Results 6,061-6,080 of 7,777 for speaker:Joe Costello

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid Oversight (19 Feb 2014)

Joe Costello: In October 2012, all Irish development assistance due to be channelled through Government of Uganda systems was suspended, following the discovery of fraud in the Office of the Prime Minister. Since then the Government of Uganda has refunded in full the €4 million of Irish Aid funds which were misappropriated. Ireland continues to press the Government of Uganda for concerted action...

Topical Issue Debate: Foreign Conflicts (20 Feb 2014)

Joe Costello: I thank the Deputy for raising this Topical Issue and agree entirely with him. This is an extraordinarily serious crisis. As the Deputy may be aware, the Tánaiste issued a statement yesterday outlining his views on the developing crisis in Ukraine, which the Government has followed with growing concern. He indicated that he was appalled at the most recent outbreak of violence this...

Topical Issue Debate: Foreign Conflicts (20 Feb 2014)

Joe Costello: I thank the Deputy for his supplementary questions. The European Union has been very much engaged from the outset in the Ukrainian crisis. From the outset, Catherine Ashton has travelled to Kiev quite a number of times to represent the European Union through the European External Action Service. She has reported back and the issue has been discussed on a regular basis at the Council of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (25 Feb 2014)

Joe Costello: The Government consistently supports the promotion and protection of the human rights of all persons, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and is strongly committed to combating all human rights violations committed against individuals on such or any other basis. When I addressed the UN General Assembly on 28 September 2013, I pledged Ireland’s full support to...

Seanad: Community Courts: Motion (25 Feb 2014)

Joe Costello: In the first instance, I thank the ten Senators for their contributions. They were all excellent and I compliment Senator Martin Conway and his colleagues on tabling the motion which was presented to the Cabinet this morning by the Minister, Deputy Alan Shatter. He asked members of the Cabinet for their approval, which they gave. Consequently, the motion has been accepted by the Cabinet...

Seanad: Community Courts: Motion (25 Feb 2014)

Joe Costello: I will leave that for another time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Review of Foreign Policy and External Relations: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (26 Feb 2014)

Joe Costello: I am grateful to the committee for the invitation and to the Chairman for his welcome. The Tánaiste regrets that he could not be here to discuss the review of foreign policy with the committee and he asked me to convey to the Chairman and members his regrets and his assurance that it is his intention to meet the committee on an early mutually convenient date to discuss recent...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Review of Foreign Policy and External Relations: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (26 Feb 2014)

Joe Costello: I will break my rule straight away. We can certainly brief the committee on the review of funding and seek its input into that. That can be done at a future date. I will come in again and brief the committee on that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Review of Foreign Policy and External Relations: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (26 Feb 2014)

Joe Costello: I thank members for their broad range of contributions. It would take a long time to reply to each in detail, but many were pertinent and I will answer as many as I can in a short space of time. A number of themes came through and several members mentioned similar issues of concern, for example, the Narrow Water Bridge project. Everyone present was enthusiastic for it. Unfortunately, EU...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Review of Foreign Policy and External Relations: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (26 Feb 2014)

Joe Costello: The North's Minister for Justice, Mr. David Ford, MLA, has acknowledged that there is a gap in the legislation on parades. He would like to see it addressed. Deputy Smith referred to immigration reform. The Taoiseach and the Ministers will take every opportunity to advance this work. The Tánaiste was recently in ongoing contact with Congressman Paul Ryan. People on all sides of the...

Topical Issues: Human Rights Issues (27 Feb 2014)

Joe Costello: I compliment the Deputy for raising this very important issue. The Government closely follows the situation of the Rohingya people in Myanmar-Burma. Recently reported incidents of serious violence against the Rohingya people in Rakhine state, in particular in Du Chee Tan village in January 2014, are deeply worrying. I welcome the announcement made by Myanmar's President, U Thein Sein, on...

Topical Issues: Human Rights Issues (27 Feb 2014)

Joe Costello: I thank the Deputy for those supplementary remarks. The actual thrust of the Topical Issue made no reference to the upcoming census so I could have better information on that. The census is being carried out in the context of forthcoming elections. As the Deputy mentioned, there has been no census for 30 years and the EU is indeed part funding the taking of the census and the organisation...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Election Monitoring Missions (4 Mar 2014)

Joe Costello: Further to my replies to two Parliamentary Questions on this matter last month, I can confirm that Ireland nominated observers for eight OSCE monitoring missions between 1 January 2013 and 28 February 2014. The missions were to Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. As set out in a previous reply, English is the...

Government's Priorities for the Year Ahead: Statements (Resumed) (5 Mar 2014)

Joe Costello: In the programme for Government three years ago we expressed our determination to restore Ireland's standing as a respected and influential member of the European Union and as part of the wider international community. We also recognised the importance of our embassy network and committed to use that resource to repair our reputation overseas. The results of our work are clear. We have...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (6 Mar 2014)

Joe Costello: I am seriously concerned about the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill by the Ugandan Parliament and its subsequent signing into law by President Museveni. Ireland had urged the President to ensure the Bill was not enacted. I have made it clear that the enactment of this draconian legislation will affect our valued relationship with Uganda. During my visit to Uganda in December 2013, I...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid Expenditure (6 Mar 2014)

Joe Costello: I propose to take Questions Nos. 42 and 43 together. The Government is strongly committed to Ireland’s overseas aid programme and to its place at the heart of Irish foreign policy. This commitment was made clear in our Programme for Government and underscored last year in our new policy for international development - One World One Future -which set out our vision for a sustainable...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (11 Mar 2014)

Joe Costello: I propose to take Questions 50 and 53 together. The Government is very strongly committed to Ireland’s overseas aid programme and to its place at the heart of Irish foreign policy. The aid programme has the reputation of being one of the best in the world. Our commitment to development cooperation is clear in the Programme for Government and has been further enhanced by the launch...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (11 Mar 2014)

Joe Costello: The Government has condemned the unprovoked violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by the Russian Federation. We have participated actively in the development of a strong EU response to Russia’s military mobilisation while commending the measured response shown so far by the new Ukrainian government. In relation to the Presidential election scheduled for May,...

Topical Issues: Small and Medium Enterprise Debt (12 Mar 2014)

Joe Costello: I thank the Deputy for tabling this very important issue. It has recently been brought back into the public arena in a lively fashion by Professor Morgan Kelly. The Government recognises that SMEs are the lifeblood of the economy and play a vital role in the continuing recovery of employment growth in our country. Government policy is focused on ensuring that all viable SMEs have access...

Topical Issues: Small and Medium Enterprise Debt (12 Mar 2014)

Joe Costello: The remarks by the UCD academic Morgan Kelly related to the stress testing by the ECB. The ECB comprehensive assessment will not deal with loan restructuring as such. It will determine whether the banks have sufficient provision against their loans and capital. Irish banks have undergone such an exercise prior to the troika exit. The stress testing on that occasion proved to be...