Results 9,181-9,200 of 51,889 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (27 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: Ireland has been exploring ways in which to enhance its engagement with the Arctic region for a number of years. As an island nation at the edge of Europe in the North Atlantic, the fundamental changes in the Arctic region impact directly on Ireland, not least in terms of environmental issues and climate change, with rising sea levels of immediate concern. The Government’s Nordic...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (27 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: All passport applications are subject to the terms of the Passports Act, 2008 as amended (“the Act”). The Act provides a legal basis for the various policies and practices which are applied by the Passport Service in the issuing of passports. Section 9 of the Act makes provision for the Minister to issue passports for different periods of validity. Any adult citizen who...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Properties (27 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: I can confirm that Fort Shannon is a property in my ownership as the Minister for Defence. There are no current plans for the use of this property from a Defence Forces point of view. While my Department has no active plans for its immediate disposal, it would be prepared to work with the relevant State bodies should there be interest in developing these lands.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (27 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: In response to the unfolding crisis in Sudan, on 23 April 2023 Government approved the deployment of up to 12 armed Defence Forces personnel to Djibouti in the first instance, with possible travel into Sudan, with the objective of providing assistance for the process of evacuating Irish citizens and their dependents from Sudan as part of an Emergency Civil Assistance Team (ECAT) mission, led...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (27 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: Ireland has participated in the EU training mission in Mali (EUTM Mali) since its launch in 2013. There are currently eight Defence Force personnel deployed to EUTM Mali and all are based in the mission HQ in Bamako. All Defence Force personnel deployed to EUTM Mali carry arms while serving as part of the mission. The Defence Forces keep the threat assessment in respect of this mission...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Consultations (27 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Consultative Forum on International Security Policy started in Cork on 22nd June, it then moved to Galway, and finally to Dublin on the 26th and 27th June. Costs related to the Forum will be split on an equal basis between the Department of Defence and the Department of Foreign Affairs. The contribution by the Department of Defence will be made from within existing resources in Vote 36...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Consultations (27 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The security situation in Europe has changed fundamentally. In the space of just over a year, we have witnessed Russia’s illegal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine, resulting in major conflict returning to the European continent for the first time in decades, and millions of civilians forced to flee and take refuge across Europe. This changed geopolitical context calls for...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (27 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The competition to which the Deputy refers was a nationwide recruitment competition for the position of Civilian Clerk in the Defence Forces. This external competition was open to applications from the public. The competition was advertised through the Public Appointment Service and was run in accordance with normal public service procedures and all appointments are made in line with those...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (27 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: Ireland's relationship with NATO is conducted through Partnership for Peace (PfP), of which Ireland has been a member since 1999. Participation in PfP is seen as fundamental to Ireland being able to meet its obligations in providing professional peacekeepers for international crisis management and peacekeeping operations mandated by the UN and in enhancing the Defence Forces’...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Travel (22 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: I have visited the United States twice so far during 2023, visiting Washington DC in February and, over the St Patrick's Day festivities in March, visiting New York as well Boston and Holyoke in Massachusetts. While in Washington DC I met with US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan and had engagements with officials from the Biden administration and the State Department, as well as...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (22 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific applications about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has issued passports to the applicants.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (22 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: My Department is aware of third party websites who, in return for a fee, are purporting to assist passport applicants with their online application. Such websites advertising their services for a premium are not authorised to do so by the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Passport Service. The Passport Service is not responsible for the content of, or fees charged, by these sites. The...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (22 Jun 2023)

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 Defence: Defence Forces (22 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 170 to 172, inclusive, together. While Defence Force Regulation (DFR) A9 sets out the qualifying criteria required to be awarded such Defence Forces Medals, the awarding of medals is a matter for the military authorities. I am advised that in general, medals are awarded to members of the Defence Forces on the basis of various criteria such as their...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (22 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: Military Management have advised me that the timeline for application decisions and appeals process are specific to each Defence Forces recruitment competition, including Cadetship competitions, of which the 2023 iteration was the most recent, which open in March of this year. With regard to Cadetship competitions, a candidate must pass each stage of the selection procedure in order to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: United Nations (21 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: Ireland's commitment and support for the primary role of the United Nations, in the maintenance of international peace and security, is expressed in Ireland's long-standing tradition of participating in UN peacekeeping operations and is the only country with an unbroken record of service in UN peacekeeping missions since 1958. Under the UN Charter, the UN Security Council has primary...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (21 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Consultative Forum on International Security Policy will discuss a range of issues relating to the global and European security environment and how Ireland's foreign, security and defence policy is responding. In this context, the Forum will also examine the particular challenges facing multilateralism and the United Nations, particularly in the aftermath of Russia’s illegal...

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

Micheál Martin: The appalling atrocities, human rights abuses, and conflict in Kosovo, and the Western Balkans more widely in the 1990s, represented a dark era in the history of Europe, and its security. Throughout that period, under successive Governments, Ireland consistently engaged in multilateral efforts to bring that conflict and the others in the region to an end, at the earliest possible...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: United Nations (21 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: Records on the use of vetoes at the United Nations Security Council, including in relation to the specific resolutions in respect of which each of the permanent five members of the Council have used their veto, are available at the United Nations Dag Hammarskjold Library, which is publicly accessible online. In total, Russia/USSR has used its veto 123 times, the US 82 times, the UK 29...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (21 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The objective of the upcoming Consultative Forum on International Security Policy is to build a deeper understanding of the international security environment and the policy options available to the State. The Forum has been designed to reach a broad audience with the aim of creating a national conversation that is informed and evidence-based. The Forum will also hear from experts and...