Results 6,901-6,920 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche

Departmental Expenditure. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: The report considered the issue from a blank sheet perspective but we never start from a blank sheet. There would be very significant damage done in some of those areas where we have built up resources. The point made by Deputy Timmins is valid, as there is undoubtedly capacity for synergies; many of our State bodies also operate in other member states. I am being coy in advance of the...

Departmental Expenditure. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I accept the Deputy's positive contribution and synergies must be sought within existing services. The Deputy is correct in that we depend on exports; more than 80% of what we produce is exported and we must keep in touch with what is happening on the ground. The only way to do so is to be represented on the ground.

Departmental Expenditure. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I acknowledge the last point. I was fully aware that the Fine Gael Party leader had commitments at the time of the event.

Foreign Conflicts. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: The report of the UN fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict mandated by the UN Human Rights Council last April and chaired by the distinguished South African jurist, Judge Richard Goldstone, was issued on 15 September. The House will know that it makes for salutary reading. Judge Goldstone and his team, including retired Irish Army officer, Colonel Desmond Travers, have produced an...

Foreign Conflicts. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I have previously discussed the matter with the Deputy. On several occasions at European Council of Ministers meetings I have stressed the point on which there is general agreement in this House; it is simply wrong in every sense of the word that the people who live in Gaza should be isolated and aid should have to go through the current process and be delayed as a result. On the other...

Foreign Conflicts. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: We must be balanced. It also criticised Hamas and its use of rockets as deliberate and focused terror attacks on Israeli citizens. We have been around the grounds on that before. The Government will continue, with its EU partners, to support a request that Israel terminate its completely erroneous policy in respect of the blockade as quickly as possible. Mr. Ging has been extremely...

Foreign Conflicts. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I hope we will do so. As the Deputy is aware, I formerly held a UN human rights fellowship. I take a particular interest in this matter. One of the saddest aspects of what is happening in the Middle East is that Israel, which should know more than any other nation about affronts to human dignity, has become mired in this situation. Unless both sides decide to respect human dignity and the...

Departmental Strategy Statements. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: The high-level goals of the Department of Foreign Affairs address the full range of Ireland's foreign policy objectives. Successful delivery of its objectives is critically dependent upon the effective management of the Department's resources and its ability to adapt and to manage change. As part of the Government's fiscal adjustment process, the Department has undergone a reduction in the...

Departmental Strategy Statements. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: As the Minister of State noted in the previous response, we are working closely to achieve our goals over a period in respect of ODA. It is worth mentioning the six goals because Members have been discussing them in the abstract. The first goal is to contribute to international peace and security - no Government, irrespective of its make-up, will demur from that - and to promote conflict...

Departmental Strategy Statements. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: To take that last point, the Deputy is aware that a €75 million fund has been set aside to address humanitarian emergencies, including climate-related emergencies.

Departmental Strategy Statements. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: Yes. The other point already has been addressed by Deputy Peter Power, who, with his section, is working closely with the NGO community to deal with the specific point made by Deputy Deasy earlier. There is realisation in the community that while times are difficult, we wish to avoid, in so far as is possible, discontinuities, particularly on the issue of staffing. The Minister of State,...

Human Rights Issues. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: The internal political situation in Iran remains of serious concern. While the public demonstrations arising from last June's disputed presidential election may have abated somewhat, the overall human rights situation has deteriorated considerably in Iran since then. The response of the Iranian authorities to the largely peaceful protests, the most recent of which took place on 18...

Human Rights Issues. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: The Deputy is correct. Dr. Elbaradei made a number of comments in June and July on the issue. We must be careful because there have been cases of selective, out of context quotations as there always are in these issues. A month earlier he said it was his gut feeling that Iran would like to have the technologies "to enable it to have nuclear weapons if they decided to do so". Addressing...

Human Rights Issues. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: The Deputy is correct but there is a core issue of failing to co-operate with the IAEA, which is a serious matter. I accept that Deputy Higgins is not an apologist for President Ahmadinejad and his regime. On top of other matters, including human rights violations, it is true that there is not full co-operation with IAEA.

Proposed Legislation. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I thank Deputy Gilmore in his absence from the Chamber because he, like myself, shares a passion for where we find ourselves over the next nine days. The outcome of the European Council held in Brussels on 18-19 June was a considerable success for Ireland. We achieved all of our pre-summit goals, including the permanent retention of an EU Commissioner for Ireland and a set of legally...

Proposed Legislation. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I could not agree more with the Deputy, particularly in respect of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. This is a singularly uplifting document. It is probably the best document that has been produced since the Treaty of Rome. It is an extraordinary document that sets out the values we, as Europeans, espouse. On the matter of workers, John Monks of the ETUC, who is no ingenue and is not...

Proposed Legislation. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I thank the Deputy for the question. We find ourselves in the bizarre situation that wearing a different label, the UK Independence Party, a party not known to be interested in workers or Ireland, has a view that happens to accord with Sinn Féin and Cóir Youth Defence. The guarantees have full international status. First and foremost, they come from a decision of the European Council,...

Human Rights Issues. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12, 32 and 46 together. As Deputies will be aware, and as stated previously in the House on many occasions, most recently on 16 September, the Government is deeply concerned about the situation in Burma and plays an active role in international efforts to bring about positive change there. It is worth reminding ourselves that Seanad Éireann was the first...

Human Rights Issues. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I thank the Deputies. When this was discussed at a recent General Affairs Council meeting I made the point that there are few issues in Ireland that unites people on all sides of the political divide in the same way as this issue does. There is a real anxiety, a growing impatience and a feeling of impotence about this. We believe this is undoubtedly one of those areas where we can have...

Written Answers — Emigrant Support Services: Emigrant Support Services (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 74 together. The Government attaches the highest importance to resolving the plight of our undocumented citizens in the United States. We have emphasised our strong support for the undocumented in all our engagements with the US Administration and Congress, including during meetings earlier this year with President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and...