, most of them lightly, and thankfully no fatalities have been reported. However, some of the injured may be more critical. This...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Foreign Affairs Council: Discussion with Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (21 Nov 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Their questions cover a number of areas. Let me just organise my notes into a kind of thematic sequence, if the committee does not mind.