Results 461-480 of 1,044,849 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív OR speaker:Michael McNamara OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív61 OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív57) in 'Committee meetings'

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: I have one question, which is an extension of the line of questioning I was pursuing earlier. It is around the objectives of criminal law, which include deterrence, rehabilitation and so on. By our failure to condemn, we condone. The argument about decriminalisation is well made. It is still a tacit acceptance that there will be a market for what are now prescribed drugs and, in the...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: If Professor Stevens takes the view, as he has argued cogently, that there is a large market in drugs and that it is simply there whether we choose to acknowledge the reality or not, should that be legalised and controlled in the way legal drugs are, or should it continue to be proscribed and outside of the reach of the State?

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: I thank Professor Stevens, Ms Eastwood and Ms Lawlor, who appeared at short notice, for joining us and staying with us. I propose we briefly move into private session.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Michael McNamara: I thank Ms Eastwood for her very interesting presentation. I now invite Ms Lawlor to give her opening statement on behalf of Youth RISE. I thank her for preparing her statement and appearing before the committee at such short notice.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Foreign Conflicts (27 Jun 2024)

Gino Kenny: I want to see all hostages released. We all want to see peace and a settlement in the Middle East. The Minister may not agree with this, but those resisting Israeli occupation in Gaza and the West Bank have a right to engage with the Israeli Defense Forces. They have a right because they are being occupied, murdered and slaughtered. It is an incredible statistic, but since 7 October $23...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Foreign Conflicts (27 Jun 2024)

Micheál Martin: I have repeatedly condemned the bombardment of Gaza. We in Ireland have taken a number of steps to move towards a political pathway and a ceasefire. We have worked with the Arab partners like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Qatar and others to try to develop a peace process and a proper peace initiative. They have published that. We have engaged with them and also...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Foreign Conflicts (27 Jun 2024)

Catherine Connolly: We are way over time.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Foreign Conflicts (27 Jun 2024)

Micheál Martin: Ireland has been steadfast in supporting the courts and upholding their jurisdiction.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (27 Jun 2024)

Passport Services

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (27 Jun 2024)

Matt Carthy: 3. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of passport applications on hand for more than three, six, nine and 12 months, respectively; and the measures the Passport Office is enacting to ensure the speedy processing of all applications during peak summer months. [27473/24]

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (27 Jun 2024)

Matt Carthy: I acknowledge the tremendous efforts of the Passport Office staff, particularly at this time of the year. Will the Minister tell me the number of passport applications on hand for various lengths of time? What measures are his Department and the Passport Office enacting to ensure there is a speedy processing of all applications during these peak summer months?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (27 Jun 2024)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for acknowledging the performance of the Passport Office and the passport service. The passport service has issued more than 625,000 passports this year. Virtually all complete passport applications are being processed within or before advertised turnaround times with the majority of adult online renewal applications issuing within two working days. There currently...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (27 Jun 2024)

Matt Carthy: I have put on the record of this House on a number of occasions that when the passport service works, it works incredibly well. We have all heard people describe their surprise with the speed at which a renewed passport in particular arrives through their letterbox. At the same time, we have to acknowledge that there are incidences where there are problems. The particular issue about which...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (27 Jun 2024)

Micheál Martin: We keep the whole service under constant review. The passport service is in third place in the Henley global passport index as it provides our citizens with visa-free access to 193 countries. We are up there as one of the best passport services in the world. We ran a multimedia campaign again this year reminding citizens to apply for their passports on time and online. The successful...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (27 Jun 2024)

Matt Carthy: Everybody values the Irish passport. It is one of many people's most prized possessions, particularly those who have had to leave our country and move elsewhere. It is a source of pride to display the passport with the harp anywhere in the world and see the value that is attached to it by others. It is also an entitlement of every Irish citizen to have a passport, and there is a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: European Union (27 Jun 2024)

Micheál Martin: President von der Leyen did not give a green light to genocide. The Deputy needs to reflect on those assertions.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: European Union (27 Jun 2024)

(Interruptions).

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: European Union (27 Jun 2024)

Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 9.10 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 9.13 a.m. Sitting suspended at 9.10 a.m. and resumed at 9.13 a.m.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: European Union (27 Jun 2024)

Micheál Martin: When I say that the European Parliament elections should be respected and reflected in the composition of the senior positions, the bottom line is that the European People's Party, EPP, was returned as the largest single political group, followed by the socialist group and the liberal group. Just as in the aftermath of a Dáil election, parties get together and make decisions. That is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Foreign Conflicts (27 Jun 2024)

Foreign Conflicts