Written Answers Nos. 477-491
478. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Social Protection to set down by year of entry the number of staff who entered the public service in his Department post 1 January 2011 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23501/16]
View answerI understand that the information on the number of staff who entered the civil service is being provided by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The following table outlines, for agencies under the aegis of my Department, the number of staff who entered the Public Service from 2011-2016:
|
Year |
Pensions Authority |
Citizens Information Board |
|
2011 |
10 |
|
|
2012 |
6 |
|
|
2013 |
1 |
|
|
2014 |
5 |
|
|
2015 |
11 |
|
|
2016 |
5 |
1 |
|
TOTAL |
38 |
1 |
479. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the way he will respond to the open letter titled Palestine's Call from a group of Palestinian civil and political society organisations which was sent to all Oireachtas Members; his plans to exert pressure on the state of Israel, through the use of sanctions and other parliamentary actions, to end its illegal occupation of Palestine and to grant Palestinian persons their rights in accordance with United Nations resolutions and international law, as requested in the letter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21949/16]
View answer480. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline his views on Palestine's Call, the open letter from 45 Palestinians political and civil groups calling on the Government to act to bring justice to Palestine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21955/16]
View answer481. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the actions he will take in view of Palestine's Call, the open letter sent to all Oireachtas Members from Palestinian civil and political groups. [21956/16]
View answer482. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will address the issues raised in Palestine's Call, the open letter recently sent to all Oireachtas Members from Palestinian civil and political society; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21957/16]
View answer483. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the way in which he will respond to the open letter from Palestinian civil and political society sent to all Oireachtas Members, Palestine's Call; and the action he will take to exert pressure on the state of Israel, through the use of sanctions and other parliamentary actions, to end its illegal occupation of Palestine and to grant Palestinian people their rights in accordance with United Nations resolutions and international law, as requested in the letter. [21958/16]
View answer484. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the actions he will take in response to Palestine's Call, the open letter sent to all Houses of the Oireachtas Members from Palestinian civil and political groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21988/16]
View answer485. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the action he will take in view of Palestine's Call, the open letter sent to all Houses of the Oireachtas Members from Palestinian civil and political groups. [22005/16]
View answer494. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline his views on correspondence from a group (details supplied) that made a recent submission to his Department; the actions he will take to address the issues raised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22757/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 479 to 485, inclusive, and 494 together.
Like other Deputies, I myself received a copy of the letter referred to, which appears to have been drawn up by the Irish NGO concerned, and then Palestinian signatories gathered.
The Government remains active and engaged on the objective of trying to achieve a two state solution in the Middle East, including a fully sovereign and free Palestinian state. There are few western countries as consistently engaged on this issue as Ireland. I have worked continuously to try and maintain the problems of Palestine on the EU and international agenda, despite a wave of concurrent crises in the immediate neighbourhood, and have urged stronger international actions. We will continue to do so.
I have myself recently returned from my second extensive visit to the area in just over a year, meeting the parties and trying to urge them to move forward.
Ireland is also engaged on the ground in trying to combat the effects of the occupation, both through our own humanitarian work and through our support of local NGOs engaged on justice and human rights work, a number of whom are among the signatories of this letter.
I fully share the frustration of the signatories, of Deputies in the House, and of others, that the process has been completely stalled in recent years, and that there is not a stronger international will to drive it forward. I have therefore given the Government’s full support to the efforts by France in recent weeks to do just that.
The letter, and the Questions posed by Deputies, make particular reference to the call for trade sanctions upon Israel. We have discussed this question on many occasions, with this NGO, here in the House, and elsewhere. The essential point remains unchanged: I am opposed to sanctions and, in any event, there is no possibility of obtaining any support for such sanctions at EU level, which is where they would have to be implemented. I have, however, been an advocate of measures which differentiate clearly between Israel and the illegally occupied settlements. These include the guidelines adopted on research co-operation which exclude entities based in the settlements from benefitting from funding under the EU-Israel research agreement, and on origin of products to ensure that consumers are not misled as to the provenance of any products emanating from the settlements.
486. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has concerns regarding the recent reports by Human Rights Watch (details supplied) documenting serious human rights abuses including physical and sexual violence and extrajudicial killings as a direct result of the EU's efforts to stem migration from Libya, and, in particular, Operation Sophia. [22390/16]
View answerI take very seriously the reported abuses in the report referred to by the Deputy and condemn all such affronts against the fundamental rights and dignity of the persons concerned. I do not accept the contention that serious human rights’ abuses are a direct result of the EU's efforts to stem migration from Libya. The current political situation in Libya, with the absence of a functioning government, and the existence of a large number of irregular military groups has created the conditions where people are particularly vulnerable to breaches of their human rights. Ireland’s efforts in Libya are focused on working with our EU partners and the UN in supporting the formation of a functioning government which will be in a better position to protect the rights of both Libyan citizens and foreign nationals. In addition, there are several ongoing European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) programmes in Libya targeted towards protecting vulnerable people, including migrants.
