Results 13,281-13,300 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Vote 28 - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (3 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: With the Chairman's permission, I will ask the Minister of State to answer the Deputy's specific question on trade as it affects developing countries when we deal with that Vote.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Vote 28 - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (3 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I will first deal with the question Deputy Crowe raised, which relates to the earlier question Deputy Smith raised about the trade and economic function of the Department. It is fair to say that in the world we live in now, diplomacy is largely economic. There is a concept of economic diplomacy and if one looks at the work of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the past two and...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Vote 28 - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (3 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Very briefly, programme B covers consular matters and the passport service, which connects my Department directly to individual citizens of the State both at home and abroad. Through programme B, we provide vital passport and consular services as well as outreach services to Irish communities abroad. A number of good initiatives are up and running in 2013, including the provision of more...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Vote 28 - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (3 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Let me first deal with the passports issue. In 2012, a total of 631,947 passports were issued, which was an increase of 5.4% over the 2011 figures. The highest increase was 8% in the number of passports for children over three and under 18 years of age. People who apply under the passport express service are given a commitment by the service that a passport will be issued within ten days...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Vote 28 - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (3 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Programme C deals with matters related to Northern Ireland and funding for projects which bolster peace and reconciliation on the island. To this end, I approved funding of €1.5 million last month for 77 organisations through the reconciliation fund. This will be used to work at grassroots level with local communities to advance the work of overcoming division and disharmony. There...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Vote 28 - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (3 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The work to support the development of the peace process in Northern Ireland operates at several levels. We have Department officials in Belfast who work there and keep in contact with the political parties and community organisations, especially in the lead-in to and during the marching season. They monitor what is taking place and the difficult parades that take place during that period...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Vote 28 - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (3 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: My Department's commitment to international peace, security and human rights is channelled through programme D, which has a total budget of more than €70 million. Of this, almost €42 million is in the form of contributions to international organisations such as the United Nations, including funding in support of peacekeeping operations. Following our successful chairmanship of...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Vote 28 - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (3 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: There were quite a few questions in that round. Deputy Smith raised Geneva II. On 7 May, the US Secretary of State, John Kerry and the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, announced their agreement to convene an international peace conference on Syria, the purpose of which is to revive the Geneva communiqué of 30 June 2012 with a probable focus on the establishment of a mutually agreed...

Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I agree that we need to examine the way we deal with white collar crime in this country. It is fair to say that many people are very frustrated at how slowly the wheels of justice turn in many areas of white collar crime. Some of that is understandable because often what is being investigated in white collar crime involves files, records and all kinds of complex documentation which must be...

Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: We need to take into account that the Government has been taking action in this area. When this Government came to office in 2011, we inherited what was known as the light touch regulation regime. That was the regime which applied under the previous Government. Members of that Government boasted at various times that there was light touch regulation. That has been greatly changed. A Bill...

Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The outgoing Financial Regulator, who is greatly respected by the Government, has worked to strengthen the regulatory regime in that sector. What he has said in a wider sense - both about regulation and about white collar crime - is something which the Government takes seriously. In the first instance, we will consider both what he has said and the recommendations he has made. We may...

Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: We are all shocked and disgusted - that has certainly been my reaction - by the content of the Anglo tapes. The arrogance, contempt and sheer greed of those recorded on those tapes is disgusting. In light of what we know about the damage that was done to our country as a result of the actions of these individuals, most people have been sickened by what they have heard. As indicated...

Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: What I know, which I have indicated, is that there was a significant amount of material which was obtained from Anglo Irish Bank-----

Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: If it is okay, I will answer the question.

Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: A substantial amount of material was obtained from Anglo Irish Bank. Some of it was obtained in the form of court order while some of it was seized by the Garda. I understand some of that material - I do not know which particular pieces - was provided to the Nyberg inquiry and other investigations which were conducted. The questions about who knew what and what they did about it, whether...

Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: That is where those questions need to be put and answered.

Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Deputy McDonald is right that these are, in many respects, very straightforward questions and that they need to be put to the people who can answer them directly. This is not something for in here, it is not an inside-the-bubble issue. What happened in that bank has had consequences for families all over this country and they are still suffering from it. The people who suffered those...

Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I will do that if those in Fianna Fáil want.

Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: If those in Fianna Fáil invite me to do that, I will remind them that they were the people who gave the bailout to that bank.

Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: What we now need to do is to establish an inquiry which gets the answers for the people of this country who have suffered far too much from the consequences of those actions. That vehicle is provided for in the legislation the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has brought before us.