Results 7,021-7,040 of 51,889 for speaker:Micheál Martin

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,...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service (8 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 146 to 150, inclusive, together. In July 2022, the then Minister for Defence accepted the recommendation of the joint civil-military Working Group on Decommissioning that the decommissioning and disposal of three (3) Naval Service ships, namely LÉ Eithne P31, LÉ Orla P41, and LÉ Ciara P42, should be progressed as soon as practicable, taking...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service (8 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: In September 2020,the then Minister for Defence received a submission from the Defence Forces in relation to the regeneration of the Naval Service, and following this submission a Civil/Military Working Group was established to decommission Naval Service ships under the Naval Service Regeneration Action Plan . The Working Group on Decommissioning recommended that the decommissioning and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (7 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 12 and 22 together. I welcome the decision by the International Court of Justice to order provisional measures in the South Africa v Israel case. In particular, the Court’s order to Israel to ensure its military does not commit actions prohibited under the Genocide Convention - and takes immediate and effective measures to enable the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Agreements (7 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 13 and 25 together. The legal basis for the EU’s trade relations with Israel is the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which entered into force in June 2000. Article 82 of the Agreement provides that it is concluded for an unlimited period, and therefore it does not require any renewal. I advocate consistently for the European Union to more...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (7 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific application raised by the Deputy, the Passport Service requires further time to look into the issue and will respond once we have further information.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Travel (7 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs has undertaken 31 visits overseas on official business since taking up his current role, some involving multiple destinations. The table below outlines the dates and destinations of each visit and the associated flight and hotel costs. In some cases, there are no commercial flight costs, as the Government jet was used, while in other cases...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Advertising (7 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: My Department uses traditional and online advertising primarily to promote essential services to citizens at home and abroad, including passport and consular services. In recent years, public awareness campaigns in relation to COVID-19 travel restrictions and Brexit have formed a significant part of campaigns. The Department also uses traditional and online advertising to communicate to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Contracts (7 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Department of Foreign Affairs does not employ third parties to deal with public relations.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (7 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: External legal services can be required by the Department of Foreign Affairs - at headquarters and at any of our 100 overseas Missions - for a variety of reasons, principally for advice on employment contracts and other human resources issues that can arise and for advice on rental contracts and other property-related legal issues. The amount spent by the Department of Foreign Affairs on...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (7 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table that follows. On office space, the Office of Public Works provides furnished office accommodation for the Department within the state. Outside of the State, my Department is responsible for the cost of leasing office premises for our diplomatic and consular offices. The cost of furniture for these premises also falls to the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (7 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has issued a passport to the applicant.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (7 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: At present the EU has extensive sanctions on Iran in relation to aspects of the nuclear and military sectors, and on specific persons and entities in relation to human rights violations. There are many concerns about Iran at present, including human rights issues, the repression of dissent, Iran's nuclear activities, and Iran's association with groups which are engaged in conflict and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (7 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the standard turnaround time for child renewal applications is 15 working days from the date the Passport Service receives the required supporting documents. The applicant's supporting documents were received on 22 January 2024. This application is within the standard turnaround time and has not yet reached its...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (7 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Passport Online service offers citizens the ability to apply online for their passport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This award-winning service has allowed for the centralisation of passport processing and has resulted in greater efficiencies for our citizens and for the Passport Service. Passport Online is a user-friendly, efficient service that consistently offers processing times up...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (7 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Irish Government views the terrible events which saw the deaths of a large number of the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire as a tragedy, and has expressed deepest sympathy for the enormous suffering of the Armenian people during this period. The term ‘genocide’ has a particular meaning under international law. The Government has not taken a stance on whether...