Results 14,041-14,060 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Order of Business (14 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Responses received from the consultation process with stakeholders on the road transport Bill are currently being examined and the Bill is expected to be published next year.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (14 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Paragraph 34 of Strand One of the Good Friday Agreement provided for the establishment of a consultative Civic Forum. Section 56 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 required the First Minister and the deputy First Minister, with the approval of the Assembly, to make arrangements for obtaining the views of the Civic Forum.The Forum was set up in October 2000 and was suspended along with the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: North-South Ministerial Council (14 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The most recent meeting of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in plenary format was held in Armagh on 8 November 2013. This was the seventeenth Plenary meeting of the NSMC. At the meeting, discussions covered a wide range of financial, economic and EU matters including the economic challenges faced in both jurisdictions. Ministers reviewed the progress made on the areas of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Election Monitoring Missions (14 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: International election monitoring missions play an important role in the promotion of democracy and human rights. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains and administers a roster of observers for such missions. The aim is to ensure that, when requested, Ireland is represented at an appropriate level in international observation missions for both elections and constitutional...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Application Refusals (14 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: An application for the named person was received by the Department on 10 September, 2013. It has been rejected on two occasions under the Passports Act, 2008 for her national passport as evidence of her identity. This application has been reviewed by the Department and the Department is satisfied that the submitted items in respect of identity namely her driver’s license, her birth...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I met with Dr. Richard Haass on 31 October in Iveagh House. We had met previously in New York on 25 September and agreed to keep in close touch. I believe that close and ongoing contact with Dr. Haass and his team is preferable to a formal submission at this stage in the process. While Dr. Haass’s primary reporting lines are to the Northern Ireland Executive, the British and Irish...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: It is not true to say the Irish Government is not involved. It is very much involved, as is the British Government. The Haass process was established by the Northern Ireland Executive; it was an initiative taken by the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister. In May the strategy, Together: Building a United Community, was launched, as part of which the Northern Ireland Executive...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Dr. Haass has set the objective of having the talks concluded by the end of the year. It is an ambitious timetable. I discussed the timetable with him and he expressed confidence in being able to conclude the discussions. It is important to recognise that he will only be able to reach a conclusion provided there is political commitment and a political will on the part of all parties...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Middle East Issues (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I am aware of media reports that Swiss forensic experts have detected the radioactive element, polonium, in samples taken from the remains of President Arafat, who died in November 2004. It is reported that the levels detected are unlikely to have been natural, and therefore that grounds exist to investigate the possibility that he was poisoned. The Government has no official information on...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Middle East Issues (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: As I stated, the French authorities have an investigation under way. Deputy Crowe mentioned Ariel Sharon, who was the Israeli Prime Minister at the time of President Arafat's death. Mr. Sharon has been in a coma since January 2006. The focus of the international community must be on supporting the talks process after many years' lack of activity between the Palestinian and Israeli sides to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Middle East Issues (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Together with our European partners, we have been very much urging the commencement of peace talks and we very much support the talks that are under way. Both Ireland and the European Union will work to support those talks in every possible way. Ultimately, as in any peace talks, the key participants are the sides in the conflict - in this case, the Israeli side and the Palestinian side....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Humanitarian Aid (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Current estimates indicate that typhoon Haiyan has affected 13 million people across 41 provinces, representing over 10% of the country’s population, with up to 4 million people displaced. Official estimates indicate that at least 3,600 lives have been lost. However, it is likely that the full picture of the human cost of the disaster will only emerge in the coming days as relief...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Humanitarian Aid (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I acknowledge what the Deputy said about the Irish response to this disaster. We were one of the first countries to respond officially and I agree with him about the generous response last Sunday in churches and the generous response of the NGOs. On the basis of the pledges announced to date, our contribution currently stands as one of the highest provided by a bilateral donor. On Sunday,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Humanitarian Aid (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: They will not be forgotten. There is a plan. Approximately 500,000 people are in need of immediate water, sanitation and hygiene supplies. Essential health services are being provided for almost 10 million people, along with nutrition services for 100,000 children and 60,000 mothers, and shelter and urgent household items for 560,000 people. The work is being co-ordinated by UN agencies,...

Other Questions: Military Aircraft Landings (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 86 and 115 together. I am not aware of any new special arrangement in place for the refuelling of Canadian military aircraft at Shannon Airport. In accordance with Article 29.3 of the Constitution, Ireland accepts the generally recognised principles of international law as its rule of conduct in its relations with other states. Sovereign immunity, also...

Other Questions: Military Aircraft Landings (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I have answered the two questions tabled by the Deputy on sovereign immunity and how it operates. As I said in my reply, sovereign immunity is not something that is conferred by the Government from time to time but a matter of international law. The position on military aircraft landing in this country is very clear and governed by statute. There is a requirement on any country wishing to...

Other Questions: Military Aircraft Landings (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The scope of the question has been widened somewhat. The question tabled was about sovereign immunity. The position is clear in that there are conditions attached to the landing of any military aircraft at an Irish airport. The aircraft must have permission to land. The conditions attached are that they must be unarmed and they cannot be part of a military operation. On the specific case...

Other Questions: Military Aircraft Landings (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I have replied to parliamentary questions - another question has been tabled today - on the one occasion on which a US military aircraft did not comply with the conditions set down. This was reported to the Department through the Garda Síochána and the authorities at Shannon Airport. We brought in the US Chargé d'Affaires and made it very clear what the position was. We...

Other Questions: Nuclear Proliferation (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Government has consistently stressed Ireland’s firm support for the efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution to the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme. I am very hopeful such a solution may now, at last, be within reach. Negotiators for the E3+3 and Iran met in Geneva from 8 to 10 November. High Representative Ashton led for the European Union and was joined later by US...

Other Questions: Ministerial Meetings (19 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 89 and 108 together. Since assuming office, the Government has engaged extensively and continuously with governments and key political actors across the EU and beyond. This is very much the case with Germany and its political leadership on all sides. My Department and our embassy in Berlin, in particular, maintain ongoing and regular contacts, including...