Results 2,301-2,320 of 9,147 for speaker:Pat Breen

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Pat Breen: Please allow the Chair to speak. There is no case so far against Ibrahim Halawa. What is the goal of the committee today? For all of us, the goal is to obtain the release of Ibrahim Halawa. We received a very strongly worded letter today from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade on the issue. I ask the members to read it seriously line by line to see what is in it. I quote one...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Pat Breen: With all due respect, the Senator is not in Cairo. Our embassy staff and officials are in Cairo and they are following this very closely. They feel this is the best way forward in Ibrahim's interests, and we need to take note of that. We have heard a great deal of misinformation coming from sources.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Pat Breen: Those have been corrected by the Minister this morning. We should note the work being done and be guided by that. We are talking about two weeks. We want to get this young man out of prison. He is too young to be there. His career and education are ahead of him, we need to get him out and we should take on board the views of the Department on this.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Pat Breen: I have no problem with us writing to the Taoiseach and noting our concern for Ibrahim Halawa, but the Taoiseach is well aware of this case and is to meet the Halawa family in the very near future.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Pat Breen: Rather than undermine the Taoiseach's efforts, we should-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Pat Breen: The Taoiseach is very conscious of the matter and will meet Ibrahim Halawa's father soon in another context. The members should let matters go on as they are and if they are not coming to a successful resolution, we can revisit the case in the interests of Ibrahim Halawa. This is what we are all interested in. We are interested in the release of this young man from a prison in Cairo....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Pat Breen: Before I bring in Senator Walsh, I have a suggestion to ensure we go forward together on this. It is based on Deputy Smith's suggestion. We should follow up on the correspondence we received this morning from the Minister on what is happening and also send a copy and a separate letter to the Taoiseach on the committee's concerns about Ibrahim Halawa asking that every effort be made by the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Pat Breen: I have a difficulty after the Minister's letter this morning that we would doubt what is happening.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Pat Breen: We will try to get an update on that for the Senator today. Members are talking about the court case but I again refer back to the letter, which states:The hearing was different to previous postponed hearings as all defendants were present and the judge indicated that he would accept oral or written submissions from the lawyers present on behalf of their clients. The trial was then...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Pat Breen: I accept that. It is a good compromise. That shows good unity within the committee and it is in the best interests of Ibrahim Halawa. I will write to the Taoiseach.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Pat Breen: Is Deputy Durkan withdrawing his amendment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Pat Breen: We will do that and it will also be copied to the Minister.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (31 Mar 2015)

Pat Breen: 549. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the marking system for the junior and leaving certificate examinations has not changed since 1969; her plans to review the system, and in particular to round-up the percentages obtained to the nearest percentage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12695/15]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (31 Mar 2015)

Pat Breen: 550. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No 494 of 10 March 2015, the reason a reply has not issued to same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12696/15]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Business of Joint Committee (25 Mar 2015)

Pat Breen: Apologies have been received from Deputy Crowe and Senator Norris. The draft minutes of the meeting of 11 March 2015 have been circulated to members. Are the minutes agreed? Agreed.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ebola Crisis in Sierra Leone: Irish Ambassador (25 Mar 2015)

Pat Breen: The Deputy is a counsellor of a kind from the point of view of foreigners but not from a local authority point of view.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ebola Crisis in Sierra Leone: Irish Ambassador (25 Mar 2015)

Pat Breen: I will start the ball rolling. I want to refer in particular to the Médecins Sans Frontières report published yesterday which stated that many of the governments in the region ignored the early warning that was a serious epidemic in the region. That three months delay in responding, particularly in Guinea, caused many problems and caused the disease to spread particularly into...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ebola Crisis in Sierra Leone: Irish Ambassador (25 Mar 2015)

Pat Breen: If Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan does not mind, I will call Deputy Eric Byrne next as he has to leave shortly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ebola Crisis in Sierra Leone: Irish Ambassador (25 Mar 2015)

Pat Breen: Looking at the way politics works in any democratic country, is Dr. Walsh aware of any political fallout for the governments in Sierra Leone, Liberia or Guinea in relation to how their governments handled the Ebola crisis? Obviously it has also affected their economies.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ebola Crisis in Sierra Leone: Irish Ambassador (25 Mar 2015)

Pat Breen: I thank Dr. Walsh. We have had a most interesting conversation this morning. As Deputy Eric Byrne has said, we are very proud of the work that the ambassador and her team do, particularly in Sierra Leone and the surrounding areas. In her address she spoke about the huge challenges and risks. Obviously we are proud that we now have an embassy there and it is no longer just a programme...