Results 6,701-6,720 of 9,147 for speaker:Pat Breen

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: I hope to propose at our meeting next week to consider our work programme that the committee, with its approval, prepare a report on an Asia strategy. We hope the Department will of some assistance to us in that regard. Asia and the ASEAN countries have much to offer, particularly given the huge volume of exports to China and concentration of trade in that region. There are, however, other...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: I call Deputy Ruairí Quinn.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: We can only have one speaker at a time.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: On a point of interest, this committee has received an invitation from the Parliament in Cuba to visit that country at some stage in 2015. This will be discussed under correspondence at next week's meeting. Members can decide on that. Perhaps the departmental officials might note that also.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: We have not gone yet, and there is no guarantee we will be going.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: I acknowledge that the Cuban ambassador is present at this meeting. We will move on to programme B, which concerns consular, passport and Irish abroad services. Obviously, this is an important area. I commend the work done by our consular service abroad. We have seen it in operation at first hand. Since I became Chairman, I have noted the efficiency in the Passport Office and how it...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: I compliment ambassador Moylan and her team on the consular services they have provided in Egypt. They have done a great job and I know they keep in constant touch with the individual in question.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: Does the Minister wish to comment?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: Before I invite the Minister of State, Deputy Jimmy Deenihan, to make his opening statement, I will pose a number of questions which I ask him to bear in mind. First, when may we expect to receive the review on the diaspora? The Minister of State has promised to appear before the joint committee on the day of the report's launch. Second, does he intend to hold a global economic forum...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: Are there plans for a global economic forum?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: Programme C concerns reconciliation and co-operation on this island. We must congratulate the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, assisted by the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, on the marvellous work done in getting together both groups in Northern Ireland. An agreement was drawn up before Christmas.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: Thank you, Minister. We will now move on to programme D, which is international peace, security and human rights.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: Some of the questions are straying into Vote 27, which is international co-operation. Does the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, wish to leave those questions because many of them are Irish Aid questions and are in the Minister of State's area? Does he wish to answer them now? I will bring in the Minister but if the Minister of State wanted to wait-----

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: Yes, I will allow some introductory remarks to the Minister of State's before we have questions so we might leave some of those international aid questions to the next session. I ask the Minister to stick with programme D. We will deal with Irish Aid questions under Vote 27.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: I will let the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, answer that question when we come to the next section because that relates to Vote 27.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: That is fine. I just do not want to bring in Irish Aid at this stage.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: We will come to that.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: We may deal with that in our work programme for the coming year. I have ideas about inviting in some of the different Christian groups' and Muslim groups' church leaders. That is something we might deal with in our programme. We can talk about that next week. I ask the Minister to deal with Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan's first question on human rights and Deputy Durkan's question.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: I thank the Minister. That completes the select committee's consideration of Vote 28. We will now proceed to Vote 27, international co-operation. Before I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, to make his opening remarks, I wish to point out that there are six subheads in Vote 27 and, with the permission of members, we will deal with them all together rather than go through them...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Jan 2015)

Pat Breen: Before the Minister of State continues, I wish to pay tribute to our Irish Aid diplomatic team and to the Irish Aid programme in Uganda. I have seen the programme and NGOs in action at first hand in Karamoja and met the Speaker and foreign Minister there. I believe the Irish Aid programme there has been strengthened, and I commend Irish Aid in regard to the work it has done there on...