Results 13,381-13,400 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Written Answers — Video Conferencing Facilities: Video Conferencing Facilities (5 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: My Department uses video conferencing technology, on a regular basis, to reduce the amount of time and travel required to attend meetings. The necessary equipment to facilitate video conference sessions is currently available at each of the Department's buildings in Dublin, the decentralised office in Limerick, the Passport Offices and at a number of Missions abroad. The Department will...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (5 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: A total of 155 officers at the Department of Foreign Affairs availed of Tax Saver Commuter tickets in 2007.

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (5 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 166 and 167 together. My Department uses various waste disposal contractors to recycle a significant proportion of its waste, including cardboard boxes, paper materials and toner cartridges. To facilitate this, recycle bins are located in the offices and corridors of the buildings occupied by the Department and staff are encouraged to use them to dispose of...

Budget Statement 2008 (5 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: Mostly Fianna Fáilers. The Deputy need not claim credit.

Passports Bill 2007: Financial Resolution (5 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: I move: That provision be made in the Act giving effect to this Resolution for the charging in accordance with the Act of certain fees, being fees for the issuing of passports; consular services, or services relating to passports, visas or other travel documents, when rendered by a person to whom section 2 of the Diplomatic and Consular Officers (Provision of Services) Act 1993 applies; and...

Written Answers — Emigrant Support Services: Emigrant Support Services (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 313 and 329 together. I welcome this report to the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body and commend the members of Committee D for focusing on the Irish Community in Britain. Most of the recommendations in the report are addressed to the British Government, but of course the Government views them with great interest. The Chairman, Lord Alf Dubs, and the...

Written Answers — Departmental Publications: Departmental Publications (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: My Department's Annual Report for 2006 was published and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in February of this year. It is my intention that the 2007 Annual Report will be published and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in spring 2008. In addition to the overall Annual Report for the Department, a number of annual reports relating to specific areas of the Department were...

Written Answers — Departmental Offices: Departmental Offices (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 315, 317 and 318 together. My Department has a number of public offices and telephone services available to the public. The Passport offices operating in Dublin and Cork have public opening hours from 9.30 until 4.30, Monday through Friday. There is also an 'out-of-hours' emergency service which operates in the evenings and at weekends. The telephone lines...

Written Answers — Departmental Correspondence: Departmental Correspondence (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: There are a wide variety of forms issued by my Department for use by both the public and other organisations. I have set out below a table of the forms and their on-line completion status. The application forms issued by the Passport Office are of particular importance as they are used by such a large number of citizens. The Passport Office provides passport application forms in both Irish...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: I share deep concerns regarding the welfare of vulnerable people in institutional care in Bulgaria. The need for action to address this disturbing legacy of past policies and attitudes was highlighted during Bulgaria's negotiations for accession to the EU While some progress was made before accession, the Bulgarian authorities recognise that more needs to be done. The EU continues to...

Written Answers — Departmental Records: Departmental Records (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: The Department of Foreign Affairs disposes of all redundant information technology equipment in accordance with the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. I recently decided that my Department should donate the bulk of its redundant PCs at Headquarters to the charity Camara for reuse in developing countries and this...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: There is one press officer in the press office of the Department, together with a Press Adviser, whom I appointed in 2004. The position in 2002 was that there were two press officers in the press office. In a number of our larger Missions abroad (for instance, London, the EU Permanent Representation Brussels and Washington), designated diplomatic officers carry out press-related duties....

Written Answers — Departmental Websites: Departmental Websites (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: There are currently no podcasts on any websites maintained by my Department. While the Department's primary site (www.dfa.ie ) has the technical capacity to accommodate such services, there are no immediate plans to develop them at this stage.

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: During 2007, two major building projects have been undertaken by the Office of Public Works (OPW) on behalf of my Department. Construction of the new Irish Aid Headquarters building in Limerick is well advanced and will be completed in the first quarter of 2008. Work is nearing completion on the new Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre building in O'Connell Street, Dublin. I...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 324 and 326 together. I am aware of the seriousness of the current situation in Somalia. Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991, and the situation there has worsened in recent months following initial stability after the December 2006 Ethiopian invasion. An upsurge in violence was triggered at the end of October by the killings of...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: The renewed conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the major humanitarian emergency to which it has given rise, poses a serious threat to the transition process in that country and needs to be addressed urgently. A number of armed militias are preying on the population in North and South Kivu provinces, and attempts by government troops to resolve the situation...

Written Answers — British-Ireland Interparliamentary Body: British-Ireland Interparliamentary Body (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: The British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body met most recently in Plenary on 25-27 November. The British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body has played an important role in developing mutual understanding and strengthening relations among the people of these islands. As a former co-chair of the BIIPB I have long been an admirer of its work. I have no doubt that the changed context arising from the...

Written Answers — Northern Ireland Issues: Northern Ireland Issues (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: This was a particularly brutal and shocking murder, which has been widely and rightly condemned. My thoughts and sympathies are with the family of the deceased young man. A very active investigation by An Garda Síochána is ongoing, with excellent and continuing co-operation and assistance from the PSNI. I would urge anyone who has any information on this killing to pass it on to the two...

Situation in Zimbabwe: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: I thank speakers for contributing to the debate. I was approached by Deputy Barry Andrews last week, who suggested that, as a result of the AWEPA meeting, a sizeable proportion of the House wished to pass an all-party motion and I readily agreed. I am disappointed that the House will divide on this matter. Deputy Higgins stated that we agree on the issues involved in the crisis in Zimbabwe...

Situation in Zimbabwe: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Dermot Ahern: In effect, it is a boycott. Trócaire's recent statement makes clear it regards this as an excellent opportunity to highlight the serious nature of the crisis in Zimbabwe. Efforts were made behind the scenes to ascertain if representation could be made at some level to preserve the overall context of the conference. We are where we are in respect of the attendance of Mr. Mugabe. If we are...