Results 43,101-43,120 of 50,916 for speaker:Micheál Martin
- Middle East Peace Process (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: There was a far greater degree of trust in the Northern Ireland peace process than might have been known about at the time, certainly behind the scenes. Achieving an agreement is very difficult and there are many challenges and hurdles. That said, the feedback we are receiving suggests both leaders are putting on the table their genuine personal desire to see an outcome. President Abbas has...
- Middle East Peace Process (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: I made a point on the Arab league in the context of supporting President Abbas, not on the wider issues. The Deputy is making the point that the settlements on the ground keep creating new facts on the ground that undermine the principle of having two states. That is the problem and where the issue becomes very difficult. On the Palestinian side, people are saying that, in spite of all the...
- Middle East Peace Process (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: As I stated, I regard the oath of loyalty required of Arabs living in Israel, including Jerusalem, as counter-productive and wrong. It is not helpful in any shape or form.
- Human Rights Issues (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: The question of whether and how military assets and capabilities can best be used in responding to humanitarian emergencies was discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council in June in the context of the Union's response to the Haiti earthquake. EU action in response to humanitarian crises is framed in the context of an overall international approach that brings together the United Nations, the...
- Human Rights Issues (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: The Deputy will be aware that I quoted the Brigadier General's comments at the last meeting of the Joint Committee of European Affairs. I agree with Deputy Barrett. I also agreed with a number of members at the European Foreign Affairs Council that the battle group should be utilised to assist in disasters such as occurred in Haiti. This would be a good demonstration of the importance and...
- Human Rights Issues (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: My response to the Deputy's first question is, yes the name has been a disaster. On the second question, to use the Afghanistan context is not fair in the context of the question being asked because I can foresee situations where the presence of the military can be advantageous to humanitarian assistance. Indeed, it can be indispensable to the provision of humanitarian aid.
- Middle East Peace Process (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: Despite the many difficulties remaining, the direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders that commenced on 2 September present a historic opportunity to at last achieve a just and lasting peace. Compounding the complexity of the issues has been a deep lack of trust between the two sides, with each believing the other is not serious about negotiations. Ireland and the European Union...
- Middle East Peace Process (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: I have no difficulty with much of what the Deputy has said in terms of the events that have happened which, when taken together, undermine the prospects of a peaceful settlement. I share Deputy Higgins's objections to the proposed oath of loyalty which is provocative and counter-productive to the peace process itself. It is wrong. What is clear is that there are forces within Israeli...
- Middle East Peace Process (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: I travelled to the West Bank two years to meet with the Palestinian team which was in preparation for the Annapolis process.
- Middle East Peace Process (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: Yes, they had a great deal of issues worked out. However, I got the sense that all of it was at one remove from the political process that was under way. In essence, these people had not been called upon in terms of the detailed work which has to go into resolving issues. The Deputy seems to be suggesting a mechanism to pull all of the work that has been done together and which has...
- Human Rights Issues (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: As the Deputy will be aware, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia was signed in April 2008. However, it was decided to defer ratification of the agreement until the Council was satisfied with Serbia's co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Following a positive assessment by Chief Prosecutor Brammertz regarding Serbia's...
- Human Rights Issues (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: I am willing to discuss this issue in detail with Deputy Barrett at any time.
- Human Rights Issues (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: I will attend the committee at any time. I did not interrupt the Deputy.
- Human Rights Issues (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: We need to take a considered approach and, apart altogether from Mr. Brammertz's assessment, the European process for the western Balkans is the most effective way to embed democracy and the standards to which we aspire. The current Government of Serbia is progressive and pro-European Union. If we set the clock back any further, we would put all that at risk for other countries in the...
- Human Rights Issues (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: I make that general political point in the context of my assessment of the importance of moving ahead with the stabilisation and association agreement, which has experienced several setbacks since it was first negotiated in 2005. I have attended European Council meetings at which Mr. Brammertz made presentations. The last of these was in June, when he made a positive assessment of Serbia's...
- Human Rights Issues (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: I am speaking about the Council. The chief prosecutor is, of course, anxious to maintain pressure but equally he has stated that he presents the matter as he sees it and it is for us as Ministers and Governments to make our decisions. When I met the Serbian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. JeremÃc, in New York he pointed out that his Government has already done the heavy lifting in regard...
- Human Rights Issues (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: I do not want to see the forces described by Deputy Barrett, which of course exist in Serbia, rising to the ascendancy. That was the political point I referred to earlier. I have clearly formed a view of the matter and I am entitled to put it on the record, just as the Deputy is entitled to set out his own views. I stated from the outset that I have no difficulty with an extended...
- International Agreements (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: The Lisbon treaty has provided new structures for external representation of the EU, including the appointment of the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Baroness Catherine Ashton. The High Representative now carries out the foreign policy representation functions previously carried out by the rotating EU Presidency. The purpose of these changes is to allow the European Union to play...
- International Agreements (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: The Deputy asked two separate sets of questions. The original question referred to the UN's refusal to allow the European Union the right to speak at a meeting of the General Assembly under new arrangements. On the wider issue of UN reform, Ireland has already taken a lead. My predecessor, the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, was nominated by the Secretary General of the UN to lead reform by...
- International Agreements (12 Oct 2010)
Micheál Martin: I hope the Deputies are not blaming Ireland for that. We believe in broadening representation on the Security Council.