Results 43,901-43,920 of 51,063 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (24 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: Under the powers vested in Secretaries General under section 4(1) of the Public Services Management Act, 1997, the Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs has the authority to carry out certain duties and management functions, including preparing an outline of how specific elements of Departmental responsibilities are to be assigned so as to ensure that the functions performed...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (24 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: My Department was part of the wider Public Service benchmarking exercise, details of which may be found in the 2002 and 2007 reports of the Public Service Benchmarking Body (available at www.benchmarking.gov.ie ). The exercise involved the detailed examination of the job size, pay, benefits and superannuation of public servants compared with jobs in the private sector. There was no further...

Written Answers — Diplomatic Representation: Diplomatic Representation (24 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: The size and scale of our diplomatic network is considered by the Government on an ongoing basis. Any decision to open a new Mission overseas is undertaken having regard to clear national priorities and available resources, and must be on the basis of an anticipated and ongoing significant return for the State. Decisions regarding Embassy closures must take full account of the operational...

Written Answers — Departmental Functions: Departmental Functions (24 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: The back office functions the Deputy refers to are ones that fall within the scope of the Government's programme of Transforming Public Services. This programme is being directed by a cabinet sub-Committee and jointly coordinated by the Department of Finance and the Department of the Taoiseach. Amongst the issues to be addressed in 2010 is the provision of shared services across the civil...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (24 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: My Department implements efficiency measures on an on-going basis to enable the Department operate more effectively, to improve the delivery of services to the public and to achieve better value for money from the Department's administrative budget. These improvements take place against a background of shifting demand. For example, the number of passports issued in 2008 (577,000) represented...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (24 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: It is not possible, in the time allocated and within the constraints imposed by the accounting system, to calculate the average cost of accommodation per civil servant. However, as the Deputy will appreciate, officers at my Department, by the nature of its responsibilities, are obliged to undertake a significant amount of official travel overseas. In relation to accommodation costs, my...

Written Answers — Departmental Functions: Departmental Functions (24 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: The volume of hospitality activity in Iveagh House varies from year to year depending on factors including the number of visits, conferences and events. In 2009, the department hosted 63 official hospitality events in Iveagh House at a cost of €109,000. The breakdown of events is as follows: 3 breakfasts, 33 lunches, 6 dinners, 16 receptions. On this basis, the average cost per function...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (24 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: My Department does not pay a stipend in addition to core salary to civil servants who are working overseas. My Department does operate a system of Foreign Service Allowances to defray certain additional expenses which officers may experience as a consequence of serving abroad at an Irish diplomatic mission. The extent to which officers require compensation through allowances is dependent on...

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (23 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 302 to 305, inclusive, together. As I have indicated in response to similar recent questions, the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR) is intended, when it comes into force, to set up a mechanism that will make it possible for individuals or groups of individuals to submit a complaint to the UN...

Written Answers — Irish Prisoners Abroad: Irish Prisoners Abroad (23 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: The provisions relating to prisoners in the Good Friday Agreement only relate to the obligations of the British and Irish Governments and are not applicable to other States. Decisions in the matter referred to by the Deputy would be for the US authorities to determine. My Department has no record of any contact from the individual concerned regarding the situation he faces.

Written Answers — Diplomatic Residences: Diplomatic Residences (23 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: The Ambassador's Residence in Ottawa was acquired by the State in 1960. Only modest investments were made in its upkeep over the years and it had long been in need of substantial refurbishment. In 2006, my Department was advised that total renovation was required to address a wide range of serious structural and maintenance issues. Some of these problems were aggravated by the long term...

Written Answers — Diplomatic Residences: Diplomatic Residences (23 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table. Location Property Estimated Cost â'¬000 Addis Ababa Chancery 1,039 Armagh Office of North South Ministerial Council 635 Oslo Residence 218 Prague Residence 268 Riyadh Chancery 273 Stockholm Residence 243

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (23 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 375 on 9 February on this issue, which was as follows: "NGOs operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories perform a vital role in trying to mitigate and ease the burden of the occupation on the Palestinian people, provide for their physical well-being in circumstances where economic life and opportunities are severely constrained, and...

Written Answers — Counterfeit Passports: Counterfeit Passports (23 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy will understand that for the moment it would be premature and irresponsible for me to pronounce on the reason why false Irish passports were used in the assassination Mahmouh al Mabhouh on 20 January. I want to be perfectly clear that the supposed Irish passports were in fact fakes. The passport numbers corresponded to the numbers on genuine Irish passports. However, the...

Written Answers — Counterfeit Passports: Counterfeit Passports (23 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: The current Irish passport is widely regarded and respected throughout the world as being of the highest quality. In recent years there has been very significant investment in enhancing the security features of the passport book to ensure that our citizens can travel in safety. In 2005 my Department introduced a new Automatic Passport System (APS) which fundamentally redesigned the Irish...

Written Answers — Counterfeit Passports: Counterfeit Passports (23 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: Immediately following publication on 4 February of local press reports that several suspects in the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh were believed to have entered Dubai on Irish passports, the Ambassador of Ireland to the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Ciarán Madden, contacted the UAE Foreign Ministry to seek clarification as to the veracity of these reports. On 8 February Ambassador Madden was...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (23 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 314 and 317 together. As the Deputies are aware, there has been a United States embargo on Cuba since 1962. Among the measures applied on foot of this embargo is a ban on the transfer of funds to Cuba involving United States financial institutions. The EU has a longstanding position on the US embargo, most recently expressed in the EU Presidency statement...

Written Answers — Nuclear Disarmament Initiative: Nuclear Disarmament Initiative (23 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: I am deeply concerned at Iran's announcement on 11 February that it has produced its first batch of uranium enriched to 20%. This is in clear violation of successive UN Security Council resolutions calling on Iran to cease its uranium enrichment activities, and to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This latest development coincides with the IAEA report of 18...

Written Answers — Passport Applications: Passport Applications (23 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: The passport office estimates that there are approximately 4.3 million Irish passport holders worldwide. Demand has risen from 388,000 in 2000 to 630,000 in 2005. Demand levelled off with approximately 600,000 passports being issued in 2006 and 2007 and fell slightly in 2008 to 580,000 passports. 2009 passport demand has been very similar to that in 2008, where 579,508 passports were issued.

Written Answers — Counterfeit Passports: Counterfeit Passports (23 Feb 2010)

Micheál Martin: Police investigations into the assassination in Dubai of Mr. Mahmoud al-Mabhouh on 20 January are continuing. The identities of those involved in the assassination, and the organization or group responsible, remain to be established. I met with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr. Avigdor Lieberman in Brussels yesterday and made clear my serious concerns at the fraudulent use of Irish passports...