Results 2,501-2,520 of 8,652 for speaker:Seán Crowe

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Role and Functions of the Passport Office (29 Jan 2014)

Seán Crowe: One difficulty that used to arise involved people going to the local Garda station but the garda not recognising them. Is that it still a problem? There is a view that the garda will only know the person if he is a criminal. That is the answer most people give. Is that a difficulty? How can we address that? There is an issue with photographs on passports. We have heard about people...

Northern Ireland: Statements (Resumed) (5 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: Like many of my generation the conflict in the North shaped, tempered and radicalised my politics. It was personal and immediate, not abstract, and it was not something that could be ignored or air-brushed from our consciousness. If conflict changed us, so did the peace process. The peace process did not start with the Good Friday Agreement and did not end when the DUP ended up in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Forthcoming General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (5 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: I welcome the Minister of State. I apologise if the points I make were covered earlier. The Minister of State referred to the four priorities of Greece's Presidency which are growth, jobs and cohesion; further integration of the EU and eurozone; migration, borders and mobility; and maritime policies. I do not believe anyone would have any difficulty with any of those priorities. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: North-South Co-operation on Health and EU Directive on Patients' Rights: Department of Health (6 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: It is a given that co-operation in health can deliver real benefits and efficiency in the system. Everybody accepts there is goodwill towards the project and no one seems to be opposed to it. There is an argument that it is not delivering the results as quickly as we would like. I would like to concentrate on what Mr. McDonnell refers to as people guarding their patches. If there are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Discussion with Commissioner for Victims and Survivors (6 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: We took statements in the Dáil on the North for most of yesterday afternoon. While there was limited agreement on the causes of the conflict, I would like to think there is agreement that we must ensure we will never be revisited by conflict. There is very little agreement with some parties on the definition of victims, which is part of the difficulty. How important is the fact that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (11 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: 217. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there are formal proposals to amalgamate schools (details supplied) in Dublin 12; if his attention has been drawn to such changes; the impact the merger will have; and in view of the fact that parents and teachers have been left in the dark regarding the merger, if he will provide any further information. [6675/14]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (12 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: We are all in agreement that we want to see this area fully transparent and accountable. Over the past five years, a number of assessments have come up with positive conclusions on the performance of the EDF. Some of the reviews referred to the fact that EU aid remains fragmented between EU instruments, the EDF and the budget and between national, regional, thematic and horizontal levels of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (12 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: Reference was made to other countries in the past trying to churn out little Englanders, little Germans, French, Italians and so on. They all had an agenda in the past. One of the positive things about Ireland's aid is that we have no hidden agenda. Mr. Cotter said our aid is untied. My argument is that it should not be untied in the sense that we want to see these countries emerging with...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Foreign Conflicts (19 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: 2. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the concerns surrounding the evacuation of Homs and the fact that the UN Human Rights Council has raised human rights concerns after some evacuees were detained; and if he has discussed this and the upcoming Geneva talks with his EU counterparts. [8272/14]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Foreign Conflicts (19 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: We have discussed the conflict in Syria on numerous occasions in this Chamber and at the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade. We are all aware of the huge destruction and the large number of human casualties this war has caused. There have been terrible injuries, deaths and poverty, and there are approximately 9 million refugees in need of humanitarian assistance. While we know...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Foreign Conflicts (19 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: Thankfully more than 1,400 people have been able to leave the old city of Homs. Many people would regard this as the first positive development arising from the Geneva II talks. The attack on the convoy should be condemned utterly. There is potential for some movement but there are clearly elements that do not want to see the innocent civilians who are trapped in Homs released. The fact...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Foreign Conflicts (19 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: When we met the Iranian foreign affairs Minister and raised the issue of possible humanitarian corridors, he said there were discussions involving Iran, Turkey and some other countries in the region which would have credibility not only with the Syrian regime led by President Assad but also with the rebels. If we can get agreement from those countries in the surrounding area that have an...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Drugs Smuggling (19 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: 5. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the significant rise in poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in view of the fact that this opiate often ends up in the EU; the proposals he and his EU counterparts have to tackle this growing threat; his views on whether this necessitates stronger co-operation with governments in the region,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Drugs Smuggling (19 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: As the Tánaiste may be aware, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has reported that the level of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan rose to a new high of more than 200,000 ha in 2013, a 36% increase on the figure for last year. This is an area approximately 283 times the size of Phoenix Park. If I was to stand in the middle of a field, it would be as far as the eye could see and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Drugs Smuggling (19 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: Fully 70% of the world's heroin comes from Afghanistan. Many Members are familiar with the effects of heroin and we have all stood at too many graves and attended too many funerals as a result of the effects of the drug. I am old enough to remember the cheap heroin on the streets of Dublin and concerned that this will happen again. The Minister of State has referred to ongoing discussions...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Drugs Smuggling (19 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: We all oppose the death penalty for those involved in drug trafficking. However, I imagine it might be popular not only in this city but parts of the State. The Minister referred to the alternative crops strategy. Will we examine this problem with a new sense of urgency? As he stated, 75% of the world supply of heroin comes from the region in question. Will there be a strong voice from...

Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (19 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: The reaction by the Government to the GSOC crisis highlights its worrying dysfunctionality. What do I mean by this? The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, who is also the Minister for Defence, wields unprecedented power that, if abused, could realistically undermine the most important institutions of the State. When the news broke that one of the most important...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (19 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: 11. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has noted the resumption of reunification talks in Cyprus; if he supports the resumption of these talks; and if he has discussed this issues with his Cypriot counterpart. [8111/14]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (19 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: 12. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he discussed the continued violence and displacement in South Sudan with his EU counterparts at the most recent EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting; that the UN estimates that by June almost a third of the population, 3.2 million people, will need food aid and the risk of famine is high; and if he will make a statement...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Issues (19 Feb 2014)

Seán Crowe: 42. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the recent Swiss referendum on immigration; that it was passed and new quotas will be placed on immigration flows; his views on the effect it will have on Switzerland’s relationship with the EU; and if he discussed it with his EU counterparts. [8113/14]