Results 481-500 of 6,681 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (21 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: UK combat troops were withdrawn from Iraq in 2009. I note that a number of cases have been taken in the UK to bring individuals to account for alleged abuses in Iraq and that convictions have resulted. I have no plans to raise the issue at EU or UN level. In discussions relating to Iraq, the immediate focus of my concern would be the very serious violence afflicting the Iraqi people at the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Reports (21 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: 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: Consultancy Contracts Expenditure (21 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is responsible for two Votes – Vote 28: Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Vote 27: International Cooperation. Payments from both Votes to the firms listed in the Deputy’s question are set out below. The payments listed relate to software support and licence requirements. Summary of Payments in €000’s Year Firm Firm ...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (21 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: The Government remains concerned about the case of Mrs. Bibi. When the case came to the attention of my Department, the Ambassador accredited to Pakistan at the time called upon the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad to convey our concern at the conviction and sentence. He also expressed our disquiet at the nature of Pakistan’s blasphemy law. Officials in my Department keep in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Strategies (21 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: While the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has not drawn up a digital strategy document, many aspects of such a strategy are already in train across the Department, such as online provision of a number of consular services and the roll out of a new social media strategy.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Relations (21 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: Since coming into office, the Government has made some key changes in the coordination of trade, tourism and investment promotion overseas. A centrally important development has been the establishment of an Export Trade Council (ETC), which I chair. The role of the ETC is to strengthen cooperation and coordination across all Government Departments and State agencies involved in the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (16 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: 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. There was a significant number of such events in the period in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consular Services Expenditure (16 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: For the period referred to by the Deputy my Department has not incurred expenditure on external public relations and communications services. From time to time, consultants or companies with a public relations and communications background are commissioned to provide other professional services such as project management, logistics and event management. DHR Communications has been...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consultancy Contracts Data (16 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is responsible for two Votes – Vote 28: Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Vote 27: International Cooperation. Consultants are engaged only where specialised knowledge and skills are not available within the Department and, especially in the case of Ireland’s official overseas aid programme, known as Irish Aid, where independent...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Global Economic Forum (16 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: The current structures and policies for engagement with the Diaspora have been in place for some years, during which time my Department has been providing assistance and support to Irish people overseas through the Emigrant Support Programme, as well as establishing and coordinating the Global Irish Network and hosting successive meetings of the Global Irish Economic Forum to enhance...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consultancy Contracts Data (16 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: My Department engages a range of external service providers in a number of areas where the required skills are not available in-house and it is more cost-effective to source them externally. Details of payments in respect of the areas specified by the Deputy for the period in question are set out in the tables below in respect Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs and Trade) and of Vote 27 (International...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Bodies (16 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: There are no state agencies or other organisations of the type referred to by the Deputy under the aegis of my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Undocumented Irish in the USA (16 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: This is an issue to which I accord very high priority. I am conscious of the difficulties experienced by Irish citizens who are undocumented in the United States, and I have met and spoken with many of them on my working visits there, and also with the various groups who lobby on their behalf. I have maintained contact, both directly and through our Embassy in Washington, with many key...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (16 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: My Department is responsible for two Votes – Vote 28: Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Vote 27: International Cooperation. The Government’s international aid programme, Irish Aid, which is managed by my Department, is recognised internationally for its effectiveness in improving the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable communities. About a quarter of Ireland’s...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications (16 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: All passport applications are subject to the provision of the Passports Act, 2008 (the Act). The issue of a passport is, therefore, the culmination of an important and legally-binding process. The checks and balances within the passport process embrace the standard principles that are provided for in the Act and help to ensure that the identity of the applicant is known and that the person...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Language Issues (16 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: My Department fully supports the measures to support Irish language proficiency in the civil service which were approved recently by Government and is committed to providing services and answering correspondence through Irish whenever required. A skills audit of all staff carried out in 2012 revealed that 55 staff members in my Department had advanced or fluent Irish language skills while a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (15 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10, 15, 19, 32, 80 and 88 together. I share the deep concern at the escalating conflict in South Sudan and in particular by reports of violence perpetrated against the country’s civilian population. The violence, which erupted in the capital Juba on 15 December last, has spread very quickly and is now affecting most of the country, displacing more...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Humanitarian Access (15 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: The protracted and tragic crisis in Syria and in neighbouring countries has resulted in unprecedented levels of humanitarian need, requiring a sustained and urgent response from the international community. There are now nearly 9 million people who are in need of immediate life saving support. This figure includes 6.5 million people who are displaced within Syria, and more than 2.3 million...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (15 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I am aware of the case to which the Deputy refers of the Cuban citizens imprisoned in the US. As this is a bilateral consular issue between the US and the Cuban authorities, the Government has no standing in the matter. Ireland’s bilateral relations with Cuba continue to be positive and I look forward to the further development of relations in the period ahead.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (15 Jan 2014)

Eamon Gilmore: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 26 together. I have made clear Ireland’s strong support for an urgent return to democracy and the constitutional order in Egypt and the lifting of all unwarranted restrictions on Egyptian civil society and Egyptian citizens. I have also personally intervened in the case of our own citizens from the Halawa family, seeking to ensure that they...