Results 741-760 of 2,547 for speaker:Colm Brophy

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (14 Oct 2021)

Colm Brophy: Continued and steady increases in ODA allocations year-on-year will enable the 2030 target to be achieved. Budget 2022 allocated the highest ever amount to ODA, over €1 billion, an increase of €140 million on the 2021 figure. However, in years of high GNI growth, large increases in cash allocations achieve only modest increases as a proportion of GNI. My Department is...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Aid (7 Oct 2021)

Colm Brophy: My Department has supported the UNESCO Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future (O3) programme over the period 2017-2020 to enable adolescents and young people in Sub-Saharan Africa realise positive health, education and gender equality outcomes. Funding was paused in 2021, due to COVID-19 related school closures which affected programme delivery. No decisions have been made in respect of future...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (30 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 26 and 76 together. The Government is committed to achieving the UN Official Development Assistance target of 0.7% of GNI by 2030, as set out in A Better World, Ireland's International Development policy, and re-iterated in the Programme for Government. It is important that we do so in a responsible way. Ireland's development programme has a strong global...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Agreements (30 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: The Great Green Wall is a Pan-African initiative to restore and sustainably manage land in the Sahel-Saharan region, covering more than 20 African countries. It aims to rehabilitate 8.2 million hectares of land per year by 2030. The intervention zone dedicated to the Great Green Wall spans a length of at least 7000km between Senegal and Djibouti and it is home to 232 million people. The...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Climate Change Policy (30 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: In fragile and vulnerable situations, climate change acts as a threat multiplier, with serious implications for peace and security. 80% of UN peacekeepers are deployed in countries that are the most exposed to climate change. Ireland is working to address these issues, in particular, through our membership of the UN Security Council.  On 23 September, the Taoiseach chaired a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Climate Change Negotiations (30 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: Ireland is committed to concerted global action to address the climate crisis. Ireland is actively engaged in negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate and the Paris Agreement through our participation in EU preparations for the 26th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) in Glasgow.  The Department of the Environment, Climate and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Covid-19 Pandemic (30 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: Since the beginning of the pandemic over €200 million in Irish Aid funding has been invested improving in global public health, including the response to COVID-19. This has helped multilateral partners such as the COVAX Facility and WHO to accelerate the equitable distribution of vaccines to Low and Middle Income Countries, as well as strengthening the health systems of partner...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (30 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: I remain deeply concerned by the human rights and humanitarian situation in Tigray, including the ongoing blockade of the region and attacks on humanitarian workers. As famine-like conditions are reported, there is an urgent need for full humanitarian access, a negotiated ceasefire, and the commencement of political dialogue to find a resolution to the conflict.   I am alarmed by...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Relations (30 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: As a member of the UN Security Council, and through our bilateral relations with Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, Ireland has been closely monitoring efforts to facilitate dialogue on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Ireland recognises that the GERD is of critical significance for the three countries. As a result, its construction and filling has been the cause of escalating tension...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (30 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: In response to the emerging famine in southern Madagascar, the consequence of three consecutive years of drought compounded by Covid-19, in July I approved a grant of €0.5m in Irish Aid funding to the World Food Programme's activities in Madagascar. This enables WFP to provide life-saving food rations and nutritional support to the most vulnerable and is in addition to the annual core...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (30 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: The most recent UN’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report shows that nearly one-tenth of the world’s population, or over 800 million people, are undernourished., and that this number is increasing.  Across 55 countries, over 75 million children under five are stunted (too short for their ages) and over 15 million wasted (too thin for their...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (30 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: Ireland strongly condemns the continued violence perpetrated by Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab. Ireland supports the EU, UN and other international efforts to reduce the influence of Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab, and to prevent their attacks, especially against civilians and humanitarian workers and facilities. Ireland continues to monitor the activities of these groups and to assist populations...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (30 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: The Government is committed to achieving the UN Official Development Assistance target of 0.7% of GNI by 2030, as set out in A Better World, Ireland's International Development policy, and re-iterated in the Programme for Government.  Ireland's ODA allocation has increased in real terms for the last seven consecutive years. The budgeted ODA allocation for 2021 was €868...

Afghanistan Crisis: Statements (29 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: I am thankful for the opportunity to have this important debate on the extremely worrying situation in Afghanistan. The current crisis comes against a background of 40 years of conflict, recurrent natural disasters, chronic poverty, drought and the Covid-19 pandemic. The people of Afghanistan have borne many hardships and are now experiencing new suffering, with the most vulnerable,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Equality Issues (28 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 411 and 413 together. I remain deeply concerned by the human rights and humanitarian situation in Tigray, including the ongoing blockade of the region and attacks on humanitarian workers. As famine-like conditions are reported, there is an urgent need for full humanitarian access, a negotiated ceasefire, and the commencement of political dialogue to find a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: I am deeply concerned by the imprisonment of Christians in Eritrea on the basis of their religious belief. The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (more commonly referred to as freedom of religion and belief) is regarded as a fundamental freedom, provided for under Article 18 of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (22 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: I am deeply concerned by the ongoing violence in Nigeria. Conflict poses a serious challenge to the country’s stability, and impacts on the wider region. The particular acts of violence referred to are between nomadic herders and settled farmers. While in Nigeria the vast majority of herders are Muslim and many of the farmers are Christian, conflict arises from differences of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Election Monitoring Missions (22 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: I refer the Deputy to Parliamentary Questions No. 304, 305 and 311 of 26 May 2021, Parliamentary Questions No. 303 and 310 of 26 May 2021 and Parliamentary Question No. 777 of 24 March 2021 on international election observation. The Department of Foreign Affairs facilitates an Election Observation Roster of suitably skilled and vetted volunteers who are available to participate at short...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (21 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: I represented Ireland at the 13 September High Level Meeting on Afghanistan called by the UN Secretary General. The purpose of that meeting was to raise awareness and support for the deteriorating humanitarian situation there. I set out Ireland’s response to date and our intention to continue to support evolving needs, noting that Ireland has so far this year provided €2...

Confidence in Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence: Motion (15 Sep 2021)

Colm Brophy: It would be easy to give a litany of what Sinn Féin Members actually do, what their real intentions and practices are compared to the petty stunts they pull when sitting in this House. I do not want to do that tonight. I want to talk about a colleague-----