Results 45,501-45,520 of 50,917 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (24 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: The humanitarian situation across Somalia remains grave, particularly in and around Mogadishu and I remain deeply concerned for the safety and well-being of Somalis and the aid community seeking to assist them. In what was already a precarious environment for humanitarian agencies, security and access have deteriorated even further in 2008. Security issues for those seeking to deliver relief...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (24 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: As the Deputy may be aware, my Department strongly advises Irish citizens to avoid all travel to Iraq given the extremely unstable political and security situation in the country. Those in Iraq are urged to leave. This advice is provided on our website, www.dfa.ie, and is updated on a regular basis. Despite this clear advice, I understand the person referred to by the Deputy travelled to...

Written Answers — Consular Services: Consular Services (24 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: My Department, through our Consulates in New York and Chicago, have provided extensive consular assistance to the person referred to by the Deputy. The person concerned travelled to the United States in October 2007 on a six-month working visa. In April of this year, he served a fifteen day prison sentence in Florida for driving related offences. My Department made clear to the person that...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (24 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: The humanitarian situation across Somalia remains grave and I remain deeply concerned for the safety and well-being of Somalis and the aid community seeking to assist them. In what was already a precarious environment for humanitarian agencies, security and access have deteriorated even further in 2008. Obstacles to those seeking to deliver relief in Somalia include random violence, piracy,...

Written Answers — Middle East Peace Process: Middle East Peace Process (24 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 225 to 229, inclusive, together. The Government has been very seriously concerned about the humanitarian and security situation in Gaza and the West Bank. We have consistently called for an end to the isolation of the people of Gaza, the re-opening of crossing points for people and goods and the lifting of restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the...

Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: We do not want over-regulation.

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (19 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: The situation in the ethnic Somali Ogaden region of Ethiopia has deteriorated sharply in the last six months. The conflict between the Government and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) is causing serious hardship for the mainly pastoralist and nomadic people of the region, whose livelihoods have been disrupted. Some NGOs have complained of serious restrictions on humanitarian access...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (18 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: The promotion and protection of human rights and the rule of law has always been a priority of successive Governments and is an important aspect of our foreign policy. Support for institutions and organisations that promote governance, democracy and human rights is an important element of Ireland's official development assistance programme. Together with our EU partners, the Government...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (18 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: The events which resulted in the tragic deaths of very large numbers of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire more than ninety years ago continue to cast a shadow over relations between Turkey and Armenia, whose historical interpretations of these events have diverged sharply. The Turkish Government has proposed the establishment of a commission, composed of eminent academics, to investigate and...

Written Answers — Lisbon Treaty: Lisbon Treaty (18 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 79 together. The result of the referendum is, of course, deeply disappointing for all who argued in favour of ratification of the Lisbon Reform Treaty. However, the people have made their decision which must be respected. We will need time to analyse the result properly and to look for an acceptable way forward. The result of the referendum brings...

Written Answers — Middle East Peace Process: Middle East Peace Process (18 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 74, 98, 107 and 122 together. At the outset, I want to express the Government's strong welcome for the news today that Israel has confirmed its agreement to a deal brokered by Egypt for a ceasefire in Gaza, starting tomorrow morning. Deputies will be aware that the Government has been seriously concerned for some time about the dangerous humanitarian and...

Written Answers — Northern Ireland Issues: Northern Ireland Issues (18 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Government consistently raises with the British Government issues which are the legacy of the Troubles, at political level and through the British Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat in Belfast, as well as ongoing official contacts. As the Deputy is aware, there are many families still seeking answers and justice for lost loved ones, including the Ballymurphy cases. The question of how...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (18 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: The United Nations missions in Chad and Sudan and the UN-authorised EU military mission in Chad, EUFOR Tchad/RCA are part of a multidimensional security and humanitarian presence in a region which has been seriously affected by the Darfur conflict, as well as by tensions within and between the two countries. There are two UN missions in Sudan: UNMIS, established in March 2005 to support the...

Written Answers — Diplomatic Representation: Diplomatic Representation (18 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 78 and 102 together. The declaration of independence by the Kosovo Assembly on 17 February last marked the culmination of a lengthy final status process for Kosovo led by the UN Secretary-General's Special Status Envoy, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. In April 2007, after more than a year of talks involving Belgrade and Pristina, he produced his...

Written Answers — Passport Applications: Passport Applications (18 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: As indicated in the reply to Parliamentary Questions 239 to 242 on 26 February 2008, the then Minister for Foreign Affairs stated that he had asked the Secretary General of the Department to undertake a review of all aspects of the special passport facility for Members of the Oireachtas, including whether it should be continued in place. The Secretary General in March established a Committee...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (18 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: The situation in Chad remains complex, fluid and fragile. United Nations agencies and NGOs have identified deteriorating security and internal displacement as two of the chief operational challenges they face in addressing the humanitarian situation in eastern Chad. The problem of insecurity that affects the civilian population and humanitarian actors in eastern Chad on a daily basis is one...

Written Answers — Diplomatic Representation: Diplomatic Representation (18 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: My Department has long provided a first class Consular service to Irish citizens in need oversees and their families. As Minister for Foreign Affairs, I will ensure that maintaining and improving this high quality service remains a key strategic priority. Our resident Missions and Honorary Consuls around the world are readily available, as the need arises, to provide consular assistance to...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (18 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: The Government has consistently supported the right to self-determination of the people of the Western Sahara. Ireland has not taken a position on the future of the Territory, be it full independence, autonomy, or integration under Moroccan sovereignty. The important point is that the status of the Territory should be decided in a genuine exercise of self-determination by the people of the...

Written Answers — Diplomatic Representation: Diplomatic Representation (18 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: Ireland and Sri Lanka maintain good diplomatic relations. Our Ambassador in Delhi is also accredited to Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Ireland is accredited from London. Ireland is also represented in Sri Lanka by an Honorary Consul in Colombo. My predecessor, Minister Dermot Ahern, made a visit to Sri Lanka in 2005 in the immediate aftermath of the Tsunami. During that visit, he...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (18 Jun 2008)

Micheál Martin: As we celebrate fifty years of involvement by the Defence Forces in UN-authorised peace support operations, it is worth recalling that the promotion of human rights and the protection of civilian populations has always been central to that involvement. I am advised by my colleague the Minister for Defence, Mr. Willie O'Dea TD, that all members of the Defence Forces assigned to peacekeeping...