Results 401-420 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Leaders' Questions (15 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I will get to the meeting in due course. The taping of conversations in Garda stations is the subject of a commission of investigation. It behoves us all to let the commission of investigation, which is being chaired by a Supreme Court judge, to get on with its work. Deputy McDonald asked me to account for what is in the Taoiseach’s diary and meetings he had. I am no more in a...

Leaders' Questions (15 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: If Deputy McDonald has questions, she like everyone else is perfectly entitled to make a freedom of information request and to get the diary of the Taoiseach, my diary or that of any other Minister. That is what is available under freedom of information. With the greatest of respect, if the Deputy then has detailed questions about meetings the Taoiseach, I or any other Minister had, the...

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.

Leaders' Questions (15 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: However, that does not justify distorting the facts. The facts are that the provision of free GP care for those under the age of six was additional funding which was provided for in the budget last year.

Leaders' Questions (15 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: As the Deputy well knows, that policy is the start of the phased introduction of universal free GP care as part of our policy to transition the health service to one where there is universal health cover. In regard to the general issue of medical cards, as I said earlier, there are now more medical cards in circulation than at any time. Second, everybody in this House, and anyone reasonable,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Council Meetings (15 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: As the Deputy will be aware, my colleague the Minister of State for European Affairs, Paschal Donohoe T.D. attended the most recent Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) in Brussels on 12 May. The Council agenda covered many key policy issues and important Conclusions were reached on a number of areas. While the situation in the Ukraine and relations with Russia continue to dominate the European...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (15 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: The Government was represented at the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) of 12 May 2014 by the Minister for European Affairs, Paschal Donohoe T.D. The FAC conclusions reaffirm the European Union’s support for Ukraine’s unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and call upon the Russian Federation to do likewise. The Council expressed alarm at the continued efforts by...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Undocumented Irish in the USA (15 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 I have met and spoken with many of them on my working visits there, and also with the various groups who lobby on their behalf.Immigration reform and the challenges faced by our undocumented remain central to our bilateral...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Dublin-Monaghan Bombings (15 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: As the Deputy is aware, this weekend, on 17 May, sees 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...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (15 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: The Deputy will be aware of the Government Decision of 6 May 2014 regarding the nomination of ambassadors to Embassies abroad, including the Ambassador to Thailand. It should be noted that nominations of ambassadors are subject to the approval (agrément) of the authorities of the receiving States and appointments are not formally confirmed until this approval is forthcoming. In...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (15 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 55 and 56 together. I remain firmly of the view that Northern Ireland urgently requires a new way forward on dealing with the past that can command public confidence. The early successful conclusion of the political talks represents the best opportunity to make progress across all three important areas of parades, flag and identity issues and dealing...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Medical Aids and Appliances Provision (15 May 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: There are ten defibrillators in my Department. One defibrillator is accessible in each of the ten buildings where officials of my Department are located, including in the Passport Offices. The cost of each defibrillator was €1,295.85. As there is no public access to departmental offices outside of office hours, the defibrillators are not available during such periods.

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...

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.