Results 14,441-14,460 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Written Answers — Departmental Investigations: Departmental Investigations (17 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: The Embassy in London has raised this case as a matter of urgency with the British authorities and is currently awaiting a reply. I will write immediately to the Deputy as soon as the Embassy receives a response from the British authorities.

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (11 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: As I indicated to the House, most recently on 29 June 2006, the case for ratification of this Convention has been examined by my Department in conjunction with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which has lead responsibility on the issue. As previously indicated, the rights of migrant workers and their families are already protected under existing national legislation and...

Written Answers — Tribunals of Inquiry: Tribunals of Inquiry (11 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: The only such inquiry for which my Department had responsibility during the period in question was the investigation by Mr. Justice Peter Cory, a retired judge of the Canadian Supreme Court, of allegations of collusion in the murders of Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan, Patrick Finucane, Lord Justice and Lady Gibson, Robert Hamill, Rosemary Nelson, and Billy...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (5 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: The Department has recruited Temporary Clerical Officers in the Passport Offices in Dublin, Cork and Balbriggan over many years in order to meet the additional demand for passports in the period leading up to the busy summer season. In recent years the number of passports issued by the Department has reached record levels. This, in turn, has increased the Department's reliance on temporary...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (4 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: I am aware of the violent incidents which occurred in February this year in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, and then elsewhere in Nigeria. These regrettable incidents occurred following protests in Maiduguri on 18 February against the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The violence in Maiduguri resulted in at least eighteen confirmed fatalities and the burning of...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (4 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: In my statement on behalf of Ireland to the 61st Session of the UN General Assembly on 26 September, I referred to the particularly grave human rights situation in Burma. I called, once again, on the Burmese régime to move towards democracy and to release all political prisoners, in particular Aung San Suu Kyi. At the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Summit held in Helsinki earlier in September,...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (4 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: While I am not aware of any specific very recent report on religious persecution in Laos, concerns about freedom of expression have been raised by the EU in the past with the authorities in Laos, most recently by the local EU Presidency last October. In addition, Amnesty International's 2005 Report referred to numerous incidents of religious repression of evangelical Christians having been...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (4 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: I understand that the new laws to which the Deputy refers relate to changes to existing laws passed by State legislatures in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh States. I am not aware of any proposal for anti-conversion laws at the federal level. Indeed federal law in India provides for freedom of religious expression. Ireland is committed to religious freedom and condemns all forms of...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (4 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: Within the EU, and in the relevant international and regional organisations, Ireland actively promotes respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms worldwide. In this context, we monitor reports of abuses of religious freedom wherever they occur. Together with our EU partners, we remain very concerned about the general human rights situation in Belarus, though religious freedom has not...

Written Answers — Undocumented Irish Emigrants: Undocumented Irish Emigrants (4 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: The welfare of the undocumented Irish in the United States is a matter of the highest priority for the Government. I raise our concerns in all of my dealings with contacts on Capitol Hill and in the US Administration. In particular, I emphasise our strong support for measures that would enable the undocumented to regularise their status and have open to them a path to permanent residency....

Written Answers — Passport Applications: Passport Applications (4 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: The fees to be charged for passports are laid down by a Statutory Instrument [Diplomatic and Consular Fees (Amendment) Regulations 2005]. A person must be aged 65 years or above to be eligible to apply for a free passport. There is no provision in this Statutory Instrument to permit the Passport Office to waive the fee for persons aged less than 65 years. Apart from the legal dimension,...

Written Answers — Middle East Peace Process: Middle East Peace Process (3 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 354, 357, 364 and 367 together. The situation in the Middle East, especially in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, remains at the top of the foreign policy agendas of Ireland nationally and of the European Union. The conflict in Lebanon this summer and the continuing crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, serve to underline that there is no military or...

Written Answers — Northern Ireland Issues: Northern Ireland Issues (3 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: When they met on 6 April last in Armagh, the Taoiseach and Prime Minister Blair set out the Governments' joint strategy for achieving a fully functioning Assembly and Executive this year. Since then, the Taoiseach and I have been engaged in intensive efforts, in conjunction with the British Government, to achieve restoration of the institutions by the 24 November deadline. This has involved...

Written Answers — Passport Applications: Passport Applications (3 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: While there are no plans at present to open further passport offices, it is the policy to keep the operation of the passport service under on-going review. As background, I should say that the majority of passports are now issued through the "Passport Express" service which is operated jointly by my Department and An Post. This service is available in over 1,000 post offices throughout the...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (3 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: The situation to which the Deputy refers relates to the recent intensification of violence in the Catatumbo region of north-eastern Colombia located close to the western border of Venezuela. This region has suffered greatly from violence throughout the period of internal strife in Colombia, compounded by resistance on the part of irregular armed groups to Government attempts to eradicate...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (3 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: The Government has consistently made clear that it is gravely concerned about the continuing humanitarian and political crisis in Darfur and is using all avenues to urge concerted international action to resolve it. We have been very active bilaterally, at EU level and in the UN context. We will continue to use every opportunity to persuade the Government of Sudan to accept a UN force in...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (3 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: As the Deputy will be aware, Kosovo has been under UN administration since the end of the conflict there in 1999, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244. The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has been working with the Provisional Institutions of Self Government to bring about the implementation of European Standards in areas such as minority...

Written Answers — International Relations: International Relations (3 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: The EU's restrictive measures against Zimbabwe were initially imposed in February 2002 and were renewed for a further twelve months in February 2006. The restrictive measures involve a travel ban, assets freeze and arms embargo and are very much targeted at the leading members of the ZANU-PF government, and not at the people of Zimbabwe. The EU has also suspended its development cooperation...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (3 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: I am concerned about the situation in Thailand and am carefully monitoring developments there. I had been aware of the political difficulties in that country and, indeed, had had an opportunity to discuss the situation there with the then Foreign Minister of Thailand, when he visited Ireland a few weeks ago, but the staging of a coup was unexpected. Ireland, along with our EU partners,...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (3 Oct 2006)

Dermot Ahern: In my statement on behalf of Ireland to the 61st Session of the UN General Assembly on 26 September, I referred to the particularly grave human rights situation in Burma. I called, once again, on the Burmese régime to move towards democracy and to release all political prisoners, in particular Aung San Suu Kyi. At the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Summit held in Helsinki earlier in September,...