Results 361-380 of 34,403 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Education Costs: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (20 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: On behalf of the Government, I welcome the opportunity to respond to what has been a very insightful and informative debate on the important issue of the cost of education. The Government is acutely aware that many Irish families feel additional financial pressure each year when they are preparing to send their children back to school or college. It is important that the Government...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Protected Disclosures (20 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: I am taking this on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly. I recognise how incredibly difficult it is for the families who lost loved ones during the pandemic, which presented one of the greatest and most wide-ranging public health challenges internationally in recent history. I extend my sympathy to the Delany family - Senator Clonan mentioned that Bernadette and...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Protected Disclosures (20 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: I understand what the Senator is saying. I will definitely raise this matter with the Minister for Health in order to follow on the issues that have been raised. It is probably no good to say it in the context of the case in question, but a big lesson has been learned here. Before a report is commissioned and the terms of reference agreed and commenced, it is important that the person who...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Pharmacy Services (20 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: I thank Senator Gallagher for raising the matter of the public pay and pensions legislation with regard to the community pharmacy sector and its future. I am speaking today on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly. The Minister recognises the significant role community pharmacists play in the delivery of patient care. Community pharmacy is often one of the most accessible...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Pharmacy Services (20 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: I thank the Senator again for those further remarks. We look forward to progress being made at the discussions which are happening today. I mentioned in passing earlier that regulations governing the pharmacy fee structure were made under the FEMPI legislation and that legislation expired at the end of 2019, thank God. Under the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 these regulations...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Disability Services (20 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: I thank Senator McGreehan for raising the issue of the waiting lists for therapists and assessments for children and staff vacancies in both north and south Louth as part of the children's disability network team. As the Senator is aware, I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I am grateful to the Senator for raising it. First, the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Funding (20 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: The Irish Red Cross Society (IRCS) was established in 1939 under the Red Cross Act 1938 (subsequently amended). It is an independent charitable body with full power to manage and administer its own affairs. Its legal objectives are to furnish aid to the sick and wounded, and to provide relief to those in need. The Society has a dual mandate to act nationally and overseas and forms part of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (20 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: The Government is committed to the target agreed at the UN to provide 0.7% of Gross National Income in Official Development Assistance (ODA), as set out in A Better World, Ireland's International Development Policy, and in the Programme for Government. For 2023, the Government has provided a gross allocation to ODA of over €1.233 billion. This is the ninth consecutive year in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (20 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: Ireland has a strong history of providing humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable communities across the globe. According to global rankings, Ireland is a top twenty humanitarian donor. We respond to large scale humanitarian crises and emergencies, such as the devastating earthquakes which struck Turkiye and Syria in February, and we seek to maintain attention on less prominent and often...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (20 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: Under the rules for accounting for Official Development Assistance (ODA), managed by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), support for refugees within donor countries is included in ODA in accordance with clear criteria. Costs counted are for refugees' first 12 months only. They include all direct expenses for food, shelter,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diaspora Issues (15 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: Ireland’s Diaspora Strategy 2020-2025 is the cornerstone of our approach to diaspora engagement, setting out the Government’s vision for engaging with Irish diaspora communities all over the world. The third Global Irish Civic Forum took place in Dublin Castle last April and the agenda was built around the five pillars of the Strategy - Our People, Values, Prosperity, Culture...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Presidential Elections (15 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to hold a referendum during the lifetime of this Government on the question of extending the Presidential election franchise to Irish citizens abroad. In line with that commitment, the Government restored the Thirty-Ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Presidential Elections) Bill to the Dáil Order Paper in July 2020. The date for the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (15 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: Action Aid Ireland is a highly valued partner for the Government's international development programme. It is one of the ten key NGO partners which receive funding from the innovative new five-year funding scheme, Ireland’s Civil Society Partnership for a Better World, which is administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Under this scheme, the Department has provided...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Climate Change Policy (15 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: International climate finance and climate diplomacy are priorities for the Government, and for Ireland's foreign policy. The Department of Foreign Affairs engages in climate diplomacy in close collaboration with other Government Departments, at the United Nations and the International Financial Institutions and through the European Union. The scale up of Ireland’s international...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Environmental Policy (15 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: The Government recognises that protection of the ocean is a key issue for Ireland and for the international community. The ocean plays a vital role in stabilising our climate, and is itself burdened by the impact of climate change, plastic pollution and over-fishing placed. The Department of Foreign Affairs provides support to a number of partners that aim to protect the global marine...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (15 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: For 2023, the Government has provided a gross allocation of over €1.233 billion for Official Development Assistance (ODA). This is the ninth consecutive year in which Ireland’s allocation for ODA has increased, and the second consecutive year in which the allocation has been over €1 billion. Each year the Department of Foreign Affairs reports to the OECD Development...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: United Nations (15 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: Ireland is a steadfast supporter of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). It plays a crucial role in providing essential services to 5.7 million registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Through its work, UNRWA continues to act as a force for stability in the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Sustainable Development Goals (15 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: Irelands international development programme is explicitly focused on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Ireland provides Official Development Assistance to support the most vulnerable people in more than 130 countries. To this end, we form partnerships with governments, international and multilateral organisations, local civil society groups and international non-governmental...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Sustainable Development Goals (15 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: Ireland played a significant role in the development and adoption of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. We have prioritised the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) nationally and internationally. The provide the overall framework for the Government's international development policy, A Better World. In September, world leaders will meet at the SDG Summit...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Aid (15 Jun 2023)

Seán Fleming: I propose to take Questions Nos. 149 and 157 together. The Government's policy for international development, A Better World, provides the framework for our whole-of-government development cooperation programme. Rooted in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the policy focuses our efforts on four priorities of gender equality, reducing humanitarian need, climate action and...