Results 16,041-16,060 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: In respect of the Middle East, Deputy Smith spoke about the need to have ongoing engagement with both sides. There is a recently appointed new Israeli ambassador. I have had the opportunity to meet with him and have a frank engagement. There was a senior delegation at official level from Israel here last week. I had the opportunity to meet the Palestinian foreign Minister in late...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I am more than happy to engage with the committee on Northern Ireland matters. I acknowledge the presence in the Visitors Gallery of members of the Justice for the Forgotten group. I had the opportunity to meet with them recently. It is a source of great regret to me and to the Government that we were not in a position to reach agreement over the entire gamut of legacy issues. However, it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: We have stocks in place in Brunei, Dubai and other hubs that are deployed in response to need in various regions. We recently deployed 5,000 blankets for refugees in the Balkan region. We will continue to ensure that we play our part in so far as we can.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Notwithstanding the challenge of having stocks in place, which is obviously of great importance, we need to ensure the distribution of the stocks meets urgent need. Everyone would agree that the various crises in diverse parts of the world have from time to time placed strains on stocks. We encourage our EU partners to ensure the stocks are in place and ready to be dispersed in a way that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Both Deputy Mitchell and Senator Walsh spoke about concerns regarding migration. This is a real challenge and migration is never anything like an appropriate solution to conflict. Migration is a consequence of conflict. From an EU perspective, the priority must be to address the root causes, particularly in areas like Iraq, Syria, Libya and other states experiencing conflict and horror,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Affairs Council: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: All of these questions could in themselves warrant a full meeting of this committee, as they are very serious issues for the future of our country, of the European Union and of the people of the world. Senators Mullins, Daly and Walsh and Deputy Mathews asked about my responsibilities in terms of Northern Ireland, the Irish citizen who continues to be detained in Egypt, the horrendous...

Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Before elaborating on the detail of the agreement we reached last week, I will briefly recall where we stood just two and a half months ago. A situation had evolved, and at the time I described the power-sharing institutions as being at the edge of the precipice. A collapse of the institutions was a very real prospect, an outcome that would have represented a grave setback for the delivery...

Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The Deputy does not know how good he has it here.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Agencies (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: There are no State agencies or bodies under the aegis of my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: Ireland’s network of embassies, consulates and other missions around the world are critical to the achievement of our foreign policy and trade goals. The resources allocated to the Irish diplomatic network are modest when set against those of comparable states such as Denmark and Finland. The locations of and resource allocation to Ireland’s mission network are subject to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Citizens Imprisoned Abroad (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The senior official in the Filipino Ministry of Foreign Affairs with whom I spoke took note of the case of this citizen who is imprisoned in the Philippines, of our concerns and of our request that the date for the appeal be expedited on humanitarian grounds, while also noting the independence of the legal process in the Philippines. It is important to bear in mind the constrained role of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (25 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I utterly condemn the appalling terror attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako on Friday, reportedly carried out by a group, al-Mourabitoun, in cooperation with al-Qaida. I offer sincere condolences to the families of those who have been killed and wish those injured a full and speedy recovery. I strongly condemn all the acts of terror which have been perpetrated in Mali this year,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consular Services Provision (24 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been providing consular assistance to the family of the Irish citizen through the Embassy of Ireland in New Delhi, the Honorary Consul in Mumbai and the Consular Assistance Unit in Dublin, and we are in ongoing direct contact with the family. My Department recently assisted the family in having the death certificate authenticated by the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (24 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 444, 452 and 453 together. I am very much aware of, and would share, the disappointment expressed by a number of Victims’ Groups and NGOs regarding the fact that the Fresh Start Agreement does not comprehensively address the implementation of the provisions of the Stormont House Agreement dealing with the legacy of the past. I want to underline...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Application Refusals (24 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The Passports Act, 2008 (the Act) provides, among other things, that only Irish citizens are entitled to be issued with Irish passports. Each application received by the Department must, therefore, contain evidence that demonstrates that person’s entitlement to Irish citizenship before a passport can issue. The two children in question were born in the State in 2011 and 2013. Their...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (24 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 446 and 447 together. I am aware of the reports referred to by the Deputy. I also note that, in the case of Senator Iván Cepeda, an application for precautionary measures has been made to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Both matters are stark reminders that Colombia faces significant challenges in overcoming decades of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Cross-Border Projects (24 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 448 to 451, inclusive, and 454 to 458, inclusive, together. Following ten weeks of intensive discussions involving the five main Northern Ireland parties and the British and Irish Governments, an agreement entitled ‘A Fresh Start: The Stormont House Agreement and Implementation Plan’ was reached on Tuesday 17 November. I believe that...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Emigrant Support Services (19 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Emigrant Support Programme (ESP), provides funding to non-profit organisations and projects to support Irish communities overseas and to facilitate the development of more strategic links between Ireland and the global Irish. Over €135 million has been provided to organisations dealing with Irish emigrants since the establishment of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Emigrant Support Services (19 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Emigrant Support Programme (ESP), provides funding to non-profit organisations and projects to support Irish communities overseas and to facilitate the development of more strategic links between Ireland and the global Irish. A total of €11.595 million has been allocated to the Emigrant Support Programme for 2016. The funding cycle...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (19 Nov 2015)

Charles Flanagan: I attended the most recent Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting in Brussels on 16 November. The Council took place in the shadow of the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night. At noon, Foreign Ministers joined people across Europe in observing a minute’s silence in memory of those killed. I also personally conveyed the condolences of the Irish people to France’s...