Results 3,721-3,740 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

International Agreements. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The reform treaty provides for a more effective European Union across a range of areas and will allow the Union to continue to develop positively, as it has throughout our 35-year membership. A more effective Union will continue to make Ireland an attractive place for foreign direct investment. All member states remain free to determine their own policies in these areas subject to EU rules...

International Agreements. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I agree with the Deputy that this is yet another kite flown by certain people to try to suggest there is something in the treaty which would affect our ability to entice foreign direct investment into Ireland and the European Union. In fact, the exact opposite is the case. The provisions of the treaty are all about the ability of European companies to do business with third countries and...

International Agreements. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: We have set up a website and published in February an easy to read A4 size pamphlet. We have also issued a 22-page plain guide to the treaty, probably one of the best documents available. I suggest everybody receive a copy. Members of the Oireachtas have already received their own copy and we will be supplying copies to them in bulk in the next few days. It is available in English and...

Decentralisation Programme. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: Under the Government's decentralisation programme, the development co-operation directorate of the Department of Foreign Affairs, which is Irish Aid's headquarters, will decentralise to Limerick. Good progress has been made and personnel have either been assigned to, or identified for, 105 posts or approximately 85% of the 124 posts scheduled to be decentralised. An advance party has...

Decentralisation Programme. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The overall figure is 124 posts that are to be scheduled, of which 105 have already been identified. Some 57 officers are already in place in temporary accommodation in Limerick. Of the 105 posts identified, 33 are filled by officers who served in the Department at the time of decentralisation and others have come from other Departments. Regarding the figure rising from 105 to 124 posts,...

Decentralisation Programme. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The staff in Limerick are currently working in temporary accommodation as the recently built offices are being outfitted. It is anticipated that this will be completed in June 2008. The balance of officers to move to Limerick are currently working in the Irish Aid offices in Dublin.

State Visits. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: A state visit to Ireland by the President of the Republic of Estonia, Mr. Toomas Hendrik Ilves, is due to take place in mid-April 2008. There is a strong likelihood that a second state visit, from another of the countries that joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, will take place later in the year. The general purpose of visits by Heads of State, including visits by the President abroad,...

State Visits. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: An invitation is normally extended by the President, with the Government's agreement and the two governments involved would usually decide when a visit should take place. I do not recall either an incoming or outgoing visit ever being rejected. There may be occasions, such as an election, when it would not be appropriate for the President to conduct a visit to a state but generally...

State Visits. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The Taoiseach recently said that a visit to Ireland by the Queen of England is on the agenda but, in the context of the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, there are outstanding matters, including the devolution of policing and justice issues. When these matters are addressed the question of a state visit by the Queen of England will be examined more intensely. The Taoiseach...

Foreign Conflicts. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 87 and 277 together. I warmly welcome the conclusion of a peace deal between the Kenyan Government and Opposition on 28 February 2008, following over a month of mediation talks led by the former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. This is an important and potentially historic agreement which I hope will bring to an end the ethnic conflict and strife which Kenya...

Foreign Conflicts. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: On the issue of the displaced people, the international community is keeping a close eye from the point of view of humanitarian relief. That is one of the major concerns. The fact is that large numbers are going home. In regard to dealing with some of the atrocities that took place, part of the agreement includes the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission and also a...

Foreign Conflicts. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: On the issue of climate change, I had a very good discussion recently with a leading expert in foreign policy from the UK who specialises on the effect of climate change on the developing world. At the European Council meeting this week, Javier Solana will table a fairly major document, if my memory serves me correctly, entitled Climate Change and International Security. It deals with how...

Foreign Conflicts. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The recent uprising was caused by long-standing issues, particularly land distribution and old scores. Kenya is a large, diverse country with 35 million people and 45 ethnic groups. Difficult ethnic issues exist and it has been reasonably well governed in recent years. Unfortunately, its difficulties came to a head because of the suspicion about the election. This is one of the priorities...

Overseas Development Aid. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: It is just as well I had not run out the door.

Overseas Missions. (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The situation in Chad remains complex, fluid and fragile. A rebel attack on N'Djamena in early February led to at least 160 deaths and thousands of people being displaced before it was repulsed by Government forces. The main group of rebels is now located near the Sudanese border. According to some reports, a new rebel offensive remains a possibility. The UN Security Council has urged an...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 90, 285 and 286 together. The situation in Darfur remains dire, and the suffering of its people continues unabated. The fracturing of the main rebel groups over the past year, and the apparent determination of the Government of Sudan to pursue a military solution, at a high price in suffering for ordinary people, make the search for peace even more difficult....

Written Answers — International Day of Non-Violence: International Day of Non-Violence (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: In June 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution which declared 2 October, the birth date of Mahatma Gandhi, the International Day of Non-Violence. The resolution was tabled by India and Ireland was one of the co-sponsors. The resolution invited Member States to commemorate the International Day in an appropriate manner and to disseminate the message of non-violence, including...

Written Answers — International Women's Day: International Women's Day (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: Ireland is committed to the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and is involved in a variety of initiatives at international level to this end. The Irish delegation participated actively at the 52nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, which met in New York recently and my colleague, Sean Power, T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Justice,...

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 95 and 139 together. I refer the Deputies to previous replies to similar questions concerning the United Nations Convention against Corruption, most recently on 6th February 2008. The Convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its 58th session in October 2003. It was signed on behalf of Ireland, when it opened for signature in December...

Written Answers — Diplomatic Relations: Diplomatic Relations (11 Mar 2008)

Dermot Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 96, 104 and 150 together. At the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 18 February, EU Foreign Ministers agreed a common response to Kosovo's declaration of independence of the previous day, noting the uniqueness of Kosovo's situation, arising from the conflict of the 1990s and the eight years of UN administration which followed, and reaffirming...