Results 581-600 of 881 for speaker:Peter Power

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: This is the advice available to me and I give it to the Senator in good faith.

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: The Senator and I have different approaches. He is adopting a principled stand to the issue and, in principle, it is difficult to argue against the adoption of the highest standards in the world, but it is very difficult to argue for it when, a few short months ago at an international diplomatic conference held in this city, we agreed to adopt a consistent approach with dozens of other...

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: Just about. Without discussing interoperability, the real issue is the operation of the convention on the ground. Were we to accept the amendments, that operation would be difficult at best, impossible at worst, and would prevent Ireland from participating in operations.

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: I again make the point that if one is coming from the perspective that all weapons are immoral and should be banned or outlawed, not just here but in every other country, it would be impossible to argue with one's logic. Senator Norris encapsulated the matter when he stated that this is a partial rather than a full ban. What all three Senators asked was why we should not simply impose a...

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: That is why it comes down to defining what does or does not constitute a cluster bomb. I thank Senator Norris for tabling the amendment. However, I must state that the definition of what constitutes a cluster munition was one of the most difficult issues to be resolved during the negotiations that took place in Croke Park. The guiding principle behind those negotiations was to reach...

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: That is what it is.

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: Yes.

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: Yes.

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: I am sorry to interrupt Senator Norris, but I was stating that he made the point that it was a partial ban.

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: I said that I had to respectfully disagree with it.

Seanad: Human Rights Issues (25 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: I thank Senator Norris for raising this disturbing case on the Adjournment. I share his horror about the horrific effects of lead poisoning, especially on children, which I witnessed. As the Senator may be aware, the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities in the former Yugoslavia had a total population of approximately 8,000. Following the outbreak of conflict in the early 1990s, the Roma...

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Second Stage (25 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: I thank all Senators who welcomed me to the House. I join Senators Burke, Ormonde and others in sending our compliments and praise to all those involved in the production of this international agreement, in particular officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs who were involved in the drafting, redrafting and detailed negotiation of this international agreement, which is a victory for...

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Second Stage (25 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: The Government takes the view that we cannot renegotiate the conventions after negotiations have been concluded. Senator Hannigan made the point that in the coming months all 107 countries will be engaged in the same process as we are engaged in here and will introduce the convention's provisions into their domestic law in a uniform way. We chaired these negotiations and have an obligation...

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Second Stage (25 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: That would certainly be the intention. The people may have different views on the definitions reached. However, those definitions have been reached by consensus as I indicated before Senator Norris came in. That was the product of much negotiation and the use of great diplomatic skills by our officials. That is what we need to deal with and that is why we are implementing it in this way.

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Second Stage (25 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: Agreement on definitions in both cases was very difficult to secure. If individual countries then go back home and legislate for different types of weapon systems, it inevitably raises the question of why we sought international agreement in the first place. Different countries implementing different standards in their domestic laws will frustrate the implementation of the international...

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Second Stage (25 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: It would be extremely harmful to efforts to assemble international peacekeeping forces under UN mandate. It would certainly affect the participation of Ireland's Defence Forces in such operations.

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Second Stage (25 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: These are the practical effects of such amendments.

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Second Stage (25 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: We will certainly deal with those amendments and will be able to deal with them in greater detail. We welcome amendments on Committee Stage. I take this opportunity to reject the idea that the Convention on Cluster Munitions contains loopholes, as some would seem to suggest. The definition of a cluster munition agreed in the negotiations is a comprehensive one that meets the objective set...

Seanad: Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Bill 2008: Second Stage (25 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: These exclusions are replicated in the Bill before us. The definition in the convention, which is the definition in the Bill, enables us effectively to prohibit all cluster munitions that have ever been used in armed conflict. I draw the attention of the House to a statement made earlier this month in Geneva by Dr. Philip Spoerri, director for international law and co-operation within the...

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (18 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: I look forward to representing the Government at the Doha International Conference on Financing for Development, which takes place from 29 November to 2 December 2008. The Conference will review the implementation of commitments made at the UN Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey in 2002. Under the Monterrey Consensus, developing countries agreed to introduce sound economic...