Results 2,001-2,020 of 7,777 for speaker:Joe Costello

Seanad: Mortgage Arrears: Motion (17 Apr 2013)

Joe Costello: The Government has two overall key strategic objectives in this area. First, there is a need to ensure that mortgage holders who are experiencing real difficulty should, where appropriate, be assisted in remaining in their homes. Second, any framework and range of supports for mortgage holders must be able to distinguish between those who cannot afford to pay their mortgages on their...

Topical Issue Debate: Services for People with Disabilities (17 Apr 2013)

Joe Costello: I thank both Deputies for raising these important issues concerning the mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant schemes. I apologise that the Minister is unable to attend the House, but I am taking this matter on his behalf. I am pleased to outline to the House the Government's position on the mobility allowance and the motorised transport grant schemes. The Government is...

Topical Issue Debate: Services for People with Disabilities (17 Apr 2013)

Joe Costello: I thank both Deputies for their supplementary questions. An independent review group was established and people with disabilities were represented on it. It also had organisations from the disability sector on it, which are still there. As regards the public consultation, advertisements were placed in newspapers, as well as requests for information online. The HSE advertised the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Land Issues (16 Apr 2013)

Joe Costello: The issue of land rights for pastoralist communities in Tanzania such as the Maasai is complex. It is something I take very seriously. Our Embassy in Tanzania, working with other EU Member States and UN agencies, is closely monitoring the situation and continues to raise the need for all parties, including the Government and the local community, to deal with the issue through open dialogue...

Other Questions: Overseas Development Aid (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: The issue is being dealt with and has been dealt with urgently. The first thing I stated was that the Irish contribution was suspended by the Tánaiste immediately. A full investigation has taken place. There are matters before the courts. Several people will be prosecuted on matters relating to this issue in Uganda. I emphasise that the finding was made by the Uganda Auditor...

Other Questions: Overseas Development Aid (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: I have been to Tanzania and Mozambique which has given me the opportunity to see quite a number of our programmes. It is important to go out into the field to see how they operate. We have a very high quality list of programmes, particularly in the areas of health, education and agriculture. Our track record is regarded as second to none in the OECD assessment of overseas development...

Other Questions: Overseas Development Aid (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 58 together. As Deputies will be aware, I was deeply concerned about the misappropriation of €4 million of Irish development funding in Uganda. I am committed to ensuring we learn from what has occurred in Uganda to further strengthen our systems of risk identification and financial management in Irish Aid and minimise the potential for any...

Other Questions: Overseas Development Aid (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: I welcome the recent progress made on a durable solution to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, with the conclusion in Addis Ababa on 24 February of the Peace, Security and Co-operation Framework Agreement for the DRC and the region. The conflict has been allowed to continue for too long. It has taken millions of lives and caused untold human suffering. It is now...

Other Questions: Overseas Development Aid (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: No. 5?

Other Questions: Overseas Development Aid (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: My apologies.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Alternative Energy Projects (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: Ireland is supporting the 5% cap. As I indicated, the discussions are ongoing. They are quite complex in the sense that there are a number of countries, particularly in eastern Europe, that regard any change to the 10% cap agreed in the original directive of 2009 as interfering with their industrial status. There is considerable awareness about the discussions. It is hoped that some...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Alternative Energy Projects (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: I have seen the reports. Only yesterday I had a meeting with the Sierra Leone group, which produced a report on its concerns about what is happening in that country. This is very much taken on board. As the Deputy knows, Ireland devotes 20% of its overseas development aid to tackling hunger. It is the only country in the world that does so. The area of hunger, nutrition and food security...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Alternative Energy Projects (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: My colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, takes the lead on Government policy in regard to bio-fuels. The EU Renewable Energy Directive 2009 requires that 10% of transport fuels should come from renewable sources by 2020. The directive also provided that the ongoing effects of its implementation be monitored by the European Commission....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ministerial Travel (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: I travelled to South Africa from the 14th to 17th March this year. The visit was part of a programme to three African countries - Tanzania, South Africa and Mozambique. In Tanzania, I visited Irish Aid funded projects and held discussions with the Tanzanian Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister. In Mozambique I chaired, on behalf of the EU, the Ministerial political dialogue between the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: I attended the meeting of EU Development Ministers in Brussels on 26 February, which was convened by the Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, to coordinate the EU approach to the provision of long term development assistance in Mali. The meeting was organised following the detailed discussion on the situation in Mali at the informal meeting of EU Development Ministers which I chaired...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ministerial Travel (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: Between 10 and 23 March, I visited Tanzania, South Africa and Mozambique to examine the impact of Ireland’s development assistance programme and opportunities for the expansion of trade and investment. My programme in South Africa was predominantly focused on strengthening economic and business links with Ireland. Tanzania and Mozambique are priority countries for the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: I share the widespread concerns about the situation in the Great Lakes region and particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The country has been ravaged by a long series of violent conflicts and millions of innocent civilians have been killed, injured or displaced from their homes. There have been systematic abuses of human rights, extremely high levels of sexual violence...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: Since its inception in 1974, Ireland’s programme of official development assistance has had a particular focus on the continent of Africa. Both historically, and in many cases up to and including the present day, African countries have been faced enormous difficulties, including food insecurity, poverty, protracted conflict, environmental degradation, weak government capacity, unequal...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: As Minister of State with responsibility for Ireland’s Official Development Assistance, I am very conscious of the need to ensure that Irish Aid continues to reach its intended beneficiaries in the most sensitive and difficult regions of the world, and that our development assistance continues to make a real difference in the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable. Through our...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (20 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: Ireland’s aid programme prioritises the fight against global poverty and hunger. Ireland has long term, strategic development partnership programmes with eight Programme Countries. These are Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia in sub-Saharan Africa, and Vietnam in Asia. In these countries we aim to build government and institutional capacities to...