Results 44,901-44,920 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Decentralisation Process: Decentralisation Process (10 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: The Development Cooperation Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs, which is the Headquarters of Irish Aid, has decentralised to Limerick. As part of this decentralisation, a number of senior officers have been assigned to Limerick, including one officer at Assistant Secretary level and eleven officers at Principal Officer level or equivalent. The office of the Secretary General of...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (10 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 289 and 290 together. Details of the amounts deducted from the salaries of staff in my Department in respect of superannuation contributions are provided in the following tabular format. Year Amount deducted from staff salaries â'¬ 2007 1,707,550 2008 1,877,450 Some staff in my Department purchased notional service for superannuation purposes during...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (10 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: There are six qualified Professional Accountants employed at the Headquarters of my Department. Four of these accountants are assigned to the Finance Units which manage the budgetary allocations for Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs) and Vote 29 (Irish Aid). The remaining two are assigned to the Department's Evaluation and Audit Unit.

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (10 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: Ireland, in common with all of our European Union (EU) partners, voted against a resolution on "Combating Defamation of Religion" which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 2008 by a vote of 86 in favour, 53 against with 42 abstentions. The resolution was tabled by Egypt on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. The EU has repeatedly expressed its concerns...

Written Answers — Departmental Advertising: Departmental Advertising (10 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: Advertising undertaken by my Department in Ireland typically includes advisory notices on public opening hours over holiday periods, changes in passport application procedures and fees, job vacancy advertisements, phone book information, and public information notices relating to Ireland's official aid programme. The total cost of advertising incurred in 2008 was €589,000. Of this overall...

Written Answers — Departmental Schemes: Departmental Schemes (10 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: I am aware that Section 7 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2008 provided for the introduction of an exemption from income tax in respect of a benefit-in-kind arising from a bicycle or associated safety equipment being provided to an employee by his or her employer for the purposes of commuting to work. My Department is at present studying the detailed arrangements that will be required to...

Written Answers — Northern Ireland Issues: Northern Ireland Issues (5 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: The St Andrews Agreement of 2006 provided for a review to examine the efficiency and value for money of the North/South Implementation Bodies, including the North/South Language Body, of which Foras na Gaeilge is a part. The Agreement also provided for the review to examine the case for additional North/South Bodies and for additional areas of co-operation within the North/South Ministerial...

Written Answers — Passport Information: Passport Information (5 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: The person in question has proposed the inclusion of details regarding illness on a passport. The current Automated Passport System (APS) does not cater for this and its inclusion would require a major redesign of the passport system and booklet. There would be a significant cost involved which would be difficult to justify against the backdrop of the current economic constraints. I will...

Written Answers — Passport Applications: Passport Applications (5 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 145 and 146 together. A passport application was received by the Passport Office in respect of the person in question on 25 November 2006. The applicant's mother stated that the applicant's father was born in Ireland and that the applicant was, therefore, an Irish citizen and thus entitled to an Irish passport. The person identified as the child's father died...

Written Answers — Emigrant Support Services: Emigrant Support Services (5 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: The Government attaches the highest importance to resolving the plight of our undocumented citizens in the United States. In the absence, to date, of comprehensive immigration reform in the United States, we have actively pursued a bilateral approach in this area, aimed at reforming our overall immigration arrangements with the United States and facilitating greater legal migration between...

Written Answers — Foreign Military Personnel: Foreign Military Personnel (3 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: There are two Administrative and Technical officers of military rank from the Embassy of the United States of America based at Shannon. The officers in question liaise with the Irish authorities in relation to US Government or US Government-contracted flights which land in or transit Shannon Airport.

Written Answers — Visa Applications: Visa Applications (3 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: As noted in my responses to the Deputy's previous questions about visas for individuals, I am not in a position to support individual visa applications. It is the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform rather than my own Department which has primary responsibility for visa and immigration policy and, in particular, for making decisions on individual visa applications where there is a...

Written Answers — Deportation Orders: Deportation Orders (3 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: The breakdown of deportation figures on an annual basis, on the basis of data provided by the US Department of Homeland Security, is as follows: Year Total Criminal Non-criminal 2000 29 15 14 2001 50 17 33 2002 64 15 49 2003 69 17 52 2004 63 24 39 2005 43 12 31 2006 39 12 27 2007 42 17 25 2008 66 18 48 Citizens in the non-criminal category are usually visa overstays, and come to...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (3 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: Abdullah Öcalan has been held in solitary confinement since his arrest on 15 February 1999. The tenth anniversary of his arrest was marked by disturbances in a number of Turkish towns, mainly in the Kurdish areas. Mr. Öcalan remains the only person detained in the Imrali Island prison near Istanbul. During a visit to the prison in May 2007, the European Committee for the Prevention of...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (3 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: Following the Israeli General Election on 10 February, the leader of the opposition Likud Party, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been asked by President Peres to try and form a coalition government. We do not yet know if Mr. Netanyahu will succeed in forming a coalition, though any such coalition is increasingly likely to be a narrow one formed with nationalist and religious parties on the right of...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (3 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: Ireland takes an active interest in the successful resolution of the Cyprus problem. We welcomed the resumption of talks last September, under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy, Mr. Alexander Downer, aimed at reaching a comprehensive settlement. So far, twenty meetings have been held between President Christofias and Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat, representing the...

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (3 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: The agreement between the Governments of Ireland and Belarus signed in Minsk on 23 February concerns the conditions under which children from Belarus may come to Ireland for the purposes of recuperation. I am delighted that this will enable the many Irish charities involved to continue their important and ongoing contribution to assisting Chernobyl children to visit Ireland. Following the...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (3 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: The Department of Foreign Affairs is responsible for two Votes — Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs) and Vote 29 (International Cooperation). The information requested by the Deputy, together with a brief description of the services provided, is set out in the following table. In accordance with the requirements of the Public Financial Procedures, it is not the Department's practice to pay retainer...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (3 Mar 2009)

Micheál Martin: Ireland intends to participate in the Durban II Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance which is scheduled to take place in Geneva from 20 to 24 April 2009. The original Durban Declaration and Programme of Action was adopted in 2001. Ireland has participated in the Preparatory Conferences and the recent Intersessional Working Group Meetings for the...

Written Answers — Consular Services: Consular Services (26 Feb 2009)

Micheál Martin: As the Deputy will appreciate, requirements for permission to enter Yemen are solely matters for the Yemeni authorities. Irish citizens require a visa to enter Yemen and the information on the process is available on the website of the Yemeni Embassy http://www.yemenembassy.org.uk/ in London, including the application form. The website indicates that it usually takes 5 working days to...