Results 17,201-17,220 of 21,096 for speaker:Charles Flanagan

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Radio Broadcasting (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Since RTE announced their plan to close their longwave radio service, I have followed the situation closely. Visiting Britain, I have heard first-hand the concerns raised by members of the Irish community about the proposed closure, in particular the concerns of the older members of our community. My colleague, Jimmy Deenihan T.D., the Minister of State for Diaspora Affairs, has also met...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Staff Career Breaks (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: A total of 23 officers are currently availing of the Career break scheme in my Department. Details of these officers are set out in the following table: Number of staff Grade Duration of career-break 1 Counsellor 0 – 6 months 0 - 6 – 12 months 5 3 1 Clerical Officer Third Secretary Development Specialist Up to 2 years 1 1 Clerical Officer First Secretary From 2...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: My Department only avails of the services of external photographic agencies where it is warranted, in particular, for major events and State occasions. This is a service which my Department provides so that the media can easily and freely avail of photography where their own staff photographers cannot be fully accommodated. Events such as the visit of the President of Mozambique, the visit of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Public Relations Contracts Expenditure (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 461 and 475 together. As the questions differ slightly in the time frame specified, my response will cover the full period, 2011 to 2014. Over the years 2011 to 2014, my Department has not incurred expenditure on external public relations and communications services. Although it has been our practice not to engage the services of external public relations...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 462 and 463 together. While my Department makes use of external IT service providers for various support and maintenance requirements for its data and communications networks, it has not engaged, nor re-negotiated contracts with, any IT consultants since March 2011. In 2010 and 2011 the Department engaged consultants for the purpose of providing...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Appointments to State Boards (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 464 and 474 together. There are no State boards under the aegis of my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Programme for Government Implementation (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Programme for Government states that the Government ‘will enforce the prohibition of the use of Irish airports and related facilities for purposes not in line with the dictates of international law’. The Government has repeatedly stated that Ireland does not tolerate and will not tolerate the use of our airspace or airports for any illegal purpose, including torture,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consular Services Representations (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Since August 2013, when this individual’s detention began, there has been ongoing and regular contact at official and ministerial level with the individual and with the individual’s family in Ireland. Additionally, we have had high level engagement with the Egyptian authorities on the case. From the outset, the Embassy of Ireland in Cairo has had ongoing contact with the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Freedom of Information Data (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Details requested by the Deputy are provided in tabular format below. My Department returns annual figures on FOI requests to the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC); however, as the OIC does not request details of decisions at internal review stage, these statistics are not available for all years. The total number of requests refused includes cases where the information requested...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Reports (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: My Department is responsible for two Votes – Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs and Trade) and Vote 27 (International Cooperation). The Department commissions external expertise where highly specialised skills are not available within the Department and particularly where ongoing independent evaluation of programmes and projects is required. During the course of their engagements, these...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Staff Expenses (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: My Department comprises two separate votes, Vote 28 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Vote 27 International Co-operation. The total amount spent per annum in 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014 on staff subsistence payments and staff taxi payments is as per table. Year Subsistence Taxi fares Reimbursed Total 2011 754,865 151,755 906,620 2012 793,643 166,775 960,418 2013...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Legal Costs (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: My Department is responsible for two Votes, Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs and Trade) and Vote 27 (International Cooperation). The amount incurred by my Department in legal costs (excluding settlement costs/awards) in the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 is set out in the table below. With regard to the estimated costs for 2014, it is not possible to predict legal costs with certainty. The provision in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Engagements (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I want to reiterate that Ireland condemns, at the highest level, all forms of torture and ill-treatment. We strongly believe that the absolute prohibition of torture is one of the cornerstones of the international human rights framework and we recall that all countries are obligated to comply with this unconditional prohibition and that no exceptional circumstances may be invoked as a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Resolution of the Syrian crisis remains a top priority for Ireland and its EU partners. UN Special Envoy Staffan di Mistura discussed measures to address the acute security and humanitarian situation, as well as possible steps to move towards a political process, with Foreign Ministers in Brussels for a meeting of the December 2014 Foreign Affairs Council. The EU is the main donor towards...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Aid (18 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: All of Irish Aid’s expenditure is independently audited; it is a specific condition of each grant agreement that an independent audit report is provided to my Department. I can confirm that no cases have come to our attention to date in 2014 which would require the Department to carry out its own investigations into the misuse of funds managed under the aid programme. It should be...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Agreements (17 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Ireland is not party to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention). Although my Department has an important role in relation to signing and ratifying international agreements, the necessary legislative or administrative measures required to implement them are for the line Department responsible for the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (17 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Government’s approach to the question of recognition of Palestine was set out in detail during the course of the debate held in the Dáil on 9 and 10 December. Achieving and recognising a Palestinian state has always been the Government’s objective, and everything we do on the Middle East is directed towards that aim. While successive Governments have always seen...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (17 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: Since 16 October, when the Northern Ireland political talks were convened, in excess of 90 meetings have been held across the four streams of the talks. Those four streams relate to budgetary and financial issues; legacy issues (parades, flags and emblems, and dealing with the past); institutional issues including the functioning of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly; and,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland Issues (17 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 203 to 206, inclusive, together. The nineteenth meeting of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in plenary format was held in Armagh on 5 December 2014. At the meeting, discussions covered economic and budgetary issues in both jurisdictions. The Council welcomed the broadly encouraging prospects while recognising that challenges remain. The recent...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Shannon Airport Facilities (17 Dec 2014)

Charles Flanagan: The Programme for Government states that the Government will enforce the prohibition of the use of Irish airspace, airports and related facilities for purposes not in line with the dictates of international law. Ireland does not tolerate and will not tolerate the use of our airspace or airports for any illegal purpose, including torture, rendition or the unauthorised detention of any...