Results 981-1,000 of 3,040 for speaker:Colm Brophy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Horn of Africa: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (29 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: That commitment absolutely still stands and I fully support it. I fully acknowledge the way in which the NGOs have worked with us. They have welcomed the increases that are there. Fundamentally, I want to achieve that target. I want us to continue to work towards achieving that target. However, for me, it will always be about a real and meaningful increase in the money that is available...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad: Local Authorities (24 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: I thank the Senator for raising what I think is a very important issue. Obviously, I am replying on behalf of my colleagues, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Ministers of State, Deputies Peter Burke and Rabbitte, who all collectively launched a new joint national housing strategy for disabled people, as the Senator will be well aware, on 14 January 2022. In that strategy, they...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad: Local Authorities (24 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: I hear Senator McGreehan clearly. The points she makes are important. The Senator is absolutely right to raise the issue of the availability of such basic things for people with a disability and they should continue to be highlighted. I will certainly take back the Senator's remarks to the Minister. It is important that local authorities, in particular, are the lead in recognising how...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: I reiterate that we are only at the start. There is a mechanism there which we must ensure the success of. To repeat something important I said at COP, we have played an incredibly strong role. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, has played a strong role and the European Union has come to us in terms of what we can do. Implementation is key. When talking to the actors right across COP and outside...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: At COP27 I met representatives from developing countries who outlined the existential threats to their societies as a result of climate impacts. The key priorities for Ireland in international climate negotiations are finance for adaptation to climate change and financing to respond to loss and damage associated with climate impacts. On loss and damage, Ireland was engaged in advance of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disaster Response (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: The fight against hunger and malnutrition is a key priority of Ireland's international development programme. The numbers affected by hunger are rising globally, and the food security situation in the Horn of Africa is particularly acute, including in Somalia where experts are warning of an imminent risk, as the Deputy clearly outlined, of widespread famine. I saw for myself the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disaster Response (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: Part of our programme, both at the UN and everything on which we are focused, is to address that. I very much remember the then President's visit to Somalia. What I saw in the Horn of Africa first-hand is that there is one difference and it is something we need to be so conscious of more than anything else. In previous times, there was a failure of rains over a period of years and those...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disaster Response (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: There is, and that is why we put the supplementary amount of €30 million in place this year. That is why most of that will go into Somalia and will go into our partners who are on the ground in a position to immediately deliver on that. I thank the Deputy for acknowledging there is incredible work being done by Ms Samantha Power in USAID in terms of this. With ourselves, they are...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Disaster Response (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: I saw for myself the devastation in the Horn of Africa when I visited Kenya and South Sudan recently.  In response to the urgency of the situation, the Government has provided an additional €30 million in immediate humanitarian assistance for the region. This funding will bring Ireland’s total direct assistance to the region in 2022 to over €100 million. It builds on...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Disaster Response (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: In response to the rapidly deteriorating food security crisis in the Horn of Africa, the Government is providing an additional €30 million in immediate humanitarian assistance for the region. This funding will complement significant resources already provided to humanitarian and development partners active in the Horn, bringing Ireland’s total direct assistance to the region in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Disaster Response (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: The Horn of Africa is facing a rapidly deteriorating food security crisis.  A five-season drought is devastating vast areas of the region against a background of climate shocks and protracted conflict. More than 21 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity in southern Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Somalia. In August-September, I travelled to Kenya and South Sudan and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diaspora Issues (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: The Government's Diaspora Strategy, 2020-2025, sets out our vision for engaging with the Irish diaspora, including reaching the next generation. This ongoing commitment is reflected in my work as Minister for the Diaspora. In January, I will launch the 2023 Emigrant Support Programme, with engagement with the next generation a key objective. We will continue to apply a ‘Youth...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: I warmly welcome the agreement on a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities that was reached on 2 November by the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).  It  is a significant achievement for the country. After two years of conflict, the agreement marks an important step towards peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia and provides an opportunity to put an...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Disaster Response (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: Ireland's humanitarian funding has increased steadily in recent years, in response to rising needs worldwide. In 2021, we provided over €228 million in humanitarian assistance, representing 23% of Ireland's Official Development Assistance.  The figure for 2022 will be higher. Ireland provides life-saving humanitarian assistance for people suffering in crises driven by...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Climate Change Policy (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: Ireland provides significant support to countries that are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, many of which are in Africa.  Our climate finance is therefore focused on strengthening resilience in the face of climate impacts such as flooding and drought. The Department of  Foreign Affairs led on the development of Ireland’s International Climate...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: Ireland’s programme of Official Development Assistance (ODA) is a central element of our foreign policy, enabling us to respond to complex human needs and humanitarian crises across the world. The Government is committed to working towards the UN target of providing 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) in ODA.   For 2023, the Government is providing a total of over...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Disaster Response (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: The fight against hunger and malnutrition is a key priority of Ireland's international development progamme. The numbers affected by hunger are rising globally, and the food security situation in the Horn of Africa is particularly acute.  I saw the devastating impact for myself when I visited the region recently. In response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Horn of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Travel (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications led Ireland's delegation to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) 27 in Sharm El Sheikh. The Taoiseach, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and I also participated in discussions and events at different times during the Conference. A total of ten officials from the Department of Foreign...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: Globally, it is estimated that 828 million people were affected by hunger in 2021, an increase of 150 million on 2019. The food crisis has been accentuated by the COVID pandemic and, this year, by the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ireland has been a long-standing champion of the fight to reduce global hunger and malnutrition. At the UN Food Systems and the Nutrition...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: United Nations (22 Nov 2022)

Colm Brophy: The Great Green Wall is a Pan-African initiative to sustainably manage and restore land in the Sahel-Saharan region. This region includes more than twenty African countries. The aim of the Great Green Wall is to rehabilitate 8,000 km of fertile land by 2030. The intervention zone dedicated to the Great Green Wall covers land between Senegal and Djibouti and is home to 232 million people. ...