293. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the EU is seeking to send persons back to war-torn Afghanistan as a part of a broader policy to return asylum seekers who refuse to be deported voluntarily; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the UN agency in Afghanistan, UNAMA, has recently documented the highest level of civilian casualties since record taking started; and his views on the proposal to return persons to this war-torn country. [29600/16]
292. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his recent meeting with the Russian ambassador and the issues discussed at the meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29599/16]
291. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the peace proposal in Colombia was narrowly rejected in a referendum; his plans for his Department to continue to assist the peace process; and if he has discussed the issue with his Colombian counterpart. [29598/16]
286. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been brought to the huge devastation and violence in Aleppo and the fact that the fighting has created a huge humanitarian crisis; and the actions being taken by his Department to assist efforts to end the violence and to assist the civilians affected. [29363/16]
285. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a person's (details supplied) trial was postponed for the fifteenth time on 2 October 2016 and that their trial is adjourned until 12 November 2016; if he has contacted his Egyptian counterpart over yet another trial postponement; and if he will ensure maximum diplomatic pressure is now placed on the Egyptian Government as it is clear that the trial is unlikely to end anytime soon. [29362/16]
284. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a bank recently closed the account of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, IPSC, and that the official reason stated was that the IPSC is associated with a high risk country; his views on whether this is insulting to the Palestinian people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29361/16]
280. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if any person from his Department has been in touch with a person (details supplied). [29336/16]
75. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a bank (details supplied) recently closed the account of the Irish Palestine solidarity campaign, IPSC; and if he will urgently raise the issue with the bank. [29360/16]
162. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to publish the national action plan on business and human rights. [28806/16]
328. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has met or spoken by telephone to his Egyptian counterpart to formally discuss the Government's support of a person's (details supplied) appeal for release by presidential decree under law 140; and if officials of his Department have spoken to the Taoiseach's office to request that he calls the Egyptian President to outline Ireland's support for this appeal. [28566/16]
327. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a person (details supplied) has been complaining of chest pains and that he has a family history of heart problems; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the prison authorities are refusing him permission to see an independent doctor; and if he will raise the issue with his Egyptian counterpart. [28565/16]
326. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if any official from his Department has been in touch with volunteers or aid workers who work in the jungle camp in Calais, many of whom are Irish. [28564/16]
325. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the French Government has vowed to destroy the so-called jungle camp in Calais; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the camp is home to thousands of person, including hundreds of unaccompanied minors; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that thousands of unaccompanied minors have already gone missing in Europe due to the refugee crisis; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the destruction of this camp will likely increase this number; and if he has discussed the issue with his French counterpart. [28563/16]
324. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that his Department is paying €46,000 a month to rent an apartment in Tokyo for the Irish ambassador to Japan; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the ambassador's residence is reportedly more than twice as expensive as any other property rented by his Department in 2015; the reason this is happening; and his plans to rectify this situation. [28562/16]
119. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the French Government has vowed to destroy the so-called "Jungle camp" in Calais; if her attention has further been drawn to the fact that this will displace hundreds of unaccompanied minors; and if she has explored any options to allow some of these unaccompanied minors to be relocated here. [28567/16]
168. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn the illegal demolition of a Syrian home by the Israeli authorities in the occupied Syrian Golan that took place two weeks ago; that Syrian owners of between 80 and 90 houses have received orders that their homes are due to be demolished; that it is highly likely that this home demolition marks the adoption of a new systematic policy of administrative home demolitions directed at the native Syrian population in the occupied Syrian Golan; and if he will raise his concerns over this illegal action with his Israeli counterpart. [27630/16]
167. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that official statistics in Mexico register 28,472 disappeared persons in the country; that this puts modern-day Mexico on a par with Argentina or Chile under their brutal dictatorships, and even with Colombia which has lived through violent conflict for more than half a century; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the concerns of NGOs that this statistic represents only a fraction of the true number of those disappeared in Mexico; and if he will raise his concern over the continued mass disappearances, some by state forces or collusion with state forces, with his Mexican counterpart. [27598/16]
166. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that 26 September 2016 will mark two years since 43 teaching students were forcibly disappeared and six killed as they made their way to a protest in Guerrero, Mexico; since then, investigations have indicated state involvement at almost every level but no-one has ever been brought to justice for these crimes; that despite repeated calls for justice from the UN and the IACHR, the families continue to search for their beloved ones; and if he will raise his concerns over these killings and disappearances with his Mexican counterpart. [27597/16]
1902. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if her attention has been drawn to the comments of Germany's Vice-Chancellor and economy minister, Sigmar Gabriel, who said that talks over Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) have failed; her views on his statement; and if Ireland will refuse to support the continuation of the TTIP negotiations. [26294/16]
1469. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Health the number of outpatient appointments, inpatient appointments and elective surgery procedures cancelled at Tallaght Hospital, by appointment type, on a monthly basis for each of the years 2011 to 2015 and in 2016 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26295/16]
867. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to reports regarding the brutal conditions faced by asylum seekers held in Australia's care on Nauru and Manus Island and that publication of the Nauru files by a newspaper (details supplied) detailed extremely worrying allegations of abuse, assaults, self-harm and neglect at the centres, particularly the Nauru centre; and if he will raise his concerns with the Australian Government. [26308/16]
866. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that over 3,000 persons have been killed in the Philippines since President Duterte came to power (details supplied); and his views on these developments. [26307/16]
865. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to political developments in Brazil, including how the former President, Ms Dilma Rousseff, was controversially impeached in a process which many view as a coup; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that growing protests against the new government have been carried out throughout the country and that some have been harshly repressed by the police; his views on the developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26306/16]
864. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the recent unrest and violence in Ethiopia, a partner country of Irish Aid, and the Human Rights Watch claims that the unrest has seen more than 400 persons killed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26305/16]
863. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the growing international campaign for the release of a person (details supplied); and his views on the campaign calling on President Obama to grant the person, who is in poor health, clemency before he leaves office. [26304/16]
862. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has formally discussed the Government's decision to back an appeal for a person's (details supplied) release by presidential decree under law 140 with his Egyptian counterpart; and if there have been any developments in this case. [26303/16]
861. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether he is aware that a person (details supplied) has been barred from seeking election to the Basque Parliament in upcoming elections in the Basque country; his views on the fact that the constitutional court of Spain has chosen to uphold a decision by the election commission to deny the person the right to seek office in elections; and his views on whether the judgment is an unhelpful decision that undermines democracy and the Basque peace process. [26302/16]
860. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the extraordinary public demonstrations in Catalonia on 11 September 2016, when up to a million persons marched in support of Catalan independence and for a binding referendum on independence; and his views on whether the Spanish Government should allow for a democratic and binding referendum in Catalonia on independence. [26301/16]
859. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the case of a person (details supplied) who holds Irish citizenship and who is currently imprisoned in Iran; and if he has raised the case with his Iranian counterpart. [26300/16]
858. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the demands of Kurdish political leaders, who have called on the Turkish Government to grant a family member, lawyer or political delegation immediate access to the prison on Imrali Island to visit and ascertain the health and well-being of a person (details supplied); and his views on whether the Turkish Government should show some leadership and basic humanity and allow the family and lawyers to visit the person. [26299/16]
857. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Turkish Government has suspended 11,285 teachers for alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, and that the Government have also removed 24 democratically elected mayors in Kurdish run municipalities; and if he will raise his concerns over these developments with his Turkish counterpart. [26298/16]
856. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the increased crackdown on civil, political and human rights in Turkey and that the Turkish Government is using the failed military coup to repress civil society and political opposition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26297/16]
855. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline his views on Turkey's recent military incursion into Syria; his views on the fact that although the action is supposedly to target Daesh, Turkish forces have attacked and bombed Kurdish-held areas and citizens in Rojava; and his views on whether Turkey's real motives are to attempt to destroy the autonomous Rojava Government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). [26296/16]
835. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the amendment to legislation passed recently by the Israeli Parliament (details supplied); and his views in this agreed. [24579/16]
834. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason he has created new commercial attaché posts in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia and Romania; the cities in which these posts will be based; and the role in this regard [24578/16]
830. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to a case (details supplied); and if he will condemn the Israeli military's continued fatal attacks on Palestinian children. [24492/16]
829. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to political developments in Turkey; his views on the Turkish Government's crackdown on civil society since the failed coup attempt; his further views on the fact that the Turkish Government has reportedly suspended 15,200 state education employees and demanded the resignation of almost 1,600 deans from private and state universities and that 2,700 judges have also reportedly been detained; and if he is concerned that President Erdogan is increasing his authoritarian hold on power in Turkey. [24491/16]
142. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the current average waiting time to receive a short-stay tourist visa for Ireland. [25580/16]
141. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of visas to enter Ireland that have been granted per year in the past five years under the headings, business, employment, join family, study, visit, re-entry, and other. [25579/16]
140. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if there has been any discussion or correspondence between her office and the office of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport regarding the long delays in processing short-stay tourist visas; and the way this is impacting on potential visitors to Ireland. [25578/16]
139. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of staff currently allocated to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS; if she is aware that there is a significant backlog of short-stay tourist visa applications; if she will detail the cause of these delays and the way this backlog in processing visa applications is being created; the additional resources that have been applied to deal with the backlog; and when she envisages the backlog to be cleared. [25577/16]
138. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if a significant additional workload has been placed on the operations of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, since the introduction of the British-Irish visa scheme for Indian and Chinese visitors; the additional staff that have been allocated to INIS to deal with this increased workload; and her plans or proposals to extend this scheme to other countries. [25576/16]
878. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her views that the European Union-Canada Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, CETA, should be provisionally applied, before Dáil Éireann has the chance to debate and vote on its ratification; and if she will veto the provisional application of it until the parliaments of each member state have debated and voted on CETA. [22138/16]
141. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is aware of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East’s condemnation of Israel’s punitive demolitions in the Klanadia refugee camp in the occupied West Bank; that Israeli forces demolished two houses there in the middle of the night; that one of the homes belonged to a UNRWA for Palestine refugees in the Near East sanitation labourer; that punitive home demolitions are a form of collective punishment which are illegal under international law; and if he will raise the issue with his Israeli counterpart. [21771/16]
140. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is aware that the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has published a new report which addresses the latest developments of the state of the Gaza Strip border crossings in May 2016; that it details the devastating impact that the blockade is having on economic and social conditions in Gaza; that it refutes Israel’s claims that it has eased the closure of the Gaza Strip; that the report highlights that Israel is attempting to institutionalise the closures and blockade by making the illegal restrictions imposed on the movement of persons and goods acceptable on the international level although they violate the international law, including the international humanitarian and human rights laws; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21770/16]
139. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will make representations to the EU-member-state committee that is deciding where and how to allocate the EU trust fund for the implementation of peace in Colombia to ensure that proper vigilance is followed to guarantee that the fund is well spent. [21769/16]
138. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will make representations to ensure that the peasant reserve zones in Colombia are properly considered by the seven-EU-member-state committee that is allocating EU funds which are ring-fenced for equitable access to land in national protected areas. [21768/16]
137. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the measures he is proposing to ensure that there is a formal and clear mechanism for Colombian civil society involvement in the decision-making process of the allocation of the €3 million his Department has contributed to the EU trust fund for the implementation of the peace agreement in Colombia. [21767/16]
136. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on Palestine’s call, an open letter from Palestinian civil and political society sent to all Oireachtas Members; and if he will 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 the Palestinian people their rights in accordance with UN resolutions and international law, as requested in the letter. [21766/16]
135. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on Palestine’s call, the open letter from 45 Palestinian political and civil groups calling on the Government to act to bring justice to Palestine; the further actions he will take on this request; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21765/16]