Results 3,941-3,960 of 4,092 for speaker:Michael D Higgins

Suspension of Member (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: Hear, hear.

Suspension of Member (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: The questions relate to the statement that will be made.

Suspension of Member (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: Deputy Gilmore is not the one dragging it out.

Straitéis 20 Bliain Don Ghaeilge: Ráitis (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: Gabhaim buíochas le mo chomhghleacaithe a thug deis dom cúpla nóiméad a chaitheamh ag plé leis an ábhar tábhachtach seo. Mar a dúirt an Teachta O'Shea, táimid i bhfábhar na moltaí. Agus é sin ráite, tá sé tábhachtach go bhfuilimid dáiríre mar gheall orthu. I mo thuairim, d'fhulaing an Ghaeilge mar nach raibh daoine dáiríre faoi straitéisí agus tuarascálacha a...

Human Rights Issues (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: Question 2: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the large number of trades unionists killed in Colombia and the failure in recent years of the European Union in its negations with Colombian Governments to make the protection and freedom of trades unionists and human rights protectors a condition of any beneficial relationship with the EU [43132/10]

Human Rights Issues (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: I am grateful to the Minister for his reply. I recently visited Colombia with Deputies Kitt and Breen and Senator Daly and put to the vice president a number of the points raised in my question. We also had an opportunity to follow up on these points at a meeting today with the Colombian Republic's ambassador to Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who is on a visit to Dublin. I put it to...

Human Rights Issues (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: The Minister and I could agree on much of this. The fundamental issue arises from the EU representative in Bogota who was not clear in his reply to the specific question as to how the human rights clause might be made transparent or enforceable. The issue that arises for the EU and Ireland is whether we can have an economic agreement first and that human rights will follow, which is a...

Human Rights Issues (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: That was my question. This is about the placing of human rights and the economic change in ratio to each other. We believe that if the European Union pressed, it could have a transformational effect in making human rights development and economic opportunities coterminous rather than human rights being residual by assumption to economic development.

Emigrant Support Services (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: We are.

Foreign Conflicts (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: I was interested in the Minister's reference to the German Foreign Minister's letter. There is also a more recent comment by somebody who is perhaps much closer to us all, Mr. John Ging, who has said that what happened in Gaza through the widely-reported easing of some restrictions has made little difference and has not made possible the completion of the construction projects in which UNRWA...

Foreign Conflicts (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: It is minuscule.

Foreign Conflicts (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: And Saudi Arabia also.

Foreign Conflicts (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: It is the largest donor.

Foreign Conflicts (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: The Quartet always mystifies me. What has effectively taken place in the long drag of non-achievement in the Middle East is that when the United States becomes active, everyone else goes silent and when talks fail in the United States, nothing takes place. There must be continuity of action at EU level. For example, there is little activity in the Russian part of the Quartet and only...

Human Rights Issues (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: It is now time for the Government to acknowledge that one of the Minister's predecessors made a mistake in facilitating the Burmese presence at ASEAN, the assumption being that moral suasion would work on Burma. It singularly did not. I appreciate the reference in the Minister's reply to the 2,000 prisoners still being held in Burma. With regard to the discussions that the European Union...

Human Rights Issues (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: A farce.

Human Rights Issues (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: Vice President Garzón is a former trade union leader and in our meetings with him a few weeks ago he stressed labour rights as well as human and other rights. While people have disappeared and children have been inducted into narco-terrorist gangs and so forth, of the 70,000 people who have been killed in the past two decades the largest proportion is of trade unionists and trade union...

Human Rights Issues (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: The issue of the other two lead trade unionists was raised with the ambassador by me this morning.

Human Rights Issues (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: Earlier I made a point on Colombia to which the Minister replied. The pressure that will be brought to bear on the economic benefits, which are real, between the European Union and Colombia may override, if one likes, the necessary progress that is made on human rights defenders and trade unionists. Unfortunately the former president, Mr. Uribe, in his visits to the European Union has been...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (18 Nov 2010)

Michael D Higgins: Question 64: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a school's (details supplied) request to expand their school which is overcrowded and is no longer able to properly accommodate its students, particularly with regard to attempts to construct a new school at a different site to address the accommodation issues of it and other secondary schools in...