Results 7,421-7,440 of 51,889 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Middle East (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: I absolutely agree with the Deputy, in the sense that Ireland is heavily engaged on the ground, both through our troops in Lebanon and our representative office in Ramallah. We have an embassy in Tel Aviv. We have embassies in Egypt and Jordan. We have people on the ground who engage. There are two ways to approach this. You can go off and be isolationist and attack everybody. That is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Middle East (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: For many years, the issue of sanctions has been at EU level because of the collective weight of the EU in any given situation. We obviously weigh up the impact of sanctions to make sure they can be effective in changing policy, or in articulating our opposition to bad acts such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine. What is positive is that now under active discussion is the idea of sanctions...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ukraine War (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: Overall assistance to Ukraine pledged by the European Union and its member states to date amounts to approximately €85 billion, including financial, humanitarian, emergency, budgetary and military support. Discussions are ongoing at European Union level on a Commission proposal for a €50 billion Ukraine facility to cover the period 2024 to 2027. If agreed, this package will...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Middle East (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: I am extremely concerned by the horrific violence that we have witnessed in the West Bank, which has drastically increased since 7 October 2023. The UN has reported that approximately 358 Palestinian people have been killed in the West Bank since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza, including eight people killed in attacks by violent settlers. This marks the highest number of Palestinians...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Middle East (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: I certainly can. As I said in my reply, what is happening in the West Bank is unacceptable. I was there in September. The Palestinian Authority has made it very clear that it is pursuing a non-violent path towards a Palestinian state yet Israel continues to undermine the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli Government strategy is impossible to comprehend. There is no justification for...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Middle East (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: Whatever the merits of the Control of Economic Activities (Occupied Territories) Bill, it will not affect the situation on the ground. There is no point in-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Middle East (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: We have to work more immediately in terms of pressure on Israel and pressurise it in more immediate ways internationally to get it to stop doing what it is doing. That is where our focus is. There has to be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. We are part of the West Bank Protection Consortium, which has sought compensation close to €1.3 million in respect of confiscated or demolished...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Middle East (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: They are not responding to these issues.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: I want to begin by underlining my grave concern at the dire situation in Gaza. I am urgently calling for an immediate and sustainable humanitarian ceasefire; the unconditional release of all hostages; and full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for the benefit of those in desperate need. The protection of civilians must be paramount and there must be accountability for civilian deaths....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: As I have made repeatedly clear in this House, the Government is taking this case very seriously. Following the oral proceedings that took place on 11 and 12 January, the Court will deliver its order on the provisional measures in the South Africa case tomorrow, Friday 26 January. This decision will be analysed carefully by my officials once it has been published and we will continue to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: The conviction and imprisonment in Iraq of this person, who has an Irish family and is normally resident in Ireland, is a serious concern. There are good reasons to question the basis on which he was convicted. However, it is important to be clear that the subject is an Australian citizen. It is therefore the Australian authorities, and their Embassy in Baghdad, who have consular...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consular Services (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: I want to thank the Deputy for raising this question. The delivery of responsive, empathetic and consistent consular assistance is a key priority for my Department. Our Embassies and Consulates across the globe place a strong emphasizes on ensuring that our citizens who require consular assistance overseas feel supported in their time of need. I am proud of the work that my Department and the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: Engagement between my Department and the Ambassador of Israel to Ireland is routinely carried out at senior official level. Such engagement is frequent and particularly important in the context of the crisis that is currently unfolding in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. The current Ambassador of Israel to Ireland, Dana Erlich, presented her credentials on 20 September. In...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Union (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: The EU faces unprecedented foreign and security policy challenges. The invasion of Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East demonstrate the need for the EU to be able to react robustly and rapidly to developments that threaten our interests and values. It is important to state that Defence and Security remain national competencies and will of course continue to require unanimity in EU...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 61 together. I have been engaging intensively with EU, regional and international partners since the beginning of this crisis in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. During all of these engagements I have conveyed the same message: there is an urgent need for a humanitarian ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ukraine War (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: I maintain regular contact with the Ukrainian Government, both through the Ukrainian Ambassador to Ireland, Ireland's Ambassador to Ukraine, as well as directly with my Ukrainian counterpart, Foreign Minister Kuleba. Foreign Minister Kuleba joined the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 22 January, via video call, providing us with an update on the situation on the ground and on Ukrainian...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Peace Commissioners (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: In order to verify the identity of a passport applicant, and in the case of children, the consent of their guardians, the Passport Service requires certain forms to be witnessed. While Peace Commissioners are included in the list of approved witnesses accepted by the Passport Service, there are certain applications for applicants resident in Ireland that must be witnessed by a member of An...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Engagements (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 26 together. I travelled to Berlin last week, where I met with German Federal Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, Minister of State for Europe and Climate, Dr Anna Lührmann, and the Chair and Members of the Bundestag Committee on EU Affairs. I also delivered a keynote address, ‘Navigating Europe: Ireland's Voice in Shaping the Future of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 21, 30 and 31 together. The Programme for Government states that the Government will “honour our commitment to recognise the State of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict, or in advance of that, when we believe doing so will progress efforts to reach a two-State solution or protect the integrity of Palestinian territory”. ...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (25 Jan 2024)

Micheál Martin: Officials in my Department follow developments in the Taiwan Strait closely. Military activity in the Strait intensified during 2022 and 2023. Any escalation or confrontation is deeply concerning and has the potential to impact regional and global security, as well as the free flow of trade. I am in regular contact with my EU counterparts on matters of foreign policy significance, including...