Results 14,161-14,180 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Emigrant Support Services (26 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Emigrant Support Programme (ESP) provides funding to not-for-profit organisations and projects to support Irish communities overseas and to facilitate the development of more strategic links between Ireland and the global Irish. The focus of the Emigrant Support Programme is on initiatives that: address the needs of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable Irish emigrants; enhance access for...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (26 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The decision taken by the Government in 2011 to close three missions, Ireland’s Embassies to the Holy See and Iran and its representative office in Timor Leste, followed a comprehensive review of our overseas diplomatic network in which particular attention was paid to the promotion of our economic interests and the return from our network of diplomatic and consular missions abroad....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Staff Recruitment (26 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Public Appointments Service (PAS) is the independent body designated under the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 to provide shared service recruitment to the public service and is responsible for the running of the Third Secretary Campaign. PAS is equipped with the specialist expertise for this task and is independent in the running of such processes....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Excise Duties Issues (26 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: As the Deputy will be aware from my previous reply, the Irish Embassy in Brussels has been in contact with the Belgian customs authorities to express my deep concern at the delay in processing the claims submitted by the company and to highlight the serious impact that this is having on their operations. Following further representations in recent days, the Embassy has been advised that the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (26 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The atrocities perpetrated in Dublin, Monaghan, Dundalk and elsewhere in the 1970s, and incidents such as the massacre of the Miami Showband stand out in the memory as particularly bloody episodes in this island’s history. In recent weeks there have been further well-publicised allegations of collusion. The late Judge Henry Barron and Patrick McEntee SC carried out detailed and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (27 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I have noted with interest the Asia Floor Wage campaign which has been initiated by a civil society and trade union movement alliance. I am aware that there are many countries where labour rights are poor or non-existent. Ireland’s commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights is a fundamental feature of our foreign policy. Under Ireland’s new policy for...

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: There continues to be a serious problem with mortgage arrears. The Government's plan for tackling that mortgage arrears problem is based on one important premise, which is keeping the roof over people's heads. Today's figures show that some progress is being made. The statistics show a decline in the overall stock of principal dwelling houses with mortgages in arrears relative to the...

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I acknowledge there is a problem with people who have been in arrears for a very long time. It obviously follows that the longer it takes to resolve those arrears problems, the more they are to go into arrears. These are people who are now suffering the legacy that Deputy Kelleher and his colleagues left to them. We need to get sustainable solutions for those people who are in arrears. It...

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The solution is for an engagement between the bank and the borrower so that a solution can be found as quickly as possible. That is the approach the Government supports and that the Central Bank requires banks to implement.

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Minister has extended the deadline for submissions on the pylons issue to 7 January. I encourage the Deputy to submit, as part of that process, the information he has given and the case he has made in the House. It is important the consultative process is full and all the information and cases that people have to make on this issue are made and considered. There is another issue that...

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Minister has extended the consultation period to 7 January and I encourage everybody who has an interest in the issue to make their case in advance of that deadline. Nobody should be constrained about what case they make. People who have an interest in this issue, whether public representatives or members of the public, people who are likely to be affected by it or who have an opinion...

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: First, in regard to the promissory notes, which were the subject of the case taken by the Deputy to the High Court and on which High Court on Tuesday gave a judgment in favour of the State and ruled in favour of the State on all substantive grounds, the Government's approach has delivered results for Ireland. The reality is that the promissory notes have been part of Government debt since...

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The agreement which was reached in February 2013 in regard to the promissory note debt represents the best possible outcome available for Ireland and has been acknowledged as such by numerous independent commentators. The agreement was the culmination of many months of political and technical negotiations with our partners and provides a significant benefit to Ireland by eliminating the...

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: -----would make it very difficult to borrow the funds required to finance vital public services such as social welfare, health and the education systems, would further increase the cost of credit in the Irish economy and have significant implications for our exit from the bailout programme. On the other hand, we are now in a situation where we are exiting that programme, we have resolved the...

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I do not know where the Deputy is getting the idea of a blank cheque. The fact of the matter is that this Government-----

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: There is nothing blank about it. It was very clear. It was predated cheques that were signed by the previous Government. They were predated cheques for €3.1 billion every year, to be paid in March, for a period of ten years. There was nothing blank-----

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: There was nothing blank about them. What we had to do-----

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: What we had to do was to renegotiate that-----

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: -----which we succeeded in doing in the early part of this year, saving the taxpayers of this country €20 billion in the process. I will not take, from Deputy Kelleher or anybody else, on the issue of the bailout-----

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I have it here. The vote was taken on 20 November last, so we do not have to go back to 2010. Twenty-five Deputies, including Deputy Joan Collins and Deputy Billy Kelleher, voted against exiting the bailout.