Operation Sophia is working to prevent this loss of life at sea by disrupting the business model of people smugglers and traffickers who exploit vulnerable people for profit and place their lives at risk. The Mission is one element of the comprehensive approach being pursued by the EU to address the migration crisis. It is being conducted in strict accordance with international law and participating vessels must be ready and equipped to perform search and rescue tasks. To date, the mission has rescued over 19,000 people. Ireland has not, to date, participated in the Mission and there are currently no plans to do so. Separately, over the past year, Ireland has assisted the Italian authorities on a bilateral basis in humanitarian search and rescue operations to prevent further tragedy and loss of life at sea. Almost 10,000 migrants have been rescued by Irish naval vessels operating in the Mediterranean since they commenced their deployments in May 2015.
In May, the Foreign Affairs Council agreed to extend Operation Sophia’s mandate until July 2017. It also agreed to broaden the mandate by adding two supporting tasks: training of the Libyan Coastguard and Navy; and implementation of the UN arms embargo based on a new UN Security Council Resolution, UNSCR 2292. This resolution was adopted on 14 June 2016 and now underpins the arms embargo task. When fully implemented, these measures will help towards restoring a level of stability, and assist in the building of a more effective political entity where human rights abuses are less likely to occur.
487. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the Passport Office can confirm that the details pertaining to the passports of persons (details supplied) were used illegally by a third party elsewhere in Europe; if the United States authorities referred this matter to the Passport Office as the passport holders were denied a visa to visit the United States of America on the basis of the attempted illegal use of this passport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22574/16]
View answerI can confirm that the case to which the Deputy refers is subject to investigation, including by my Department. As the investigation is ongoing, a detailed statement is not appropriate at this time.
488. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 429 of 12 July 2016 to outline the reason for the landings and the exercises or operations the aircraft were involved in. [22608/16]
View answerMy reply to Question number 429 of 12 July stated that the US Embassy had reconfirmed that US military aircraft that landed at Shannon Airport last month were not part of a military operation or exercise.
The requests for landings by these aircraft concerned crew rest, aircraft refuelling, airport familiarisation, passenger transfer and aircraft maintenance.
489. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to set out the status of the proposed immigration reform legislation in the US; if he made contact with Senators or Members of the House of Representatives since the recent United States Supreme Court decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22613/16]
View answer490. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the discussions he has had with the United States authorities and Irish emigrant support groups following the decision of the US Supreme Court on the proposed immigration reform legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22614/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 489 and 490 together.
While I must respect the decision of the US Supreme Court on this matter, I am very disappointed that planned measures by the US Administration to improve the situation for undocumented Irish in the United States have effectively been stalled by the Court’s decision last month on President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration.
The Supreme Court split evenly on whether to lift the block placed on implementation of President Obama’s November 2014 Executive Orders on immigration. Given there was no majority, the decision of the lower Court stands and the Executive Orders cannot be implemented.
Had they been implemented, the measures proposed by President Obama would have benefitted some of the Irish undocumented who met the criteria under the proposed Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) programme, allowing them to work and travel more freely in the US and generally plan their lives free from fear.
Achieving relief for undocumented Irish migrants in the US and agreement on a facility for future legal migration between Ireland and the US remains a key objective for the Government. Our Embassy in Washington and Consulates elsewhere in the US are very active in advocating for immigration reform while the issue is also regularly addressed in high level political contacts between Ireland and the US Government.
The Taoiseach discussed the prospects for immigration reform with Vice President Biden during his visit to Ireland last month. While in Washington for St. Patrick’s Day, the Taoiseach and I met President Obama, Vice President Biden, Speaker Ryan, Senator Schumer and other key Congressional contacts from both sides of the aisle. During these meetings we emphasised the plight of the undocumented Irish in the US and encouraged both Houses of Congress to work on a bipartisan basis towards a comprehensive package of immigration reform measures.
The current political environment in the United States is not particularly conducive to achieving the necessary political consensus that would facilitate the advancement in the short term of comprehensive immigration reform in the US Congress. Nevertheless, the Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and our Embassy in Washington, working closely with Irish American community leaders, continues to actively pursue all viable opportunities to advance immigration reform that would be of benefit to our citizens, with the US Administration, both political sides of the aisle in Congress and the US Embassy in Ireland.
491. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the action being taken by the Government to secure the release of persons (details supplied) in Syria; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22673/16]
View answerThe case referred to by the Deputy is one of serious concern.
The identity of the captors of the persons identified by the Deputy cannot be confirmed, but media reports suggest that they may have been handed over to an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.
Ireland does not have the means or capacity to intervene directly in cases of detention inside Syria. Nevertheless, I repeat our call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained by the Assad regime for political reasons and for all those held by opposition and terrorist groups in Syria.
