Results 441-460 of 939 for speaker:Noel Treacy

Northern Ireland Issues. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: The position is clear. The Government has been absolutely even-handed in its dealings in this regard and in all activities in Northern Ireland. It wants inclusiveness, engagement and participation. It wants all those with political mandates to discharge them and to fulfil their obligations to those who elected them by participating in the various structures at every level, including the...

Northern Ireland Issues. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: The Government fully agrees with the assessment of the policing Oversight Commissioner that the policing reform in Northern Ireland has been remarkable. One would be hard pressed to find an equivalent process of root and branch reform of policing in any other democratic country in the world. In such a major undertaking, it is not surprising that a number of recommendations have yet to be...

Northern Ireland Issues. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: The remaining 61 recommendations are in varying degrees of implementation. As I noted earlier, the Oversight Commissioner will report on the outstanding issues in his next report, which is due shortly. The outstanding issues include representativeness, including the PSNI civilian support staff, training and policing college, community policing, the question of the primacy of national security...

Northern Ireland Issues. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: The Taoiseach, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and my other colleagues have made it clear, on behalf of the Government, that it wants the policing issue to be resolved in the context of a restored Executive later in the year. The Government will do everything in its power to advance this issue to the greatest possible extent, bearing in mind the complexities and sensitivities surrounding the...

Northern Ireland Issues. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: I believe that the Minister for Foreign Affairs has been taken out of context in this matter. He has been very consistent on behalf of the Government. He has been critically involved in the mainstream negotiations at the highest level of detail with all the different actors, personalities, parties and groups. At all times the Minister for Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Government wants to...

Northern Ireland Issues. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: There is no division within Government. There is a commonality of commitment in ensuring that all the Ministers discharge their obligations taking into account the different portfolios they have, the serious responsibilities they must discharge and the different responsibilities that are peculiar to those Ministries. Ultimately, there is a unity of purpose to ensure that not alone do we...

Northern Ireland Issues. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: I totally condemn the attack on that office, as any right-minded person or any leader of any type be it at community level or political level would. It is disastrous that these things happen. I am not aware of the programme and did not see it. I have no knowledge of that to which the Deputy has referred. I will do some research as a result of what he has said. I fully respect his point and in...

Human Rights Issues. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 62, 78 and 165 together. The Government is pleased at the recent positive turn of events in Nepal, with the restoration of parliament and of an accountable government, as well as a truce. The restored parliament has voted for Nepal to become a secular, as opposed to Hindu, state and it has also voted to curtail the powers of the king, including control over...

Human Rights Issues. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: We gave €200,000 for the establishment of the UNCHR office and over €400,000 each year to the different Irish aid agencies in Nepal. The Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, is constantly looking at the situation and we will review it with regard to communicating with these bodies. They have some good people doing a good job under difficult circumstances. In the intervening period,...

Middle East Peace Process. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 55 and 59 together. The Government shares the concerns expressed about the increasingly difficult circumstances facing the Palestinian people. We have been consistently active within the European Union and United Nations in promoting a lasting, peaceful and just settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This must be based on negotiations between the...

Middle East Peace Process. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: I do not understand where Deputy Allen is coming from. Ireland's position on this matter has been very even-handed, fair and open at Government level, ministerial level within the Council and official level through our ambassadors and official negotiators. We want to ensure that there is fairness and equity and that both sides recognise and have mutual respect for each other. Through our...

Middle East Peace Process. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: Ireland has acted as an honest broker at all levels, internationally within the UN and with our colleagues in the European Union. Ireland is recognised as one of the champions of this whole situation in trying to bring about fairness, equity and respect for everybody's position to achieve a two-state solution. We have fought trenchantly to ensure, at all levels, that the 1967 territorial...

Nuclear Disarmament Initiative. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: The 45 participating countries of the nuclear suppliers group, NSG, including Ireland, have agreed guidelines governing the export of items that are specially designed or prepared for nuclear use and for nuclear related dual-use items and technologies. Under these guidelines the export of such items to India is prohibited. The US-India agreement on civil nuclear co-operation was reached on 2...

Nuclear Disarmament Initiative. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: Alas, I never intended, nor would I ever attempt, to mislead this House. I will give the House the facts as they are. As this matter evolves there is still a long lead-in time before we reach——

Nuclear Disarmament Initiative. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: No, that is presumption. There is still a long lead-in time in this situation.

Nuclear Disarmament Initiative. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: I did not interrupt the Deputy. As I made clear, this is a complex matter which we are still analysing. Many aspects of it demand serious and rigorous analysis and not all the details of what precisely is involved are clear.

Nuclear Disarmament Initiative. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: This is the case, for example, with regard to the safeguards agreement that India has yet to negotiate with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Our final view will depend——

Nuclear Disarmament Initiative. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: ——on our assessment of the potential impact of the US-India agreement on the global non-proliferation regime and on the approach taken by like-minded countries. Deputy Michael D. Higgins is right. We are proud of our contribution to the genesis of the non-proliferation treaty which the late Deputy Frank Aiken, as Minister for Foreign Affairs, championed across the world. It was...

Nuclear Disarmament Initiative. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: The Nuclear Suppliers Group, NSG, normally takes decisions at the group's annual plenary meeting, the next of which will take place in Brazil next week.

Nuclear Disarmament Initiative. (24 May 2006)

Noel Treacy: We have been told next week. This matter was discussed twice within the NSG, in October and March — I understand there is an international meeting on the issue in London today — when delegations raised several questions and concerns. It is clear that in Brazil there will be another discussion of the US proposal to exempt India from the NSG guidelines. Our current sense is that delegations...