Results 12,741-12,760 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (9 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Ambassador to the United States, Michael Collins, accompanied by the Consul General for the New England area, Michael Lonergan, visited New Hampshire on April 26 where they met with Governor Maggie Hassan in the State capital, Concord. Ambassador Collins and Governor Hassan discussed a number of issues of mutual interest to Ireland and New Hampshire, focusing heavily on trade and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ministerial Expenditure (9 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The amounts claimed by each Junior Minister and Secretary General in my Department for travel and subsistence and details of the number of staff appointed by each Minister and Junior Minister in my Department or constituency office to include costs for the period 2007 – 2013 are set out in the tables below. My Department is fully compliant with the Department of Finance guidelines on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: General Affairs Councils: Discussion with Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (9 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I thank the Chairman. The event that I need to get to by 4 p.m. is in my own constituency. It is a very important event organised by the local authority, the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, to celebrate Europe Day. The parks department of the Council has put together a fabulous arrangement of plants in Cabinteely Park in the form of the European flag and has asked me to do the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: General Affairs Councils: Discussion with Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (9 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I thank the embassies of the member states which helped and provided information for the various panels and so on which will adorn the exhibition. I am pleased to be here to discuss the progress made to date during Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the EU and to outline developments at the General Affairs Council. As members are aware, managing a Presidency places considerable demands...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: General Affairs Councils: Discussion with Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (9 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I will start with the questions raised by the Chairman. First, on the issue of development aid, I refer to the provision in the MFF that was agreed at the Heads of State and Government meeting last February. On heading 4, Global Europe, which includes development aid, the provision in the previous MFF was €56.815 billion and the provision in the new MFF, from 2014 to 2020, is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: General Affairs Councils: Discussion with Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (9 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I will start with what Deputy Durkan, Deputy O'Reilly and Senator Reilly said about the social consequences of high unemployment levels. Deputy Durkan drew parallels between current high levels of unemployment in Europe and what occurred in the 1930s. This is Europe Day and it is useful to recall that the European Community's founding fathers saw the development of the European project as a...

Good Friday Agreement: Motion [Private Members] (14 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I move amendment No. 1:To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:“notes that:-- this year marks the fifteenth anniversary of the historic Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which was ratified by an overwhelming majority of citizens in referendums held North and South on 22nd May, 1998; -- this is set out in an internationally binding...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Commission for Democracy through Law (14 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The European Commission for Democracy through Law, known as the Venice Commission, was established in 1990. It serves as the advisory body to the Council of Europe on constitutional matters. The Commission has become an internationally recognised independent legal think-tank and plays a unique and unrivalled role in crisis management and conflict prevention through constitution building and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Issues (14 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: In December last year the Council invited the Commission and EEAS to report on progress in Kosovo on EU-related reforms, and on the normalisation of relations with Serbia, with a view to a possible decision by the Council during our Presidency on opening negotiations for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with Kosovo. The report for Kosovo, and a report on Serbia, were...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Communities Abroad (14 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Consular Division at my Department and the Embassy in Madrid are aware of the tragic case of the Irish citizen who died in Estepona on 4 February 2008 and provided consular assistance to the family of the deceased at the time of his death and for some time subsequently. Due to the circumstances of his death, the court case was declared "secret" and the Embassy was denied access to any...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: UN Conventions Issues (14 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The UN Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights opened for signature by UN Member States in New York in September 2009. To date, forty-two States have signed; this includes twelve of the twenty-seven European Union member States. Ten States have ratified the Optional Protocol: Argentina, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, El Salvador,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Court of Human Rights Judgments (14 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I understand the Deputy's question to relate to a question posed to the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers by a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mr Luca Volontè in January this year. Following a discussion by the Ministers' Deputies a reply to Mr Volontè was agreed by consensus at a meeting on 13 March. Article 21(a)(i) of the Statute of the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consular Services Staff (14 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 158 to 160, inclusive, together. The last review of Honorary Consul Service was conducted in 1993. The question of appointing a new honorary consul for the Channel Islands will be considered in the context of the review of Ireland’s honorary consul network that is currently taking place. The following is the list of honorary consul appointments made...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (14 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The table below sets out the number of personnel in whole-time equivalent terms in my Department in each of the pay brackets requested. There are no bodies under the aegis of my Department that have employees. < €20,000 100 20,001-30,000 215 30,001-40,000 439 40,001-50,000 161 50,001-60,000 139 60,001-70,000 34 70,001-80,000 152 80,001-90,000 70 90,001-100,000 66...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Youth Unemployment Measures (14 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Youth unemployment is one of the greatest challenges of the current crisis and the Irish Presidency has worked hard to address the problem and mobilise available instruments and resources to support Member States with the greatest difficulties posed by youth unemployment. The EPSCO Council under the chairmanship of the Irish Presidency agreed on the key principles of the Youth Guarantee...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Enlargement (14 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: We were pleased that the December 2012 European Council Conclusions left scope for progress on EU enlargement during the Irish Presidency. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has been an official candidate for EU accession since 2005. With a view to a possible decision on opening accession negotiations, the December Council invited the Commission to report on progress in three areas:...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (14 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Overtime payments to Ministerial appointees are detailed in the table below. Personal Secretaries and Personal Assistants may be required to work additional hours from time to time and have access to a maximum of 6 hours paid overtime per week, subject to the normal approval arrangements. Secretaries General at my Department, both current and past, are not entitled to claim overtime....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (14 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The information requested by the Deputy is contained in the table below. Rotation of Ambassadors normally takes place in late summer. NAME CURRENTLY SERVING TRANSFERRING TO Michael Collins Washington Berlin Anne Anderson Permanent Mission to the United Nations, New York Washington David Donoghue HQ Permanent Mission to the United Nations, New York Rory Montgomery Permanent...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Engagements (14 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I am honoured to have been invited by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia, Ms. Vesna Pusiç, to attend the central celebration on the occasion of Croatia’s accession to the EU to be held in Zagreb on 30 June. Ireland very much looks forward to welcoming Croatia as the 28th Member State of the EU on 1 July.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Emigration Data (15 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I welcome the report of the National Youth Council of Ireland as a contribution to the ongoing debate on engagement with our overseas communities. However, I believe that the report would have more accurately reflected the Government’s extensive assistance to emigrants had the Council sought the views of the Irish Abroad Unit of my Department during their research. Today, our...