Results 841-860 of 1,981 for speaker:Conor Lenihan

Written Answers — Rapid Response Initiative: Rapid Response Initiative (8 Feb 2007)

Conor Lenihan: The White Paper last year recommended a Rapid Response Initiative to address some perceived gaps in the international community's response mechanisms to sudden onset humanitarian crises such as the Tsunami and the devastating earthquake in Pakistan. Considerable progress has been made in each of the three key elements of the Initiative: 1. Pre-positioning of Humanitarian Supplies To allow...

Written Answers — Human Trafficking: Human Trafficking (8 Feb 2007)

Conor Lenihan: I would refer the Deputy to the Adjournment Debate in the House on 23 November, where I, on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Michael McDowell, set out comprehensively the existing legal position in Ireland in relation to human trafficking. The Deputy may wish to know that the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, has received...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (8 Feb 2007)

Conor Lenihan: This year Irish Aid will deliver significant development and humanitarian funding to a number of countries in the Middle East. Subject to the situation on the ground, it is likely that the bulk of Ireland's assistance will be allocated to Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq. Palestine will remain a significant recipient of assistance from Irish Aid. Ireland has been providing development and...

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (8 Feb 2007)

Conor Lenihan: I strongly support the right of developing countries to access affordable medicines to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other infectious diseases. This right was recognised in the WTO Ministerial Declaration made in Doha in 2001, which calls for "the implementation and interpretation of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) in a manner supportive...

Written Answers — Debt Relief: Debt Relief (8 Feb 2007)

Conor Lenihan: The IMF and World Bank have made increasing efforts to tackle the problem of debt in developing countries since the launch of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in 1996. The HIPC Initiative, which was strengthened and enhanced in 1999, sought to reduce the debt burden of qualifying counties to sustainable levels but did not entail cancellation. Ireland contributed some...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (8 Feb 2007)

Conor Lenihan: The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has stated in its General Comment Number 15 that "the human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses". The Government supports the views expressed by the Committee in its General Comment Number 15. Although national...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (8 Feb 2007)

Conor Lenihan: Improving access to medicine is one of the critical challenges to improving health in the developing world. Many poor people do not have access to essential medicines due to a range of factors, including lack of drugs at health facilities, lack of trained staff to provide treatment and the high cost of medicine to poor people. Lack of access to medicine causes the deaths of many people each...

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (8 Feb 2007)

Conor Lenihan: The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) are trade agreements currently being negotiated between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states. The mandate for the negotiation of EPAs comes from the legally-binding Cotonou Agreement, the central objective of which is that of "reducing and eventually eradicating poverty, consistent with the objectives of...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (8 Feb 2007)

Conor Lenihan: The humanitarian situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) remains fragile, particularly in the context of poor food security and environmental degradation. Despite some improvement in harvests in recent years, the DPRK continues to suffer widespread food shortages. Severe economic problems, particularly in the agriculture sector, and an acute energy crisis mean that...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (8 Feb 2007)

Conor Lenihan: Africa is at the heart of Ireland's programme of official development assistance. The complex series of factors, which contribute to the enormous needs encountered in Africa, include food insecurity, poverty, environmental degradation, weak governmental capacity and policies, unequal global trading relationships, protracted conflict, severe infrastructural weaknesses, poor governance, debt...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (8 Feb 2007)

Conor Lenihan: HIV/AIDS continues to be the single biggest obstacle to reducing poverty and to attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Current statistics from the United Nations Joint Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) indicate that, in 2006, almost 40 million people were living with the HIV virus. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the worst-affected region in the world and is now home to over 25...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (8 Feb 2007)

Conor Lenihan: Ireland is committed, through its overseas development assistance programme, to helping the poorest and most vulnerable people in developing countries. Across the programme, strategies are devised in close consultation with national governments and other key stakeholders to ensure that the support provided complements national poverty reduction plans and targets those most in need. These...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (13 Feb 2007)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 425 to 429, inclusive, together. Universal access to reproductive health is one of the goals of the Programme of Action agreed at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994. The Government is committed to action in support of this goal, which is essential to reducing maternal and infant mortality rates and tackling HIV and...

Human Rights Issues. (1 Mar 2007)

Conor Lenihan: The Government has made clear on several occasions its response to the report of the European Parliament's temporary committee examining extraordinary rendition and I do not propose to repeat its response in detail. I will, however, again place on record the Government's unequivocal condemnation of extraordinary rendition, whether it emanates from friendly or hostile powers. I also repeat...

Human Rights Issues. (1 Mar 2007)

Conor Lenihan: If people want to electioneer or abuse the process by accusing the Government of being dilatory, it is not borne out by the facts.

Human Rights Issues. (1 Mar 2007)

Conor Lenihan: It is a little rich to hear comment by some members of Deputy Costello's party whose record in human rights is not the best, given their previous associations with the Soviet regime, Kim Il Sung and Saddam Hussein, none of whom were exactly great pioneers in the development of human rights. Closer to home, Seanad Éireann debated the establishment of a committee of inquiry as recently as 31...

Human Rights Issues. (1 Mar 2007)

Conor Lenihan: In following up on the concerns raised by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, about the regulation of international civil aviation, last week Ireland's Permanent Representative to the European Union raised with colleagues the need for the EU to consider what action it might take in this area. Separately, officials from the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Transport will...

Human Rights Issues. (1 Mar 2007)

Conor Lenihan: I oppose this motion as it constitutes further show-boating on this matter by the Labour Party, some of whose stellar and leading members have human rights records which are not as pure as driven snow given their associations with the Soviet Union, North Korea and the former leader of Iraq.

Noise Pollution. (1 Mar 2007)

Conor Lenihan: I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to deal with this important issue. The Roads Act 1993 firmly places responsibility for the planning and supervision of works for the construction and maintenance of national roads, including the M50, on the National Roads Authority, NRA. Issues relating to noise pollution and other environmental issues are dealt with during the planning approval...

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (1 Mar 2007)

Conor Lenihan: The mandate for the negotiation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) comes from the legally-binding Cotonou Agreement, the central objective of which is that of "reducing and eventually eradicating poverty, consistent with the objectives of sustainable development and the gradual integration of the ACP countries into the world economy". In line with Article 37.1 of the Cotonou Agreement,...