Results 3,281-3,300 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I am very aware of the cases to which the Deputy refers and my officials monitor these and other cases very closely. The first individual referred to has been detained since 13 May 2011, following the revocation of her life licence by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Genuine concerns about several aspects of this case have been raised by Deputies on many occasions, and I have...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Two cases were referred to in the question. In one case a Supreme Court case is shortly to be held on it so I cannot say anything much further in that regard. In the second case the individual was sentenced to two life terms of imprisonment – 20 years imprisonment to run concurrently. In March 1975 the individual concerned was transferred from prison in England to Armagh Prison....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Human Rights Issues (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I have discussed issues relating to this and other prisoners with the Minister of Justice, Mr. David Ford, MLA, including the conditions in which they are being held. The Deputy has described the licence process and the issues that arose in that regard. As she is aware, a court case was also involved. My understanding is that the Parole Commissioners are due to consider her case shortly....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Human Rights Issues (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Representatives of this Government are keeping a close eye on the case. My officials in Belfast are in touch with the case and report to us regularly. I have taken an ongoing interest, as the Deputy knows. We are in continual contact with the British authorities and the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland on the matter. We will maintain this level of contact.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Human Rights Issues (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Deputy can be assured that our officials will monitor the issue very closely.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Undocumented Irish in the USA (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The welfare of the Irish abroad in general and especially the position of undocumented Irish immigrants in the United States remains an important priority for the Government. A resolution of the situation for undocumented Irish immigrants will continue to be pursued by the Government in our ongoing contacts with the US Administration and Congress. The advice of Ireland's friends and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Undocumented Irish in the USA (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: This issue has two aspects, first of which is the position of the undocumented Irish in the US. We estimate that there are approximately 50,000. As Deputy Smith mentioned, some of them have been living in the US for some time and cannot return home for funerals. They are in difficult circumstances. We are anxious to have their position regularised. Second, we have been advancing an idea...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: State Airports (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I am aware that the Open Society Justice Initiative report, Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition, contains a compilation of existing publicly available material on the subject of extraordinary rendition. It does not contain any new information or make any new allegations in respect of Ireland. In particular, it does not allege that any person has ever been...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: State Airports (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: There is no evidence that any persons were transited through Shannon Airport for the purposes of extraordinary rendition or that any persons involved in the practice transited through the airport. What the reports referred to and what the recent report from the Open Society Justice Initiative refers to was the belief that certain commercial aircraft, which it believed were used for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: State Airports (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I repeat that we do not know, nor do we have any evidence or information, that any prisoner transported through an Irish airport was the subject of extraordinary rendition. The closest that anybody has come to making a linkage with Irish airports is a suggestion that some aircraft which may have been used for extraordinary rendition elsewhere and at a different time travelled through Shannon...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: State Airports (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: That is a matter for the Garda. No one has produced any evidence.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Human Rights Issues (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Genuine concerns have repeatedly been raised about several aspects of this case by Deputies in the House and I have raised concerns very frankly with the British Government over the past two years, most recently when I met the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland last Monday, 11 February. The individual in question was sentenced in 1973 to two life terms and 20 years imprisonment to run...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Marching Season (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I have discussed the ongoing situation regarding the flag protests and the upcoming marching season with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers, on a number of occasions, most recently in Dublin on 11 February last. I have also discussed these issues in ongoing contacts with the party leaders in Northern Ireland. The particular problem posed by non-notified parades...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Marching Season (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I assure the Deputy that this is very much on our agenda. The Parades Commission was established at the height of the Drumcree parade related violence under the 1998 Act and the policy underpinning this was to remove from the police the dual responsibility of taking decisions on parades and then having to police their own decisions. The Government strongly supports the work, mandate and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Marching Season (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Every opportunity is taken to impress on the political leaders in Northern Ireland the importance of having an agreed position on parades, the issue of the shared future and, in particular, responding to street violence when it occurs. The position of both the Irish and British Governments was expressed clearly by both Secretary of State Villiers and I jointly when we met the First Minister...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: NATO Membership (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 52 together. The Secretary General of NATO, Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, visited Dublin on the 12th and 13th of February. He did so at the invitation of the High Representative and Minister Shatter to participate in the informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers which was held at Dublin Castle. It is customary practice that the EU invites NATO to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I am aware of the case to which the Deputy refers. According to reports received by my Department, Mohamed Al Jaziri was participating in a funeral procession which clashed with security forces in Sitra, Bahrain in early 2012. He was shot in the eye by a teargas canister and lost complete sight in his left eye. He received further treatment to save the sight in his right eye in Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Relations (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland is actively seeking to strengthen its bilateral relations with the new Libyan Government led by Prime Minister Zidan. Ireland is ready to provide any assistance possible to the new administration, the first democratically elected Government to take office in Libya. We would like to increase levels of bilateral cooperation across a range of areas, including in the economic and trade...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: On 8th November 2010, violence broke out when Moroccan security forces tried to remove people from Gdim Izik, a camp on the outskirts of Laayoune in the Moroccan-administered Western Sahara region. The camp had been set up by Sahrawi people protesting against their perceived marginalisation, and demanding jobs and adequate housing. According to reports, eleven members of the security...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (20 Feb 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 16, 39, 40 and 85 together. Syria was the major issue discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on 18 February, which I attended. The focus was very much on the most appropriate steps for the EU to take in support of ongoing efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Against the background of escalating fighting...