Results 45,141-45,160 of 50,917 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: The strong Government position on the unacceptable situation in Burma has been consistently conveyed internationally, including and in particular to the countries in the Asia region, whose involvement we see as crucial to a resolution of the problems in Burma. I welcome in this regard the fact that the ASEM Summit, as its record makes clear, adopted a very positive position on the Burmese...

Written Answers — Nuclear Weapons Programmes: Nuclear Weapons Programmes (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Government has no intelligence sources of its own in the Middle East from which to determine the truth of the various and widespread allegations made about weapons programmes in the Middle East, which is a highly militarised and conflict-prone region. It is widely believed that Israel possesses a nuclear weapon capability, but this has never been formally confirmed. There is widespread...

Written Answers — Financial Institutions Support Scheme: Financial Institutions Support Scheme (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 132 and 154 together. Officials from my Department and the Department of Finance have been in communication with our European partners and the European Commission over the economic and financial situation. Our Embassies in EU countries have briefed our partners on the Government's bank guarantee scheme. The Minister for Finance met with Commissioner Kroes to...

Written Answers — EU Council Meetings: EU Council Meetings (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: I attended the General Affairs and External Relations Council, the GAERC, in Brussels on 13 October 2008. The meeting, which was chaired by the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, was the fourth GAERC under the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union and took place against the background of the international financial crisis. The main item on the agenda was the...

Written Answers — EU Treaties: EU Treaties (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: The European Council agreed on 14 December 2007 to establish a Reflection Group and appointed Felipe González (former Prime Minister of Spain) as Chairman of the Group. Two Vice Chairs were also appointed: Vaira Vike-Freiberga (former Latvian President) and Jorma Ollila (former Chairman of Nokia). The Reflection Group is intended to look at the challenges facing Europe beyond 2020. The...

Written Answers — US Visa Programme: US Visa Programme (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: As the Deputy will be aware, the United States Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte, and I signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a new Working Holiday Programme between our two countries in Washington on 24 September. This Agreement represents a very significant and positive development in our migration arrangements with the United States and will help foster the growth of...

Written Answers — Diplomatic Contacts: Diplomatic Contacts (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: In my address to the United Nations General Assembly on 29 September 2008, I did extend warm congratulations to Dr. Miguel D'Escoto on his election as President of the General Assembly for its 63rd session and offered my best wishes for the success of his term. I also had the privilege of a short courtesy meeting with Dr. D'Escoto on that occasion. Our Permanent Representative to the UN in...

Written Answers — Official Engagements: Official Engagements (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: Since the referendum in June I have discussed the outcome and its implications with my counterparts in the Council of Ministers, and with leaders of the European Parliament and the European Commission. The European Council agreed in October that the Irish Government will continue its consultations with a view to contributing to finding a way to resolve the situation. That is exactly what the...

Written Answers — UN Personnel: UN Personnel (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: Senior officials are defined by the United Nations as Deputy Secretaries General, Under-Secretaries-General and Assistant Secretaries-General or those of equivalent rank. There are currently two such posts within the United Nations administration held by Irish citizens. Ms Patricia O'Brien is Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel. Mr Peter Sutherland is the Special...

Written Answers — Diplomatic Contacts: Diplomatic Contacts (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: The election of a new Administration in the US provides a clear opportunity to re-assess and re-energise the transatlantic relationship. Under the French Presidency, the EU has been giving active consideration to this and Foreign Ministers have twice discussed what should be the priorities in our relations with the new Administration, most recently at a meeting which I attended in Marseilles...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 142, 151, 277 and 278 together. The resurgence of fighting in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a matter of grave concern, both in terms of its implications for the humanitarian situation, and for the stability of the wider Great Lakes region. It has seriously undermined the Goma and Nairobi Peace Agreements, and placed the...

Written Answers — Freedom of Information: Freedom of Information (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: The following tabular statement is a statistical breakdown of the Freedom of Information Requests processed by my Department over the past four years. It is the policy of my Department to make all requests and replies made under the Freedom of Information Act, which are not of a personal nature, publicly available. The Freedom of Information Requests Database is available on the website of my...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: I am closely monitoring developments in Colombia, including the human rights situation. Together with our EU partners, Ireland is keenly aware of the difficulties in the implementation of the Justice and Peace Law, the legal framework for the peace process in Colombia. I am particularly concerned about reports suggesting that the situation is deteriorating in relation to human rights...

Written Answers — Trade Embargo: Trade Embargo (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: Ireland and its EU partners believe that the United States trade policy towards Cuba is fundamentally a bilateral issue. However, the EU cannot accept that unilateral measures imposed by the US on specific countries limit the Union's economic and commercial relations with third countries, in this case Cuba. Furthermore, the EU rejects all unilateral measures against Cuba which are contrary to...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 148 and 159 together. The issue of extraordinary rendition has been raised on numerous occasions in this House. As has been made repeatedly clear, the Government is completely opposed to the practice of the extraordinary rendition of prisoners. I wish to reiterate at the outset that none of the various investigations into allegations of extraordinary rendition...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: I welcome the fact that the eighth round of dialogue between the Chinese Government and representatives of the Dalai Lama has commenced in Beijing. As I have stated previously in the House, the pace and substance of the dialogue have been unsatisfactory to date. Nevertheless, I believe that dialogue between the Chinese Government and the Dalai Lama or his representatives remains the most...

Written Answers — International Conferences: International Conferences (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: The EU- and World Bank-sponsored donor conference for Georgia on 22 October in Brussels proved a highly successful event. A total of 71 delegations attended, many of them led at a high level. Ambassador Marie Cross, Ireland's representative on the Political and Security Committee of the European Union, represented Ireland. A sum of €3.6 billion was pledged to Georgia's ongoing...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: My Department will comply with the requirement for all Departments to reduce their expenditure on payroll by 3%. This will be a very challenging target to achieve. Work is still ongoing and a wide range of options is being explored to reduce our expenditure in this area. Among the options being considered is the non-replacement of some officers in positions both at headquarters and abroad. No...

Written Answers — Northern Ireland Issues: Northern Ireland Issues (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Irish Human Rights Commission was established in July 2001 in accordance with the commitment contained in the Good Friday Agreement to establish Human Rights Commissions both in this jurisdiction and in Northern Ireland. The Agreement also envisages a Joint Committee of representatives of the two Human Rights Commissions, North and South, as a forum for the consideration of human rights...

Written Answers — Northern Ireland Issues: Northern Ireland Issues (5 Nov 2008)

Micheál Martin: While significant progress has been made towards the full implementation of all aspects of the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement, the Executive is at present experiencing difficulties in coming to agreement on a number of issues. The devolution of policing and justice remains the most pressing of these issues. It is the shared view of the Irish and British Governments that...