Results 5,721-5,740 of 7,777 for speaker:Joe Costello

National Lottery Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I thank the Deputies for their contributions to this debate. The Minister, Deputy Howlin, who unfortunately cannot be in the House, is conscious of the high regard in which the national lottery is held by the public. Many of the issues raised by Deputies reflect their wish to ensure that Ireland will continue to have a national lottery which is based on integrity and propriety and which...

National Lottery Bill 2012: Referral to Select Committee (6 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform, pursuant to Standing Order 82A(3)(a) and 126(1) of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Humanitarian Aid (6 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I, and Irish Aid officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, have been in communication with the oganisation referred by the Deputy on a number of occasions over the past six months. In my correspondence with the organisation, I have acknowledged the importance of strengthening access to ICT infrastructure in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters. The organisation...

Promissory Notes: Statements (7 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: That is disappointing, Pearse.

Topical Issue Debate: Inter-Country Adoptions (13 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I thank Deputy Ó Fearghaíl for raising this important issue. I apologise for the fact the Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, cannot be present. I have a tenuous relationship with the adoption process in Vietnam in that I met the authorities from Vietnam when they were here last year. I visited Vietnam subsequently on a trade mission and met them again in another capacity and...

Topical Issue Debate: Inter-Country Adoptions (13 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I thank the Deputy. It is certainly not the intention of the Minister to have any discrimination in regard to the type of person or family that is engaged in adoption. Indeed, the idea that only wealthy families would be able to do this because of the danger of funding not coming forward was part of the reason the Hague Convention came into place. The convention sought to ensure adoption...

Promissory Notes Arrangement: Motion (Resumed) (13 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I welcome the opportunity to speak on the agreement reached last week on the promissory note arrangement. While much more work is to be done, the deal is a very important step in Ireland's economic recovery. I pay tribute to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste for the work they have done to make this deal possible. The previous Government lumbered...

Promissory Notes Arrangement: Motion (Resumed) (13 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: There was no smugness.

Promissory Notes Arrangement: Motion (Resumed) (13 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I knew those congratulations were too good to be true.

Promissory Notes Arrangement: Motion (Resumed) (13 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: But our Johnny is not praising it.

Promissory Notes Arrangement: Motion (Resumed) (13 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: That is begrudgery.

Promissory Notes Arrangement: Motion (Resumed) (13 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I would have thought that Deputy Ross would agree with the Financial Times.

Magdalen Laundries: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (13 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: These women deserve an apology and they will get an apology, but I do not agree with Deputy Kelleher that the first part of acknowledging the wrong that was done should have been an apology. The first and most important acknowledgement of the wrong that was done was the Government's decision to establish an inquiry. It is galling to see Fianna Fáil traipsing after Sinn Féin, which...

Magdalen Laundries: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (13 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: We have set up an inquiry and an apology will certainly be forthcoming. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the report by former Senator McAleese on the Magdalen laundries. Former Senator McAleese and the committee are to be commended on their excellent work in bringing to light what happened to these women and for setting out the role of the State in the operation of the laundries. I...

Leaders' Questions (14 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: Yes, it is the wrong time. The Deputy's party should have introduced it.

Leaders' Questions (14 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: Who is responsible for it?

Mortgage Restructuring: Motion [Private Members] (19 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I move amendment No. 1:To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following: “acknowledges that this Government inherited a severe mortgage arrears crisis; recognises that the Government has already taken a number of significant steps to address the mortgage arrears problem and also to stabilise the banking and wider economic situation; in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (19 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I am aware of recent reports of forced evictions of nearly seven hundred families from two makeshift camps in Port-au-Prince. On 22 January, the third anniversary of Haiti’s devastating earthquake. It has been reported that police officers forcibly evicted around six hundred families from Camp Place Sainte-Anne in the municipality of Port-au-Prince. Ten days later another eighty-four...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (19 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I propose to take Questions Nos. 212, 214 to 216, inclusive, 218 and 220 together. I welcome the focus of this year’s Trócaire Lenten Campaign on the rights of citizens and community organisations to participate in and influence decisions that affect their lives. Civil society organisations play an important role in bringing citizens together to act collectively and participate...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (20 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: Mali has been the subject of ongoing discussion by EU Foreign Ministers since March 2012 when there was an army coup and armed groups seized control of the north of the country. The issue was discussed most recently at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday, attended by the Tánaiste. At that meeting the Council adopted comprehensive Conclusions which reaffirm the...