Results 8,921-8,940 of 50,136 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy maintains that people are saying that. However, the Deputy is the first person that I have heard say it. I do not think it is fair at all because I explained at the defence Estimates that they are operational issues.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: If the Deputy would allow me to make my point, operational decisions have to be taken regarding strength and where we deploy. The EU battle group has very significant challenges. We have been part of these groups since 2000. I do not know whether the Deputy thinks we should be part of common security and defence policy at European level or not. We have been part of German-led battle...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: It is not all about ships. We are not equipped right now to deal with that so we have to address the issue. We need to get our mindset away from conventional thinking. This is something I am stressing to the military as well. The modern threats are much different from what we think we know of military in terms of battle groups and ships, etc. We will need more brainpower on the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I did not say there was a review of peacekeeping missions. If the Deputy was referring to UNDOF, we have to go to Government but I will come back to the committee. No final decisions had been made yet. When we were joining the EU battle group I did signal that there would be operational issues and challenges regarding maintaining all activities that we currently have under our remit. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Cathaoirleach has opened up a set of questions. To a certain extent, the war in Ukraine has changed a lot of things. In many ways the Windsor agreement is not disconnected from the geopolitical issues of the day. In other words, because of the war in Ukraine, the European Union and the United Kingdom Government recognise that they need to be more in harmony and have a much deeper and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I will just say quickly on the Non-Aligned Movement, NAM, all members are currently in the developing world. That has always been the focus of the membership. The only country in Europe that is currently a member is Belarus. Many of the foreign policy positions taken by the NAM over the years do not necessarily correspond to Ireland's foreign policy priorities. We work in a constructive...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: There was a meeting of the Human Rights Council yesterday. I think the Deputy means the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I will start by responding to Senator Ardagh. She mentioned the terrible attack on Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell in Omagh. As I have said in the Dáil, it was a shocking and brutal attack on a man who has given so much in his capacity as a PSNI detective but also as a citizen of Northern Ireland who coached an underage team. He gave the very best of himself to society, and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I do not think a third of the country is occupied, is it? South Ossetia and Abkhazia are the two areas. Notwithstanding that, there is a sense that more reforms are needed within Georgia. We want Georgia to be a candidate country but I just have to call it as it is at times and give the EU position on the matter. On sanctions generally, we target the elites. We tend to run the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: Disinformation is getting as much attention as cyberattacks. When the war broke out in Ukraine, the big clarion call across EU member states was disinformation. People knew Russia would be sponsoring a whole range of disinformation attacks in terms of the war itself and the broader picture and, if you like, the campaign to persuade the global south as to who is right and who is wrong in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: Yes. Ireland is again to the fore on accountability questions. Accountability must be before international courts and international fora that investigate any atrocities for war crimes that are committed. That is easier said than done, but we have been consistent supporters of international organisations that endeavour to bring people to account for unacceptable war crimes, no matter where...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: We fund across the board. Obviously, these agencies like the International Criminal Court need additional resources from time to time. We help, along with other states, to contribute to that. I have spoken to representatives from the European Court of Human Rights. We had a general meeting of the Council on this when I visited during our Presidency last year. For a court to adjudicate,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: That is no surprise-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: There is no surprise in respect of Israel and its general view. I have experience of very learned international judicial figures having produced reports in the past, and the degree to which they were personally undermined subsequently was quite shocking. That is going back over a decade. The International Criminal Court is investigating the situation in Palestine, as well as Ukraine and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy should join the bilateral talks on the Estimates and statements.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: Come on. I have used different language for the whole day.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: You are forever partisan and politicising the Palestine issue. “Who is better than the next person on Palestine?” seems to be the competition and it needs to stop.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: On Deputy Berry’s points on the support we are giving through the training of Ukrainian soldiers in respect of key areas like de-mining, combat medical aid and so on, which, again, people have endeavoured to portray in a wrong way, I think it is the very least we can do for a nation that has come under the most appalling attacks, the destruction of civilian populations, the targeting...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: Senator Ó Donnghaile also made comments about what I said. It is a trend, and a pattern. It is not just Senator Ó Donnghaile.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Priorities for 2023: Minister for Foreign Affairs (28 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I am giving Senator Ó Donnghaile my answer. He might not like my answer, but I am telling him. I have no intention of getting into a competition.