Results 321-340 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I thank the Deputy for his kind remarks. I agree we have a serious housing problem that has to be addressed. I acknowledge Sinn Féin's support for the strategy that the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, announced to end homelessness by 2016. That is an objective that should be pursued by Government, by agencies working with homeless people and by local authorities. It is...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: As far as the provision of local authority housing is concerned, the Minister, Deputy Howlin, has announced two additional stimulus packages which provide for an additional €100 million for social housing. I can go through the detail of that if the Deputy wishes. The Deputy specifically raised an issue with the rent supplement. As he knows, rents are increasing, partly owing to the...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I will ask the Minister for Social Protection to address the issue of the trickling down of information regarding the exercise of flexibility, particularly where people are at risk of losing their homes. We need to address the problem of people at risk of losing their home because of increased rents that the rent supplement will not meet. I know that the Minister for Social Protection is...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: Let us get real here. This is not just a matter of the money being provided by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. It is also a matter of local authorities agreeing where those houses are going and identifying sites where social housing can be built.

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I thank Deputy McGrath for his good wishes. I confirm I am not retiring from politics and plan on being around for a while. We all know that the issues in regard to An Garda Síochána have required to be addressed for a long time, long before the current Government came into office. In the course of a relatively short period of time this year, we have put in place a number of...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: It was 12 years ago, I think, that my colleague, Brendan Howlin, and a former Deputy, Jim Higgins, were given information in regard to disturbing issues concerning gardaí in County Donegal. Deputy McGrath's party, Fianna Fáil, was in power at the time and it took it two years to respond to those issues and to establish the Morris tribunal, which met over a long period of time....

Other Questions: Foreign Conflicts (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I am deeply concerned about current developments in Thailand and my Department is monitoring the situation very closely. Following months of pro- and anti-government protests, on 22 May the Royal Thai Army announced that it was taking control of the government and suspending the constitution, having imposed martial law across Thailand two days previously. The acting Prime Minister,...

Other Questions: Foreign Conflicts (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: Approximately 65,000 Irish citizens visit Thailand each year, as it is quite a popular holiday destination. It has been arranged that any Irish person in Thailand or anyone thinking of travelling to Thailand should check the travel advice on my Department's website, which is updated regularly. Thailand is currently serviced from our embassy in Kuala Lumpur and by honorary consulates in...

Other Questions: Foreign Conflicts (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: There are two dimensions to be considered, one of which is the interests of Irish citizens who are in Thailand or who intend to visit it. Because of the numbers involved, it is important to have a presence on the ground in Bangkok. For this reason we intend to continue with the arrangements to open the embassy. Second, we are clear in our view of the military takeover that we want a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Undocumented Irish in the USA (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: This is an issue to which I accord very high priority. I am conscious of the difficulties experienced by Irish citizens who are undocumented in the United States and have met and spoken to many of them during my working visits to the United States. I have also met the various groups which lobby on their behalf. Immigration reform and the challenges faced by the undocumented remain central...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Undocumented Irish in the USA (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: Earlier the Deputy mentioned that we would have an opportunity to take questions on foreign affairs and trade issues on 1 July.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Undocumented Irish in the USA (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: There is a contest for the leadership of my party and I expect to be in this office until 4 July. I have been giving some consideration to the issues to which I should apply my attention and in the intervening period I intend to apply my attention to two issues which are the responsibility of the Department. They are Northern Ireland to try to have some advance in the window before the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Undocumented Irish in the USA (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: We have met people who are undocumented in the United States. They are working and, in some cases, running businesses. They also have families. They have been there for a very long period and cannot come home for funerals or family events. It is a very difficult issue and across the political spectrum in the United States there is agreement that it needs to be addressed. This time last...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I am aware of the good work done by a group of Members of the Oireachtas who have been visiting prisons in Northern Ireland and in contact with the prison service. I am open to receiving and dealing with any report, comment or observation that comes from the group. My officials are open to this also. The officials in the British-Irish Interparliamentary Council secretariat in Belfast are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: An early priority for the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland was prison reform. The Owers report was commissioned and I understand some progress has been made on its implementation. I have discussed the matter on a number of occasions with the Minister, Mr. Ford, and will continue to do so.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I will not meet the Minister tomorrow; I will meet the Secretary of State. The Minister agrees that a reformed justice and prison system has a major part to play in ensuring a more positive future for Northern Ireland. Our position is that there must be full implementation of the recommendations made in the Owers report. That is the best way to ensure conditions within all prisons in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Middle East Peace Process (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: The direct peace talks begun in July 2013 have not definitively ended but they have been suspended and it is not considered that they are likely to be resumed quickly. The talks did, however, make some progress and promote understanding on some issues, and we would hope very much that this progress is not lost and the talks can move forward. We are not privy to the exact understandings...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Middle East Peace Process (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: Deputy Crowe has raised many supplementary issues. With regard to the use of administrative detention, it has always been our view that the use of extraordinary powers should be as minimal as possible, carefully safeguarded and in accordance with international law. I am concerned that detention orders, rather than an extraordinary measure only applied in the most exceptional cases, are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Middle East Peace Process (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: Considering all the issues attracting international attention currently, including in the Ukraine, Syria and in a number of cases in Africa and particularly north Africa, the Irish Government has repeatedly and consistently kept the issue of the Middle East peace process and the Palestinian position very much on the international agenda. We have done this repeatedly at the European Union and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (28 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: Policing, prisons and overall criminal justice policy have been the responsibility of the Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland, David Ford MLA, since the devolution of policing and justice in 2010. The Irish Government has a close and excellent working relationship with the Minister and his Department and co-operation between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI to combat criminal and...