Results 5,921-5,940 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Leaders' Questions (19 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for raising this issue. The Government very much shares the concern he expressed about the difficulties mortgage holders are having, both in respect of the interest rates that are being charged by some institutions and also the difficulties they are having in respect of arrears and the pressure on them, and has acted in this area. Last month, in the budget, it...

Leaders' Questions (19 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: In the earlier part of my response, I was responding to the allegation Deputy Ó Cuív made that the Government was not dealing with the mortgage issue. I believe he is now satisfied that the Government is dealing comprehensively with the mortgage issue in respect of interest rates and mortgage arrears. In regard to the specific issue he raised, as he is aware, the Government has spoken to,...

Leaders' Questions (19 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I am very happy to answer those questions. My assessment of the situation is that we inherited the biggest economic mess any incoming Government ever inherited. When we came into office last March, the banking system and the economy were broken and, as my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills often says, the country had effectively been put into receivership by the previous...

Leaders' Questions (19 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I did that-----

Leaders' Questions (19 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: -----and I am helping the Government to achieve the objective of getting the country's economy to recover-----

Leaders' Questions (19 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: -----to get us out of the bailout, to say goodbye to the IMF and the ECB and to recover our economic independence.

Leaders' Questions (19 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: All of us, whether in Government or Opposition, owe it to the people we represent to be straight with them. When Deputy McDonald talks about the reduction in the 7.5% interest rate that now attaches to Irish bonds, she might also tell people that that is, in fact, now about half what it was last year.

Leaders' Questions (19 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: It is down and is going in the right direction. It is not where we want it to be but it is going in the right direction and the Deputy might at least acknowledge progress. Nobody on this side of the House is enthusiastic about cutting any service to the public, but we are in an economic and financial hole. We are short of money and the gap is made up by borrowing. That is the Government's...

Leaders' Questions (19 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: That is the policy of us all, but one does not get people back to work simply by making a declaration about it in Leinster House. It has to be worked upon and one must restore international confidence in the country. In order to get people back to work we have to persuade people, outside this country first of all, to invest here to create jobs. We are doing so and the proof of the pudding...

Leaders' Questions (19 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: In respect of the money we must borrow in order to keep the State services going, what would Deputy McDonald do if we were not in a position to borrow that money? How much would she have to cut wages by? Is she going to go down to the Mater Hospital or any other hospital and tell the nurses that she is going to cut 30% of their wages?

Leaders' Questions (19 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Is she going to tell old age pensioners that she will have to cut maybe up to €100 per week from their pensions? It is time that Deputy McDonald grew up and accepted the economic reality we are facing. If she does not like what the Government is doing - and that is fair enough, it is the privilege of Opposition - then instead of coming in here every Thursday morning and bellyaching about...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (18 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 33 to 37, inclusive, and 40 together. The Deputy is referring to the new Hungarian constitution which came into force on 1 January, its associated cardinal laws and the media law adopted in 2010. While the stated aim of the new constitution - the consolidation of democracy in Hungary - is commendable, aspects of the new Constitution and the cardinal laws have...

Written Answers — EU Treaties: EU Treaties (18 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 38, 39, 48 to 50, inclusive, and 54 together. Since the onset of the current economic crisis in Europe, European leaders have been seized of the need to find a lasting resolution that allows us to put the crisis behind us and to focus on generating growth and jobs as a means of underpinning recovery. Significant steps have been taken in this regard, including...

Written Answers — Election Monitoring: Election Monitoring (18 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Ireland contributed five short-term observers selected by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. A member of the Oireachtas took part in the observation mission of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and a former member of the Oireachtas observed the election at the invitation of a Russian non-governmental organisation. The OSCE ODIHR Election Observation Mission issued a preliminary...

Written Answers — EU Enlargement: EU Enlargement (18 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 42 and 43 together. The Ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in December 2009 (Sejdic and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina) held that the prohibition in the Bosnian Constitution against those from the Roma and Jewish minorities from standing for election to the Parliamentary Assembly and for the State Presidency violates the European Convention on Human...

Written Answers — EU Enlargement: EU Enlargement (18 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 44 to 47, inclusive, together. Our approach to EU enlargement is positive. Expanding the Union encourages a more prosperous and stable Europe and the process itself is equally beneficial to candidate countries in encouraging them to implement economic and political reforms and to strengthen their democratic values. Respect for these norms as set out in the...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (18 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The most recent meeting of the EU-Uzbekistan Cooperation Council took place in Brussels on 14 November 2011. During the Cooperation Council, the EU raised a wide range of issues concerning human rights and fundamental freedoms in Uzbekistan. Prior to the meeting, all twenty-seven Member States of the European Union, including Ireland, mandated the EU representatives at the Cooperation...

Written Answers — EU Budget: EU Budget (18 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The Commission presented proposals for the EU Budget Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014 to 2020, the MFF, on 29 June 2011. Work on this legislative proposal is being led by the General Affairs Council. Detailed proposals are being discussed in the relevant sectoral Councils. The Polish Presidency presented a report on initial discussions of the MFF to the December European Council....

Written Answers — EU Presidency: EU Presidency (18 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is being allocated some 68 temporary additional posts in 2012/2013 in order to plan and fulfil its EU Presidency responsibilities and activities in the first half of next year. The temporary additional staff will be assigned as appropriate at Headquarters and to Irish Missions abroad with Presidency responsibilities, most notably the Permanent...

Written Answers — EU Strategy: EU Strategy (18 Jan 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth is a key topic of Ireland's ongoing engagement with European partners, both capitals and institutions. Ireland believes that the growth agenda must become a stronger focus at EU level. Growth is key to supporting the job creation necessary to address the unemployment crisis. It is also critical to restoring fiscal...