Results 5,181-5,200 of 50,064 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the issue outlined by the Deputy, it appears that the applicant submitted a document to the Department of Justice in the course of her naturalisation application. The Passport Service does not have access to documents submitted to the Department of Justice. It would be advisable for the applicant to contact the Department of Justice with regard to the document in question.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, this application is within the current turnaround times and has not yet reached its issue by date. The turnaround time for Post Passport applications is 8 weeks. The public offices of the Passport Service in Dublin 2 and in Cork operate a four-day Urgent Appointment service for renewal applicants. The Dublin...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Engagements (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: Ongoing, high-level political engagement with the United States on critical issues for Ireland is a priority for the Government and building strong, strategic political partnerships is a key objective in "Global Ireland: Ireland’s Strategy for the US and Canada 2019–2025". During my visit to Washington, DC, this month, I had a range of political engagements with key contacts...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Passport Service is successfully meeting high demand for passports with turnaround times at or well-ahead of target and no backlogs. In 2023, over 1 million applications were received and over 950,000 passports were issued. So far in 2024, the Passport Service has issued over 110,000 passports. The Passport Service is well-resourced to meet forecasted demand for 2024. My Department has...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: I remain deeply concerned by Israeli policies regarding settlements. All Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, are illegal under international law. Ireland has consistently and repeatedly drawn attention to the unlawfulness of settlements. Continuing, and indeed increasing, Israeli settlement activities dangerously imperil the viability...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: The proposals set out in the General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2023, to prohibit the Defence Force Representative Associations from making a public statement or comment concerning a political matter, is already provided for in Regulation, namely the Defence Force Regulation (DFR) S.6, which states that “No public statement or comment concerning a political matter shall be...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: It is the case that since 23 January 2020, the holder of the post of Director of Military Prosecutions (DMP) cannot be a member of a Representative Association. This point is set out in Defence Force Regulation (DFR) 02/2020, Section 4(1) and Section 6(2). The draft Defence (Amendment) Bill proposes to confirm that position and to further include the post of the Military Judge (MJ)....

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: The establishment for the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) was recently increased by 89 to 9,589 to account for the first cohort of Commission on the Defence Forces (CODF) transformation appointments. Personnel in training are counted as part of the 9,589 establishment level. As at 31 December 2023, the strength of the PDF was 7,550 personnel. The requested breakdown of the establishment,...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: To answer the Deputy's questions, since its establishment in 1974, the UNDOF mission has helped maintain an area of separation over 75 kilometers long between the Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights, thereby substantially contributing to fulfilling its UN mandate. In recent years, the region has encountered varying escalations of conflict, which have affected the UNDOF area of...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: The First Line Reserve (FLR) is intended to provide a pool of trained personnel who are available at short notice to supplement Permanent Defence Force (PDF) units in times of emergency. There is currently no set establishment for the FLR. The existing regulatory framework provides for former members of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) to join the Army Reserve or Naval Service Reserve. This...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Foreign Policy (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: Last year’s Consultative Forum on International Security Policy featured a well-informed discussion on the issue of UN peacekeeping and the “Triple Lock", contributed to by a wide and varied perspective of views on this matter, and which was subsequently reflected in the Chair’s report. This debate provided ample evidence of ways in which to continue Ireland’s...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: To answer the Deputy's question, there are currently no plans to adopt a statutory ban on the training of military personnel in Ireland from any other state.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: In response to the deterioration of maritime security in the Red Sea and the impacts on shipping and navigational rights as well as regional peace and security, the EU is exploring the possibility of a new maritime operation to protect merchant vessels transiting in straits used for international navigation. This right of passage is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: It has not been possible to collate the required information within the timeframe available. I shall provide the information to the Deputy once it becomes available.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: As at 31 December 2023, the number of female personnel in the Permanent Defence Force was 559. The table below sets out the number of women in each branch, and the number of discharges from the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service as at 31 December 2023. - Army Air Corps Naval...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: As of 31 December 2023, the effective female strength is 178, of which 171 are in the Army Reserve and 7 are in the Naval Service Reserve. The military authorities have advised that for each of the years 2020 to 2023, the number of female discharges from the Reserve Defence Force is as follows: RDF Discharges (Female) 2020 2021 2022 2023 ...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: Further to my response to Parliamentary Question No. 134 on 28th November 2023, the Defence Forces have advised me that every effort is made to ensure that medical records of Defence Force personnel are maintained accurately and in confidence. Should any incorrect or inaccurate entries be identified, I am informed that they are duly corrected at that time and point. For the Deputy's...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (8 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: The passport card was launched in October 2015 and offers Irish citizens the convenience of travel to 31 countries including the EU/EEA member states, Great Britain and Switzerland, with a credit card sized travel document. Over 718,000 passport cards have been issued since 2015 and users have found it to be a highly convenient travel document. The Passport Card is fully compliant with...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (8 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: Since the start of this crisis, my Department has worked with the relevant authorities to facilitate the exit from Gaza of those Irish citizens, and accompanying dependents, who have expressed a wish to leave. We continue to advocate with the authorities in relation to those Irish citizens and dependents who have not yet been permitted to leave. The authorities have made clear that the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (8 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 134 and 135 together. Under the terms of the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order, 1952, all foreign military aircraft wishing to overfly, or land in, the State require diplomatic clearance from the Minister for Foreign Affairs.Diplomatic clearance is subject to strict conditions, including that the aircraft is unarmed; that it carries no arms,...