Results 6,141-6,160 of 7,777 for speaker:Joe Costello

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Development Fund: Motion (29 May 2014)

Joe Costello: We have not received the final directive from the European Union. We negotiated the text and the substance of the directive during the Irish Presidency. As soon as the directive comes to us I assure the Deputy we will give it our immediate attention. We do not have a timescale but we hope it cannot be too much longer because the substance of the directive was negotiated by the end of June...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Agreements (5 Jun 2014)

Joe Costello: The Programme of Action adopted by the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo marked an important new consensus that increasing social, economic and political equality should be the basis for individual well-being, lower population growth, and sustainable development. In April this year, the United Nations Commission on Population and Development met...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Election Monitoring Missions (12 Jun 2014)

Joe Costello: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains a roster of individuals who are available to participate at short notice in election observation missions organised in the main by the OSCE and the EU. The Department aims to respond each year to as many of the requests as possible issued by these organisations. Full details of the election observation missions served by Irish election...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Election Monitoring Missions (12 Jun 2014)

Joe Costello: International election monitoring missions play an important role in the promotion of democracy and human rights. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains and administers a roster of observers for such missions. The aim is to ensure that, when requested, Ireland is represented at an appropriate level in international observation missions for both elections and constitutional...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid Provision (24 Jun 2014)

Joe Costello: The Government's aid programme, Irish Aid, works on behalf of the Irish people to fight poverty and hunger in some of the poorest countries in the world. Support to development education is an integral element of this work. The Non-Governmental Organisation referred to, Kerry Action for Development Education, received funding of €20,000 from Irish Aid under the 2014 Development...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (24 Jun 2014)

Joe Costello: The Government’s development cooperation programme, Irish Aid, which is managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, reflects the values and experience of the Irish people and focuses on the fight against poverty and hunger in some of the poorest countries in the world. Access to quality education is one of the priorities of the programme, as reaffirmed in our new Policy...

Order of Business (26 Jun 2014)

Joe Costello: A lot of barking.

Topical Issue Debate: School Staffing (26 Jun 2014)

Joe Costello: I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the position with regard to staffing in primary schools. The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools are published annually on the website of the Department of Education and Skills. The key factor in determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual schools is the staffing schedule for...

Topical Issue Debate: School Staffing (26 Jun 2014)

Joe Costello: The projected number of pupils for Drumboylan national school, as I have outlined, is 20. If those numbers are maintained, the school will retain its second teacher. The school has a projected enrolment of 20, which is the minimum that is required for the retention of a second teacher post. Hopefully, that will remain the position, and if it does, the school will retain the second teacher...

Topical Issue Debate: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (26 Jun 2014)

Joe Costello: I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to outline to the House the position with regard to the pupil-teacher ratio in fee-charging schools. At post-primary level, the State pays the salary of one teacher for every 23 pupils in fee-paying schools, compared with one teacher for every 19 pupils in schools in the free education scheme. A ratio of 18.25 pupils to one teacher applies in DEIS...

Topical Issue Debate: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (26 Jun 2014)

Joe Costello: I thank the Deputy for his supplementary remarks. There is no question of the State discriminating or seeking to discriminate against Protestant schools. Private schools are not only Protestant or reformed church schools; there are also private Catholic schools. The current pupil-teacher ratio, despite having been increased in recent years, is still 23:1, as compared to 19:1 in the free...

Topical Issue Debate: Credit Unions Services (26 Jun 2014)

Joe Costello: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I would like to confirm the Minister's view that credit unions have an important role to play in providing credit in local communities around the country. The Minister is supportive of safe and responsible lending by credit unions. The Government established the Commission on Credit Unions in May 2011. The commission was asked to make...

Topical Issue Debate: Credit Unions Services (26 Jun 2014)

Joe Costello: The Government will, of course, continue to support the credit union sector, which is an essential and important sector for the entire economy, particularly for communities throughout the country. It is very much the people's bank in that respect. The Government will continue to engage with the movement to ensure there is a stable credit union sector into the future. I will bring to the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Multilateral Development Banks (26 Jun 2014)

Joe Costello: In line with the commitment in the Government's new policy for international development, 'One World, One Future', which was launched in May 2013, the Department of Finance and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are currently exploring the potential benefits of Ireland's membership of the African Development Bank. The Minister for Finance has the lead role in seeking a Government...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid Expenditure (1 Jul 2014)

Joe Costello: The Government’s policy for international development, One World One Future, which was launched last year, confirms Ireland’s commitment to maintaining a high quality aid programme, firmly focused on reducing poverty and hunger in least developed countries and ensuring the people of those countries can realise their rights and potential. The policy also reaffirms our commitment...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Humanitarian Aid (2 Jul 2014)

Joe Costello: The protracted and tragic crisis in Syria has resulted in unprecedented levels of humanitarian need, with over 10.8 million people within Syria in need of immediate life-saving support and a further 2.8 million Syrian refugees requiring assistance in neighbouring countries. The conflict has been characterised by ongoing and persistent violations, by all parties to the conflict, of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (2 Jul 2014)

Joe Costello: The conflict and ongoing humanitarian crisis in South Sudan has been discussed by the European Union Foreign Affairs Council on a number of occasions since the outbreak of violence there in December 2013, with an in-depth discussion held most recently on 17 March 2014. On 15 May 2014 the African Union and the EU jointly welcomed an agreement to resolve the crisis in South Sudan signed by...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (2 Jul 2014)

Joe Costello: The Irish Government has been following closely the case of Mrs. Meriam Yahia Ibrahim in Sudan. In response to her arrest and sentencing, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Eamon Gilmore T.D has made it clear that we are completely opposed to the death penalty in all cases. We also prioritise the fight against all forms of discrimination based on religion or...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (2 Jul 2014)

Joe Costello: The Government remains seriously concerned at the situation in the Central African Republic. With our EU partners, we are supporting the efforts of the leader of the transitional Government, Ms. Catherine Samba-Panza, to negotiate an end to the conflict and to hold democratic elections by February 2015. We also support calls by the country’s religious leaders for all factions to lay...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid Provision (2 Jul 2014)

Joe Costello: The Government’s aid programme, Irish Aid, works on behalf of the Irish people to fight poverty and hunger in some of the poorest countries in the world. Development education is an integral element of this work, as reaffirmed in our policy for international development, One World, One Future, launched in May 2013. In line with the recommendations of an external review in 2011, Irish...