Results 12,841-12,860 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Other Questions: Undocumented Irish (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10, 17, 25, 53, 55, 61 and 66 together. A resolution of the position of the undocumented Irish in the United States has been and remains a priority for the Government in ongoing contacts with the US Administration and Congress. The Government has also attached great importance to providing for future flows of migration between Ireland and the United States...

Other Questions: Undocumented Irish (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: This is an important piece of legislation. It will deal with the immensely difficult set of circumstances facing approximately 50,000 undocumented Irish in the US over a long time. The Bill will introduce a three-stage process for these people. Those who were in the US before 31 December 2011 and have remained since will become registered provisional immigrant, RPIs, which will allow them...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I am aware of the report released by Human Rights Watch on 22 April concerning the ongoing situation in Rakhine State - also known as Arakan State - in Myanmar/Burma. I am deeply concerned by the reports of grave human rights violations, including allegations of crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. On 21 March 2013, the UN Human Rights Council, of which Ireland is currently a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I have closely followed developments in relation to the Basque Country, including the outcome of the San Sebastian Conference in October 2011 and the subsequent declaration by ETA on 20 October 2011 that the organisation had “decided on the definitive cessation of its armed activity”. As I have said previously, the Government supports any development that could lead to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I would refer the Deputy to my reply to the earlier Priority Question on this topic. Reports suggest that, as in an earlier episode in January, a convoy delivering advanced weapons including missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon was attacked. The missiles were said to have been supplied originally by Iran. A Syrian army base on the outskirts of Damascus seems also to have been hit: this is said to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Peace Process (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 86 together. To date this year, the Middle East Peace Process has been discussed at both the January and February Councils and at the informal Ministerial meeting which I co-hosted in Dublin in March. It is expected that this issue will again be discussed at the next Foreign Affairs Council meeting in May, although the agenda for this meeting has not...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I am aware of the allegations that chemical weapons have been used in Syria. Any use of chemical weapons would have appalling humanitarian consequences, is clearly contrary to international legal norms and must be utterly condemned. British, French, US and Turkish intelligence sources have indicated that material they have recovered indicates the possible use of the nerve agent sarin. At...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Cross-Border Projects (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 44 together. The Government strongly supports the INTEREG IVA Narrow Water Bridge project. The bridge would open up the cross-border Cooley, Mournes, and Gullion region to many more visitors, making it much easier for residents, businesses and tourists to travel and to interconnect. As well as the long-term tourism and infrastructural benefits...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Peace Process (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I am aware of the case to which the Deputy refers. The Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv has carefully monitored this case, and has been in contact with the person in question on a number of occasions. The Embassy is handling the case in accordance with the wishes expressed by the person.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Government, along with our EU partners, shares the widespread concern about the security situation in Nigeria, including the ongoing campaign of violence by the group, Boko Haram. We monitor developments in Nigeria closely through our Ambassador and his staff in Abuja, in close consultation with EU and other international partners. We have consistently condemned the violence in Nigeria,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Peace Process (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Palestinian community in East Jerusalem experience many of the personal and economic difficulties which are suffered by their compatriots elsewhere in the West Bank. In addition, however, they experience complications and problems due to Israel's insistence that their home has been annexed to Israel while they have become not citizens of Israel but residents, whose residency status can...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The report to which the Deputy refers is a detailed document of more than 600 pages, produced by an organisation that aims to influence policy in the United States. The Deputy will be aware that in 2006 the US military, in its Field Manual, prohibited the use of a number of interrogation techniques, including waterboarding and sexual humiliation. In early 2009, by an Executive Order,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Mali has been the subject of ongoing discussion by EU Foreign Ministers since March 2012 when there was an army coup and armed groups seized control of the north of the country. The situation was discussed most recently at the Foreign Affairs Council which I attended in Brussels on 11 March. In February the Council adopted comprehensive Conclusions which reaffirmed the EU’s support...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The continuing crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is discussed regularly at all levels within the EU, including at meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council. In particular, I have strongly welcomed the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement for the DRC and the Region, which was concluded in Addis Ababa on 24 February. The adoption of the Agreement was welcomed...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ministerial Travel (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 58, and 65 together. First, I wish to take this opportunity to express my horror at the explosion of two bombs in Reyhanli, a town in Turkey close to the Syrian border, on Saturday 11 May, in which at least 46 people have died. On behalf of the Irish Government I have sent a message to the Turkish government via our embassy in Ankara expressing our...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Passport Service does not require that an applicant for an Irish passport, as part of the regular application process, provide details of any foreign passports held. Therefore, information on the number of Irish passport holders that hold passports of other states is not available. There is no prohibition under Irish law on Irish citizens holding the passport of another State. There...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Relations (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I have been following events in Venezuela since the closely contested presidential elections of 14 April last. I regret heightened tensions as manifested by trenchant comments from across the political spectrum as well as incidents of violence which have resulted in loss of life and injuries. I share the concern of EU High Representative, Catherine Ashton at the growing polarisation of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 45 together. More than two years after it first erupted, the conflict in Syria continues to be one of the greatest challenges confronting the international community. The dimensions of the crisis are truly daunting. An estimated 80,000 people have lost their lives; one-third of Syrians have either fled the country, are internally displaced or are...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Good Friday Agreement (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Government remains committed to the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and associated agreements and this is a regular subject for discussion in my meetings with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and with the First and Deputy First Minister. During these meetings we also discussed the urgent need to make progress on building a shared and reconciled society in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Relations (16 May 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: At the Foreign Affairs Council on 23 April, High Representative Ashton reported briefly to Ministers on the conduct of the latest round of talks between the E3+3 group and Iran, which took place in Almaty on 5-6 April. Further information was conveyed separately at official level by the EAS and by E3 representatives. Regrettably, the reports from Almaty all indicate that once again the...