Results 3,621-3,640 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I receive occasional representations on the status of our Embassy to the Holy See. Our non-resident Ambassador continues to visit Rome regularly and to meet with the Vatican authorities. The Government will regularly review the structure of our diplomatic network in light of Ireland’s priority needs and the availability of resources.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Presidency (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade received a temporary reprieve from the impact of the Government’s Employment Control Framework and was also allocated 50 temporary extra posts for 2012 and 2013 in order to enable it to plan and fulfil its EU Presidency responsibilities and activities in the first half of this year. The sanctioned additional staff are now in situ and have...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Presidency (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union will centre on delivering results on three core priorities: promoting stability, and creating the conditions for job creation and sustainable growth. Renewed growth and employment creation require strong and stable economic foundations. This is why the Irish Presidency is attaching such strong importance to the Banking Union...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Presidency (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Costs arising from press activity relating to the Ireland’s Presidency of the European Council will be borne from the existing press budget in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Arrangements for the informal ministerial meetings that are the responsibility of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are covered by the common Presidency Press arrangements put in place by...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Presidency (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which started earlier this month, will be informed by the values and priorities of Irish foreign policy. Contributing to the search for a lasting settlement of the Middle East conflict and of the Syrian crisis are major priorities for me at present and will remain so over the coming months. Supporting the work which the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 56 to 58, inclusive, together. My Department has not received an application for funding in respect of Foyle Women’s Aid, or for its Family Justice Centre project. My Department provides funding to community and cross border projects through its Reconciliation and Anti Sectarianism Funds. The purpose of these Funds is to assist organisations...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Presidency (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU which commenced on 1 January 2013 is about getting the business done and pursuing our policy objectives in the most cost-effective way possible. In all aspects of the administrative planning, which my Department leads on, we have aimed to ensure that we are equipped to fulfil our responsibilities, meet reasonable expectations of a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: In recent weeks we have seen widespread street violence in a Belfast and elsewhere in Northern Ireland. We have seen attacks on the Police Service of Northern Ireland including the attempted murder of police officers and widespread attempts to intimidate public representatives and their families. I have condemned these events unreservedly. I have remained in contact with the Secretary of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The completion of the devolution of policing and justice marked an important milestone in fulfilling the full vision of the Good Friday Agreement and closed the circle in the transformation of policing structures in Northern Ireland. All those involved in transforming policing and in changing attitudes around policing can be very proud of the changed service they have built and the new...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The decision to suspend the inquests into the deaths of those killed in Ballymurphy and others - and any appeal of those decisions - are before the courts in Northern Ireland and, as such, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time. My officials remain in close contact with the Ballymurphy campaign. The Taoiseach has agreed to meet with the families and I understand that officials...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: As you may be aware, all passport applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act, 2008 (the Act). This broadly provides that a person must be an Irish citizen and that his/her identity is known to the Minister for Foreign Affairs before a passport can issue to that person. Section 6(2)(a) and (b) of the Act provides that: “(2) An application for the issue of a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Agencies (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 83 together.I intend to take questions 66 and 83 together. The Irish Aid Expert Advisory Group was established in 2010. Its role is to offer independent expert advice to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister of State for Trade and Development on the strategic direction of the aid programme. The administration of the Irish Aid Expert...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland’s diplomatic relations with Pakistan are maintained by secondary accreditation via our Embassy in Ankara and the Pakistani Embassy in Dublin. Following the attack on Malala Yousufzai in October last year, I asked our Embassy to maintain direct contact with representatives of the EU and its Member States in Islamabad. The Deputy will be aware that following this incident last...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: While Ireland’s bilateral diplomatic relations with Pakistan are maintained by secondary accreditation via our Embassy in Ankara and through the Pakistani Embassy in Dublin, we continue to work through the mechanisms of the EU and the UN to ensure that human rights are respected in Pakistan and elsewhere. In particular, the EU adopted a 5 year engagement plan with Pakistan in 2012...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland which is a member of the Human Rights Council as of this month is, and has always been, fully committed to ensure that sexual assaults against women are condemned and eliminated. The same holds true for all the Member States of the European Union. The EU has made protection of the rights of women and protection against gender-based violence a key feature of the EU's Strategic...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The search for a solution to the conflict in Syria, which by the UN’s estimate has to date cost up to 60,000 lives, is a key foreign policy priority at present for the European Union and for Ireland. It will remain a key major priority during the period of our EU Presidency. Ireland will lend full support to High Representative Ashton in the efforts she is making on behalf of the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: While suggestions for an independent secretariat or permanent structure to support efforts to resolve the Middle East conflict have occasionally been made in the Oireachtas, I have to say that this idea has not been raised by the parties directly affected when I have met them either in the region or elsewhere. I do not think that we are lacking fora where the parties can express their...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 and 75 together. Working through global organisations such as the United Nations or regional bodies such as the EU or the Organisation for Security Cooperation in Europe, the international community is able to bring positive influence to bear in the search for political solutions to conflict situations around the world. As part of Ireland’s...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The imprisonment of the former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Ms. Yulia Tymoshenko, remains a matter of deep concern to Ireland, to our EU partners and to the wider international community. I refer the Deputy to my previous reply on 12 October 2012 on this matter. Since then, parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 28 October. It is a matter of deep regret that Ms. Tymoshenko was...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Undocumented Irish in the USA (16 Jan 2013)

Eamon Gilmore: The Government continues to attach particular importance to the welfare of the Irish abroad in general and especially to the position of undocumented Irish immigrants in the United States. A resolution of the situation for undocumented Irish migrants will continue to be pursued by the Government in our ongoing contacts with the US Administration and Congress. The advice of Ireland’s...