Results 781-800 of 11,433 for speaker:Michael Kitt
- Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)
Michael Kitt: Cyclone Sidr, with wind speeds of up to 240 kilometres per hour, hit Bangladesh on the evening of 15 November. The storm caused extensive damage to the southern districts of the country. More than 4 million people in 28 southern districts are now known to have been directly affected by the cyclone. As of 20 November, the Government of Bangladesh had reported a death toll of 3,447 people,...
- Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)
Michael Kitt: As indicated in my earlier reply referred to by the Deputy, progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals has been mixed. There has been good progress on reaching some targets, with more intensive effort required on others. On the positive side, if current trends continue we are on target to reach the MDG on the poverty reduction target for the world as a whole. Extreme poverty...
- Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)
Michael Kitt: I would like to assure the Deputy that it is of particular importance to me that Ireland's overseas aid to African countries is used for the benefit of the poor. The overall objective of Ireland's overseas development assistance is to help the poorest and most vulnerable people in developing countries, particularly in Africa. There is a wide range of measures in place to ensure that Irish...
- Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)
Michael Kitt: Irish Aid has provided significant support in recent years to the Irish Congress of Trade Union's global solidarity project under our Development Education Funding Scheme. Grants totalling â¬230,000 were awarded to ICTU for the 2005-2007 phase of the project and a total of â¬84,764 was awarded in 2003-2004. This funding reflects our support for the aims of the programme. These include...
- Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (27 Nov 2007)
Michael Kitt: Audits of Missions are carried out as part of a Departmental three-year rolling audit work plan and associated annual operational plans. The work plan consists of two streams â one focusing on Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs), the other on Vote 29 (International Cooperation). The work programme seeks to ensure that sufficient coverage is obtained to provide the Secretary General of the Department,...
- Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (27 Nov 2007)
Michael Kitt: The humanitarian situation in Darfur remains extremely fragile, characterised by ongoing armed clashes, continuous new population displacements, increased violence inside the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps and seriously constrained humanitarian access to an ever growing number of conflict affected people. In October, armed clashes in Muhajiriya (South Darfur) and Um Dukhum (West...
- Written Answers — Humanitarian Assistance: Humanitarian Assistance (27 Nov 2007)
Michael Kitt: I was shocked by the severity of the floods experienced in the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas in the aftermath of Hurricane Noel. These were the worst floods suffered in the southern Mexico region for 50 years. As much as 80% of the state of Tabasco was under water, while it is estimated that as many as 900,000 people were made homeless. The response by the international community to...
- Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (27 Nov 2007)
Michael Kitt: My colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dermot Ahern T.D., has recently returned from a visit to Chad. While there, he was able to observe at first hand the humanitarian situation in the country, and the tremendous difficulties involved in providing essential relief to those in need across the vast expanse of Eastern Chad. During his visit, Minster Ahern pledged an additional â¬2...
- Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)
Michael Kitt: In recent years, the international community has redoubled its efforts to address the serious challenges facing the continent of Africa. The adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 marked a watershed in uniting the international community around a single set of development objectives. Agreed targets include halving extreme poverty and providing...
- Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)
Michael Kitt: The overriding objective of Ireland's overseas aid programme is to help the poorest and most vulnerable people in developing countries through assisting in bringing about positive and lasting change in their lives. Across the development programme, strategies are devised in close consultation with national governments and other stakeholders to ensure that the support provided complements...
- Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (5 Dec 2007)
Michael Kitt: Under the overseas aid programme operated by my Department a wide range of organisations receive funding. The following table indicates the amount of funding provided to the agencies referred to by the Deputy. Agency 2005 2006 2007 ⬠⬠⬠Action Aid Ireland 936,000 1,107,486 1,526,553 Afri 30,000 93,000 113,254 Aidlink 704,043 853,184 894,440 Amnesty International â Irish...
- Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (6 Dec 2007)
Michael Kitt: To date in 2007, Irish Aid has provided in excess of â¬16 million in overseas aid to Sudan. A further â¬0.5 million has been approved in funding to support the Darfur peace talks and Ireland has made a contribution of â¬2 million in support of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). Our overseas aid funding is provided to a range of United Nations (UN) and Non-Governmental...
- Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (11 Dec 2007)
Michael Kitt: I propose to take Questions Nos. 413 to 416, inclusive, together. The Value for Money Review of Irish Aid's (formerly Development Cooperation Ireland's) emergency humanitarian response to a selected disaster focused on the 2004 Asian Tsunami. The report on this VfM Review, which was an independent assessment of the appropriateness, efficiency, effectiveness and connectedness of Irish Aid's...
- Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (11 Dec 2007)
Michael Kitt: The negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the European Union and the African Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP) have reached a critical stage. The mandate for the negotiations of Economic Partnership Agreements comes from the legally-binding Cotonou Agreement, the central objective of which is "reducing and eventually eradicating poverty, consistent with the...
- Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (12 Dec 2007)
Michael Kitt: I propose to take Questions Nos. 140 and 141 together. Both Concern Worldwide and Trócaire receive significant funding annually from Irish Aid. The bulk of this funding relates to the Multi Annual Programme Scheme (MAPS) with other funding also allocated for emergency and humanitarian assistance and for development of education initiatives. MAPS is a funding scheme which has been...
- Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (18 Dec 2007)
Michael Kitt: In order to raise awareness of the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) among those who work with immigrant communities, my Department wrote to the former health boards in 2001 and again in 2004 and to the Health Service Executive in February 2007 drawing their attention to the issue of FGM and requesting that personnel, particularly those working with immigrant communities, should be...
- Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (18 Dec 2007)
Michael Kitt: The Development Education Advisory Committee (DEAC) was appointed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2003 to advise on development education policy and on ways of increasing knowledge and understanding of development issues in Ireland. The Committee also has a role in overseeing reviews and evaluations of development education activities and in managing an annual consultation forum. The...
- Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (18 Dec 2007)
Michael Kitt: I propose to take Questions Nos. 276 and 277 together. The Ireland-United States Commission for Educational Exchange, more commonly known as the Fulbright Commission for Ireland, was established by the Educational Exchange (Ireland and the United States of America) Act, 1991. The Commission facilitates a programme of educational exchange between Ireland and the United States of America. The...
- Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (19 Dec 2007)
Michael Kitt: In response to the humanitarian emergency caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and as an expression of solidarity with the people of the United States, Ireland provided â¬1 million in emergency funding to the disaster effort. Approximately â¬700,000 was delivered via the Irish Red Cross to the American Red Cross, and a further â¬300,000 was committed by our Embassy in Washington to support...
- Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (19 Dec 2007)
Michael Kitt: Ireland's overseas development assistance (ODA) is delivered through a wide range of development and humanitarian organisations, including non governmental organisations (NGOs), multilateral and other international organisations, and directly through our own programmes in our 9 Programme Countries. This mix and balance of delivery mechanisms is designed to maximise the impact of our...