Results 8,641-8,660 of 18,450 for speaker:Brendan Smith

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Ex-Prisoners and Conflict Transformation: Discussion with Community Foundation for Northern Ireland (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: I welcome the witnesses. I have a question or two for Ms Kilmurray in particular. The PEACE IV programme will soon come on-stream. The European Parliament has finalised its budget for the coming years in recent days. Reference was made to the lack of continuity for schemes depending on such programmes. Such funding will be critically important given the challenges facing governments in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Challenges in Urban Belfast: Discussion (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: I welcome the reverend gentlemen and thank them for their presentation, even though it presents a grim picture, as has been said by colleagues. The same message was given to us in east Belfast 12 months ago. Listening to Reverend Hamilton in particular, the situation seems to have deteriorated rather than improved in the meantime. He has mentioned that 75% of youth work is organised by the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Waiting Lists (21 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: 211. To ask the Minister for Health his proposals to provide an immediate improvement in the waiting times for outpatients on the orthopaedic list in the north east particularly Our Lady's Hospital, Navan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49893/13]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: US Immigration Reform: Discussion (20 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: Some years ago there used be biannual visits, between the foreign relations committee of the Congress and this committee and the Oireachtas in general. There were visits to the United States one year and they visited here another year. Is that arrangement gone by the wayside?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: US Immigration Reform: Discussion (20 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: It was a useful one. It was an annual visit.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: US Immigration Reform: Discussion (20 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: I support Deputy Durkan's suggestion. If we could get or encourage a visit by a member of Congress to us here, it would be useful.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: US Immigration Reform: Discussion (20 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: It is welcome that the delegation was engaged in an intense lobbying exercise with officials of the US Administration and Congress Members. We all want to see the matter progressed because not one week goes by without us receiving representations from families who wish to have the immigration status of a family member regularised. It is a difficult position to be in for many of those...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Situation in Syria and the Philippines: Discussion with UNICEF Ireland (20 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: I welcome Mr. Power and his colleagues. Like the Chairman, I, too, welcome the great clarity brought by Mr. Power to this humanitarian disaster. I was struck by much of what he had to say in his presentation in terms of the number of people affected and displaced and, in particular, the following sentence: "I saw the magnitude on families and children which will forever change their lives...

Other Questions: Ministerial Meetings (19 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. He stated there would be no change to our corporate taxation rate, which has been the policy of successive Governments and a necessary part of our economic and industrial policies. Is he not concerned that two senior figures in the SPD - namely, the party's budget spokesperson and general secretary - have described our corporation tax rate as too...

Other Questions: Ministerial Meetings (19 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: 89. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the action he has taken in response to the demand by Germany’s Social Democratic Party that Ireland raise its corporation tax rate; if he has raised this issue with his foreign affairs counterpart in Germany; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48973/13]

Other Questions: Ministerial Meetings (19 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: There has been considerable coverage of the decision by Germany's Social Democratic Party, SDP, to place Ireland's corporation tax rate and its opposition to an EU financial transaction tax on the agenda of discussions being held in Berlin on the formation of a new coalition government. Corporation tax is a national competence and cannot be decided at EU level. This competence was clearly...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Humanitarian Aid (19 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: While it is obvious and necessary that our focus should be on the immediate needs of the people, there is a longer term need for continued assistance. In one remote region, 90% of the people have lost their livelihood. They were in the fishing industry and all their boats were smashed. They are totally dependent on fishing for their income. Will the Tánaiste ensure that the needs of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Humanitarian Aid (19 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: 84. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has discussed with his counterparts in the EU Foreign Affairs Council and with the European Commission the need for the EU and the international community to respond with the utmost urgency to the current humanitarian crisis in the Philippines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49227/13]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Humanitarian Aid (19 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: The tropical cyclone 11 days ago was one of the strongest ever recorded. It is estimated that 13 million people or over 10% of the population of the Philippines were directly affected. I take the opportunity to compliment the Tánaiste and the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Joe Costello, on the rapid response of the Government in directing the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Humanitarian Aid (19 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. It is welcome that the matter was discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting; it should be on the agenda for forthcoming meetings for some time to come. The typhoon hit the Philippines one month after a major earthquake, measuring 7.2, which directly affected 350,000 people. This shows how disaster prone the country is, with two major...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (19 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: This is the first time in decades the Irish Government has not been involved in an important talks process. Does the Tánaiste agree this is a retrograde step? Crucial matters are under discussion and, I hope, due for resolution. The two Governments are co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement and the opportunities of the Agreement for the people of all of the island have yet to be...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (19 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: The Tánaiste knows that participating in the talks is different from having regular consultation and being involved as a participant around the table with all of the other parties. On the several occasions when substantial progress was made, for which I commend everyone involved, it was driven by two sovereign Governments working with the relevant parties. The Tánaiste used nuance...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (19 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: 81. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has made a formal submission to the panel of parties in the Northern Ireland Executive; if he will provide an update on any discussions he has had with Ambassador Richard Haass; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49226/13]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Northern Ireland Issues (19 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: I welcome the Haass-O'Sullivan talks process and earnestly hope for a successful conclusion. The issues under discussion are important for this entire island, as Ambassador Haass's remit includes issues surrounding parades, flags, emblems and the past. Mechanisms must be developed to resolve, once and for all, the ongoing disputes over these contentious issues. The period from December to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Military Aircraft Landings (19 Nov 2013)

Brendan Smith: 124. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has any concerns at the use of Shannon Airport by United States military aircraft; the reason an aircraft armed with a fixed weapon landed in Shannon Airport in September; his views on whether there is a need for inspections of US military aircraft as they pass through Shannon Airport; and if he will make a...