Results 15,061-15,080 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Extradition Arrangements (8 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: Over the past number of years the Department of Defence, in conjunction with my Department, the Attorney General’s Office and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), have provided every assistance to the US authorities in their investigation in relation to the alleged perpetrator of the attack against the Irish peacekeepers serving with UNIFIL, which took place on 18...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Dublin-Monaghan Bombings (8 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: 17th May this year will mark the fortieth anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. With 33 killed, that terrible day saw the highest number of casualties on any single day during the Troubles. It left a further 300 people injured. The Taoiseach and I have reiterated our support for the all-party Dáil motions of July 2008 and May 2011 urging the British Government to allow access by...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Emigrant Support Services (8 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: Addressing the needs of Irish emigrants around the world is a key strand of Diaspora engagement by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.The emphasis of the Emigrant Support Programme (ESP) is on supporting culturally sensitive, front-line welfare services, targeted at the most vulnerable members of our overseas communities, with Britain being the focus of the greatest part of this...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Engagements (8 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 38 to 41, inclusive, together. The Taoiseach represented the Government at the canonisation of Saints John XXIII and John Paul II in Rome on Sunday 27 April. He had the opportunity to have an exchange with Pope Francis after the ceremony, during which he conveyed to him that were Pope Francis to accept an invitation to visit Ireland from the Catholic...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Commemorative Events (8 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 42 and 43 together. The centenary of the Rising in 2016 will be the centre-piece of the Government’s decade of commemorations programme. The format and programme for the 2016 commemoration in Dublin is still under consideration. In September 2013, in my speech to the British-Irish Association, I noted a responsibility to be attentive and respectful...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (13 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: The people of Scotland will vote in a referendum on 18 September 2014 on the question: ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’ That question is one which the people of Scotland, and they alone, should decide. I do not believe it would be appropriate for the Government to comment, therefore, on issues which at this stage are hypothetical, especially where comment might be...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Bodies (13 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: There are no commercial semi-State companies under the aegis of my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (13 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: At its meeting of 6 May 2014, the Government approved nominations for 36 Head of Mission appointments - 31 ambassadorial and 5 consul-general posts. The majority of the proposed appointments are to posts which will fall vacant this year or in early 2015 due to the scheduled rotation or retirement of the present incumbents. In addition, a number of the proposed appointments are to posts which...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Abduction of Nigerian Children (13 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 148, 149 and 154 together. I have strongly condemned the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from the northern Nigerian town of Chibok on 14 April by the terrorist organisation Boko Haram. I am also appalled by the reported abduction of a further 11 girls on 4 May. Acts of violence of this nature against school children are completely unacceptable....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Communications (13 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade does not record incoming or outgoing calls on its main telephone lines. However, incoming calls on the general information line hosted by the Passport Service are recorded for quality and training purposes. The system used is a module of Cisco Call Manager and the approximate cost of installation was €13,500 including hardware, software and VAT.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (13 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: The Middle East is home to some of the world’s most ancient Christian denominations. Unfortunately, many of these often small and vulnerable communities are coming under increasing pressure due to a range of factors including low birth rates, emigration and, in some cases, increased sectarian persecution and violence. This has led to a significant reduction in their numbers in the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Millennium Development Goals (13 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland is advocating strongly for a continued focus on a good quality education, at primary level and beyond, for all children, in the context of the intergovernmental discussions on the follow-up framework to the Millennium Development Goals post-2015.The third Millennium Development Goal (MDG 3) aims to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education at all levels by 2015....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Bodies Data (13 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: There are no State Agencies under the remit of my Department. My Department currently has seven bodies, boards, or committees under its remit. These are: the Emigrant Services Advisory Committee; the Advisory Group of the Global Irish Network; the Ireland – United States Commission for Educational Exchange (The Fulbright Commission); the Irish Aid Expert Advisory Group; the NGO...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Staff Remuneration (13 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: There are currently 223 officers on the reduced pay scales which were introduced with effect from 1 January 2011 for recruitment grades. This includes 139 of the Temporary Clerical Officers who were recruited this year to deal with the peak production period in the Passport Office. The imbalance between those who entered the public service from 1 January 2011 and those who entered prior to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Legal Case Data (13 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: There are currently no such legal cases in my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ministerial Travel (13 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade performs a wide range of functions in pursuit of Ireland’s foreign policy interests. These include advancing reconciliation and cooperation on the island of Ireland; representing and advancing government policies with other states and in international organisations, in particular the EU and the UN; economic, trade and cultural promotion;...

Establishment of Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Motion (14 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I am pleased to support this motion to establish an Oireachtas committee to inquire into the banking crisis. Ireland is now into the sixth year of a crisis that has inflicted untold hardship and disruption on the people. The Government has spent the last three years picking up the pieces of a disastrous banking crisis and the equally disastrous response to it. The people have endured a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (14 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland is committed to defending the universality of human rights, including the promotion and protection of space within which civil society can operate, free from harassment or intimidation. Ireland engages on human rights issues on an on-going basis in our contacts with the Colombian Government and civil society. We have also raised issues of concern within the context of the most...

Leaders' Questions (15 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I accept there is a problem with the way in which the review of discretionary medical cards is being carried out. The number of medical cards which is in circulation now is significantly higher than it was a number of years ago. There has been a 46% increase in the total number of medical cards. Almost 600,000 additional medical cards are available now than in 2008, for example. As I...

Leaders' Questions (15 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I know that Fianna Fáil is opposed to the Government plans to extend free GP care to children under six.