Results 14,821-14,840 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: Full and timely implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and successor agreements, including the 2015 Fresh Start Agreement, is a key priority for the Government, as reflected in the Programme for a Partnership Government. The forthcoming coming election in Northern Ireland will obviously impact on delivery of Fresh Start by the devolved institutions. Effective devolved Government,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Dublin-Monaghan Bombings (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: Dealing with the legacy of the past relating to the conflict in Northern Ireland is a major priority for me as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and for the Government. This commitment is reflected in the Programme for a Partnership Government, which makes specific reference to pursuing the issue of the Dublin Monaghan bombings. The All-Party motion on the 1974 Dublin Monaghan...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 344 and 355 together. As a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the Government is constantly engaged with the British Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and the political parties to support the peace process and political progress in Northern Ireland on the basis of the Agreement. In recent weeks, both the Taoiseach and I had intensified...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: Following the publication of the Working Outline of the National Plan on Business and Human Rights in late 2015, my Department engaged in an extensive consultation process with the aim of ensuring the broadest possible participation in the development of the Plan. Work on the Plan is nearing conclusion and I expect that it will be published within the next three months. Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Nuclear Proliferation (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: A UN-mandated Diplomatic Conference to negotiate a treaty to prohibit Nuclear Weapons leading to their total elimination will begin in New York on 27 March. Ireland will pay an active role in these negotiations. It is our view that the negotiations will provide a solid basis for much needed progress on nuclear disarmament. The negotiations will be open to all States, to civil society...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The Embassy of Ireland in Ankara is accredited on a non-residential basis to Iran. Ireland is also represented in Iran by an Honorary Consul. The configuration of the State’s diplomatic and consular network is kept under ongoing review by the Government. A range of factors are taken into account in considering our diplomatic representation overseas. These include our national...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Military Aircraft Landings (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: In line with our respective responsibilities for military and civil aircraft, my Department works closely with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport on issues relating to landings by aircraft at Irish airports with a view to ensuring compliance with the relevant conditions applicable in this area. Officials from my Department are in contact with their counterparts in the Department...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Meetings (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The EU Global Strategy (EUGS) commits the EU to promoting peace, security, prosperity, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. These objectives are to be pursued through a comprehensive approach using the range of instruments available to the European Union, including political, diplomatic, economic development, trade, peace-keeping and crisis management tools. Five priority areas...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Visa Agreements (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: Saudi Arabia significantly increased its visa fees in October 2016. Many other countries have negotiated, or are in the process of negotiating, bilateral agreements with Saudi Arabia to lower visa costs. I consider it important that Irish citizens would also benefit from reduced visa fees, and so my Department is currently exploring the possibility of negotiating a bilateral agreement to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Sanctions (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I welcomed the passing of Security Council resolution 2334, which restated important international positions on the Middle East Peace Process and on critical issues such as settlements. The reiteration that settlements are illegal under international law was timely, but it is not new. This has been the clear position of the Government, of the EU, and of the broader international community,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Undocumented Irish in the USA (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: Achieving relief for undocumented Irish migrants in the US and agreement on a facility for future migration between Ireland and the US are longstanding Government objectives. We continue to be committed to these aims notwithstanding the changed political context in the United States. The Government has raised the issue of immigration reform with US interlocutors – including at the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Military Neutrality (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: On 24 November last year, the Dáil debated the Thirty-Fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Neutrality) Bill 2016. The debate provided a valuable opportunity to re-state the Government’s commitment to Ireland’s longstanding policy of military neutrality. As I said at the time, I am satisfied that Ireland’s longstanding policy of military neutrality is safeguarded...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Safety of Irish Citizens Abroad (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I am very awareof the extremely difficult circumstances in which this individual and his family find themselves. I have personally raised my concerns about the case, and about the health and wellbeing of the individual concerned, with my Philippines counterpart, most recently at the UN in New York last September. This is an ongoing legal case. At this time, the priority focus of our Embassy...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ministerial Correspondence (24 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: This complex and long-running consular case continues to be a top priority for the Government and substantial resources and time are being devoted to it, by the Taoiseach, by me as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, by officials in my Department, by our Ambassador and his team in Cairo, and by the entire Irish diplomatic network. The Government is doing everything it possibly can to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (19 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I was utterly appalled by these atrocious acts of violence. On 19 December, I issued a statement condemning the brutal assassination of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov. On 1 January, I issued a statement following the shooting at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul in the early hours of that morning. I unreservedly condemned this unspeakable attack, in which 39 people...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Syrian Conflict (19 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I discussed the situation in Syria and how the EU must strengthen its diplomacy to revive the UN-led negotiations with my EU colleagues. Ireland and its EU partners reaffirmed our support for the central role of the United Nations in working for a political transition and peaceful settlement of the conflict in Syria. We discussed the question of strengthening the EU’s support for a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Issues (19 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: An extensive programme of engagement with all other EU Governments and the EU institutions, including the Commission’s Brexit Negotiations Task Force, is under way. This engagement is being intensified in 2017 in the run up to the Article 50 negotiations. This outreach is an important part of our preparations for the Brexit negotiations to ensure that our particular concerns –...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (18 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I regret the circumstances which have led to the decision of the deputy First Minister to resign his office. I also acknowledge the deputy First Minister’s contribution and leadership over the last decade within the power-sharing institutions. It was clear, immediately following the resignation of the deputy First Minister, that the prospect of a resolution ahead of the triggering...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (18 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: The full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and succeeding agreements is a priority for my Department and indeed the Government as whole. In this context we are of course also guided by the aspiration contained in Article 3 of the Constitution as amended by the people in 1998. The principle of consent and the possibility of a change in constitutional status in Northern Ireland is...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (18 Jan 2017)

Charles Flanagan: I am very aware of the extremely difficult circumstances in which this individual and his family find themselves. We understand that the citizen remains on bail and is waiting for his appeal to be logged with the Philippines Supreme Court against his conviction and sentence in 2013. As this is an ongoing legal case, it is for the citizen’s legal representatives to advise him and to...