Results 8,681-8,700 of 50,134 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Engagements (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Department of Foreign Affairs and its mission network are actively engaged in delivering the Government’s economic objectives, and in particular in advancing the Irish people's prosperity and interests abroad. The pursuit of these economic objectives is framed by The Global Island, Global Ireland 2025and, most recently, the Government's Trade and Investment Strategy 2022-2026:...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Relations (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 573 and 574 together. St. Patrick’s Day offers a unique opportunity to promote Ireland’s economic and political interests overseas, with levels of publicity, cultural activity, diaspora engagement, and media attention unmatched by the national day of any other country. I visited New York and Boston and met the UN Secretary-General; former...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: The full and effective operation of all of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement, including the power-sharing institutions provided for under Strand One, is a priority for this Government. The people of Northern Ireland are entitled to a functioning Assembly and Executive, in full fulfilment of the mandate they gave in the May 2022 elections. The absence of a functioning Executive...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: State Visits (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 576 and 580 together. The Government strongly welcomed the announcement last week of President Biden’s intention to visit Ireland and Northern Ireland soon. The visit of any US President, particularly one with such strong connections to Ireland, offers an opportunity to reinforce the strong historic, economic, cultural and family ties between our two...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: I was concerned by the renewed fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan last year, and by reports of the ongoing obstruction of the Lachin corridor since 12 December. It is clear that these developments severely impact the civilian population, in particular ethnic Armenians living in Nagorno Karabakh. The blockade also increases the chances of an escalation occurring. We stress that all...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Fisheries Protection (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: Ireland's control authorities, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and the Naval Service, are responsible for the monitoring and control of fishing vessels in our Exclusive Fisheries Zone to ensure compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy. Under the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006, all operational issues of this nature concerning sea-fisheries...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: I am concerned by the recent decision of the Israeli authorities to transfer some administrative powers in the West Bank from military to civilian authorities. This is a worrying development which comes amid the context of increased settler violence and announcements regarding settlements. The annexation by Israel of any part of the occupied Palestinian territory would be a clear...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 (VCDR) identifies three categories of Mission staff as follows: - Diplomatic staff- Administrative and Technical staff, and- Service staff There are currently 21 officers at the Embassy of the Russian Federation who have been notified to my Department under Article 10 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations - 9 Diplomats and 12...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Data (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: Ireland’s Embassy in Washington DC, as our representative office in the United States, leads on Ireland’s political, economic, and people-to-people relations across the United States. In addition to the Embassy’s engagement on a national scale, it also has consular responsibility for Washington, DC and the surrounding states of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. ...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ukraine War (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: Ireland has been consistently active, both through the European Union and the United Nations, in our support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal and unjustified war of aggression. This war is entirely of Russia’s choosing, and Ireland has repeatedly called for Russia to end its attack on Ukraine. Ireland has co-sponsored six UN General Assembly resolutions adopted in...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Defence Forces, as part of being fully certified to the ISO50001 standard, operates a comprehensive Energy Management System (EnMS) that meets the requirements of the standard. Each Defence Forces installation monitors energy consumption in terms of its utilities usage, with monthly returns made by Barrack Accountants on their electricity, gas, kerosene and LPG usage, as well as tracking...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Funding (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: Virement is the application of savings on one or more subheads to meet excess expenditure on another subhead or subheads in the Vote. It is an integral component of Government Accounting, which is strictly controlled and cannot be progressed unilaterally at Vote level without prior consultation and approval from the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDPDR). The...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy will appreciate that the finding from the Workplace Relations Commission is currently under consideration. I am not in a position to comment on the matters raised at this time, pending consideration of the next steps to be taken.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Capital Expenditure Programme (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: The principal demand drivers of Defence capital requirements are the ongoing acquisition, renewal and retention of military equipment along with the development and upgrade of Defence Forces built infrastructure. The importance of this was set out in the 2019 White Paper Update and reinforced in the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces in 2022. The acquisition of military...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Civil Defence (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: The number of active volunteers in each Civil Defence Unit on those dates is as follows. Civil Defence Unit February 2013 March 2014 January 2015 February 2016 January 2017 CARLOW 68 69 60 55 59 CAVAN 279 270 261 268 212 ...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Data (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: A recruitment drive for the RDF was launched in March 2022, which was advertised across a number of media channels while Recruit Liaison Officers across the RDF conducted local recruitment to attract applicants for this campaign. Over 1,000 applications were received during this window, which is very encouraging, and the majority of those applications (800+) have now gone through the initial...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Reports (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 591 and 592 together. In July 2022, Government approval was given for a move to ‘Level of Ambition 2’ (LOA2), as set out in the capability framework devised by the Commission on the Defence Forces in its Report which was published in February of 2022. This results in the Defence budget rising from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion by...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Sustainable Development Goals (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: In September 2015, 193 UN Member Countries including Ireland adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which consist of 169 targets around the 17 high level goals. These goals are a global blueprint for collective progress to a more prosperous and sustainable world by 2030. They are applicable to all countries, developed and developing, and action is required for their implementation...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Funding (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: Ireland joined the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in 2017, the establishment of which represents a further development in EU Cooperation in support of international peace and security under CSDP. Under PESCO, Member States come together in different project groups to develop and make available additional capabilities and enablers for peacekeeping and crisis management operations As...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (21 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: A recruitment drive for the RDF was launched in March 2022, which was advertised across a number of media channels while Recruit Liaison Officers across the RDF conducted local recruitment to attract applicants for this campaign. Over 1,000 applications were received during this window, which is very encouraging, and the majority of those applications (800+) have now gone through the initial...