Results 821-840 of 11,433 for speaker:Michael Kitt

Overseas Development Aid. (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: We have responded to other natural disasters such as Hurricane Noel in Mexico, the cyclone in Bangladesh, the Caribbean and central America, severe flooding in Uganda and Mozambique and the earthquake in Peru. The Irish Red Cross and other NGOs in Indonesia had sufficient capacity to respond to the flooding and landslides. No international appeal for assistance issued and, therefore, we...

Overseas Development Aid. (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: The focus of Ireland's overseas development programme is the elimination of poverty. Irish Aid works to improve access to basic health care, education, clean water and adequate housing for some of the poorest communities in the world. The White Paper on Irish Aid, published in September 2006, identified the principles and priorities for the programme as it expands to meet the target of...

Overseas Development Aid. (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: The peer reviews carried out by the OECD show that Ireland comes top of the class in the context of its aid programme. The Minister has written to the Government Chief Whip, Deputy Tom Kitt, regarding the establishment of a new foreign affairs committee and the renaming of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs. We have our own audit committee and we work closely with other countries in...

Overseas Development Aid. (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: I must inform Deputy Naughten that we are dealing with nine programme countries, seven of which are located in Africa. The Deputy's question relates to what the EU is doing in the context of integration. We are spending a major amount of money in seven of the poorest countries in Africa. On the question put by Deputy Barry Andrews, I stated earlier that we have not received a request with...

Written Answers — Rapid Response Corps: Rapid Response Corps (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: Sixty four volunteers were invited to become members of the Rapid Response Corps in 2007 following a rigorous selection and interview process. Fifty two of this group completed their pre-departure training and checks in the past year, and seven of those have already been deployed to various humanitarian crises worldwide. A further member will be deployed shortly. To date, Corps members have...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: Audits of Ireland's overseas development aid are undertaken on the basis of a three-year rolling audit work plan which is overseen by the Department's Evaluation and Audit Unit. At the start of each year an annual operational plan is agreed which comprises a range of audit activities including: Work carried out directly by Irish Aid's Evaluation and Audit Unit and by Internal Auditors based...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), adopted in the year 2000 as part of the commitments undertaken by Heads of Government at the Millennium Summit, represent a framework for international economic and social development up to the year 2015. The latest MDG progress report, issued in July 2007, gave us a snapshot of the progress achieved at the midpoint of the 2015 MDG target date,...

Written Answers — Humanitarian Assistance: Humanitarian Assistance (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: Tropical Storm Fame developed in the Mozambique Channel on 25 January 2008 reaching Category 1 status on 27 January 2008. It then changed course eastwards away from Mozambique. Heavy rains and storms since the beginning of December 2007 have caused severe flooding in southern Africa, including Mozambique. The most recent UN reports indicate that approximately 20,000 households or 95,000...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: The White Paper on Irish Aid included a commitment to establish a new Inter-Departmental Committee on Development to strengthen coherence in the Government's approach to development and to make best use of the expertise and skills available across the public service. I am pleased to say that, in line with that commitment, an Inter-Departmental Committee on Development has been established....

Written Answers — Hunger Task Force: Hunger Task Force (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: The establishment of a Hunger Task Force was one of the recommendations of the White Paper on Irish Aid published in September 2006. The aim of the Hunger Task Force is to identify the additional, appropriate and effective contributions that Ireland can make to international efforts to reduce hunger. The first meeting of the Hunger Task Force took place in Dublin on 14 September 2007 and the...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: Ireland provides development assistance to Uganda directly and also through NGOs, missionaries and other international partner organisations. In 2006 Ireland provided over €32 million in direct assistance. Additional funding of over €9.5 million was made available through other organisations including the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, UNHCR, Oxfam, World Vision and Irish NGOs such...

Written Answers — Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: Global warming is a serious concern to everyone. We are all increasingly aware of the threat this now poses to humanity. The Government is strongly committed to fulfilling its international obligations to reduce the level of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. However, global warming cannot be solved by one country alone — it requires the commitment of all nations in the world. Rain forests...

Written Answers — Health Issues: Health Issues (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: As outlined in the White Paper on Irish Aid, the Government's commitment to tackling HIV and AIDS and other diseases of poverty will remain a top priority for our aid programme. We are committed to developing programmes that address the key causes of illness and ill health among the poorest and most vulnerable people, and to strengthening health systems in the poorest countries. Following the...

Written Answers — Debt Relief: Debt Relief (6 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: There are two main international instruments which address the problem of the debt burden in the developing world, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). The HIPC Initiative, which was launched in 1996 and strengthened and enhanced in 1999, seeks to reduce the debt burden of qualifying countries to sustainable levels but does...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (12 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: Irish Aid delivers assistance to over 30 countries in Africa and has developed long term partnerships with seven of these countries which are known as programme countries. These are Tanzania, Zambia, Lesotho, Mozambique, Uganda, Ethiopia and Malawi. Asia, Vietnam and East Timor are also designated as programme countries. These partnerships allow Irish Aid to provide significant, predictable...

Seanad: Millennium Development Goal: Motion (13 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: I welcome the opportunity to address the Seanad on the pressing international development issue of maternal health and mortality. I thank Senators for their contributions and I am pleased the motion is agreed. In 2000, maternal health was selected as one of the eight highest priorities for the future of developing countries. By including the issue in the millennium development goals, heads...

Passports Bill 2007: Order for Report Stage (19 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: I move: "That Report Stage be taken now."

Passports Bill 2007: Report Stage (19 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: I have been advised by the Office of the Attorney General that amendment No. 2 is unnecessary because section 5 of the Civil Registration Act 2004 deals with the points raised. Section 5 of that Act states that in so far as any certificate issued under an enactment repealed by section 4 of the same Act could have been issued under a corresponding provision of the Act, it shall not be...

Passports Bill 2007: Report Stage (19 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: I am grateful to Deputies Higgins and Lynch for drawing attention on Committee Stage to the possibility of a loophole involving passports which have expired prior to the commencement of the Act. I undertook on Committee Stage to consider the matter further and to revert to the House on it. My officials have since consulted the Office of the Director for Public Prosecutions and the Office of...

Passports Bill 2007: Report Stage (19 Feb 2008)

Michael Kitt: The Bill permits a citizen to apply for a passport under section 6(1). Similarly, section 6(3) permits the making of an application by a parent or guardian on behalf of a child. Having provided for the right to make an application, section 6(2) requires applications to be made in such form and to be accompanied by such information and documents as may be required. In other words, a citizen...