Results 481-500 of 34,618 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (14 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: In Budget 2024, the Government provided the highest ever allocation for the international development programme managed, under Vote 27, by the Department of Foreign Affairs. The allocation of €776.5 million represents an increase of €60 million, or 8.4%, on the 2023 allocation. €30 million of the additional funding will be allocated to climate finance, which, in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (14 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: Education is crucial to the long term development of Palestine, and is a key focus of Ireland’s work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Ireland supports the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Education in strengthening the quality and accessibility of the education system through a Joint Financing Arrangement. The objective is to improve capacity and provide equitable...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (14 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), a Palestinian human rights organisation, established in 1995 by Palestinian human rights lawyers and defenders as an independent, not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Gaza. Its strategic priorities are supporting promote gender equality, strengthening rule of law, and increasing access to justice for victims of human rights...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (14 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: The Government's international development policy, A Better World, emphasises the priority attached to Africa, with a particular focus on those countries and communities furthest behind. This policy guides our engagement with African partners to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, with a special focus on gender equality; reducing humanitarian need; climate action; and strengthening...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (14 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: Since the outbreak of hostilities in Sudan in April 2023, Ireland has consistently emphasised the need for an end to the conflict, protection of civilians, maintenance of humanitarian access, and for civil society to be placed at the centre of Sudan’s political future. As a member of the UN Security Council in 2021/2022, Ireland advocated for the maintenance of the partial arms...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (14 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has experienced periodic conflict over many decades, with an increase in insecurity and violence in eastern DRC in recent months, ahead of elections due to take place in December 2023. Tensions between the DRC and Rwanda have remained at a high level for several months. Ireland has expressed concern at this escalation in regional tension. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (14 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: 214. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when students will get a seat on a bus (details supplied) from Pallas, Portlaoise, to a named school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49721/23]

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Public Transport (9 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Richmond. I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. The employment permits system enables Ireland to supplement domestic skills and labour supply by allowing the recruitment of nationals from outside Ireland and the European Economic Area, EEA,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Public Transport (9 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: I appreciate the points being made by the Deputies and those points are well known. I thank them for raising them. As I previously indicated, to add or remove an occupation from the list, evidence is sought demonstrating that recruitment difficulties are solely due to genuine shortages within Ireland and across the EEA and not due to other factors such as salary or employment conditions....

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Teagasc Activities (9 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: On behalf of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, I thank the Deputy for her contribution on Teagasc’s role in the Dublin Declaration of scientists on the societal role of livestock. Teagasc was established under the Agriculture (Research, Training and Advice) Act 1988, as the national agency with responsibility for the provision of research, training...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Teagasc Activities (9 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: I reiterate that Teagasc has advised that it did not host the Dublin Declaration of scientists on the societal role of livestock. The conclusions of the summit and evidence reviewed in the summit featured in a peer-reviewed edition of the scientific journal Animal Frontiersin early 2023. Summit attendees with academic and scientific credentials were invited to endorse the evidence. As I...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Tax Code (9 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: As I outlined, the Minister for Finance intends to bring forward an amendment on Report Stage of the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023 to provide that where an individual GP enters into a contract with the HSE to provide certain medical professional services and provide those services in the conduct of a partnership profession with other individual GPs, the income from those professional services can...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Tax Code (9 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath. The Department of Finance and Revenue have for some time been aware of issues arising from contractual arrangements with the GP community whereby some GPs treat income under the GMS contract as income of a practice in which they are a partner or an employee, rather than income of that...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (9 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: I thank Senator Byrne for raising this important matter. As the Senator has alluded to, I am standing in on behalf of the Minister, and the information I have has been supplied by the Department of Health. Before I go into the details of the script, the two particular points the Senator made are the exact points of detail I will ask the Department to come back to her directly on in the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (9 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: A top Government priority is to protect and support the education of all students. Regarding student nurses and midwives, an important consideration for this group is the specific requirement to undertake mandatory clinical placement which comprises 50% of the overall nursing and midwife education programme requirements. Mandatory supernumerary practice placements occur for 45 weeks from...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Staff (9 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: Over the past three years, the number of undergraduate training places for nurses and midwives has increased by 400. That is an increase of approximately 25%. This year, there are more than 250 additional places in higher education institutions across the Republic of Ireland. Also this year, the Department of Health in Northern Ireland and our Department of Health have agreed to - and want...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Medicinal Products (9 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I will be providing an answer on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. This issue is becoming well known, and there is not a pharmacy, region or family with many prescriptions that has not encountered it. The HSE has statutory responsibility for pricing and reimbursement decisions under the community drug...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Medicinal Products (9 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: I thank the Senator. As I have already mentioned, under the Act, a company that holds a marketing authorisation must apply to the HSE to add its medicine to the reimbursement list. I will follow this up with the Department to ensure there is no undue delay for companies that have applied to have something on the reimbursement list being approved in the meantime. The introduction of the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Development Projects (9 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: I thank the Senator for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, who sends her apologies that she cannot be here. We all know the valuable role community centres in many towns, villages and urban areas. It is very important to recognise that. With this in mind, the Minister put in place an integrated programme of supports for the establishment and...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Development Projects (9 Nov 2023)

Seán Fleming: I thank the Senator. Again, this new community centre investment fund, which was launched by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, in March of this year, is so important. It gives communities an opportunity to develop brand new facilities that can offer a wide range of services to members of the community for decades to come be it for adult education, news service, book clubs, meeting rooms,...