Results 10,641-10,660 of 11,433 for speaker:Michael Kitt

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (11 Dec 2007)

Michael Kitt: The negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the European Union and the African Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP) have reached a critical stage. The mandate for the negotiations of Economic Partnership Agreements comes from the legally-binding Cotonou Agreement, the central objective of which is "reducing and eventually eradicating poverty, consistent with the...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (6 Dec 2007)

Michael Kitt: To date in 2007, Irish Aid has provided in excess of €16 million in overseas aid to Sudan. A further €0.5 million has been approved in funding to support the Darfur peace talks and Ireland has made a contribution of €2 million in support of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). Our overseas aid funding is provided to a range of United Nations (UN) and Non-Governmental...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (5 Dec 2007)

Michael Kitt: Under the overseas aid programme operated by my Department a wide range of organisations receive funding. The following table indicates the amount of funding provided to the agencies referred to by the Deputy. Agency 2005 2006 2007 € € € Action Aid Ireland 936,000 1,107,486 1,526,553 Afri 30,000 93,000 113,254 Aidlink 704,043 853,184 894,440 Amnesty International — Irish...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Training: Defence Forces Training (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: All members of the Rapid Response Corps are obliged before deployment to participate in an intensive training programme. Two training programmes were held during 2007. The training, which was designed especially for the Rapid Response Corps, is delivered in two parts over 6 days by the Kimmage Development Studies Centre (D-TALK) in Dublin and by the Defence Forces UN School (UNTSI) at the...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: The White Paper published in September last year sets out the key principles and priorities for the Irish Aid programme as it expands to meet the target of 0.7% of our gross national product allocated to overseas development assistance by 2012. The core objective of the Irish Aid programme is to tackle global poverty and exclusion. For this reason, the White Paper reaffirms that Africa will...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: The high quality of Ireland's aid programme is recognised internationally. In ensuring that Irish assistance is of the highest quality, Irish Aid recognises the importance of research in order to ensure that decisions are informed by a strong evidence base. In the coming year, Irish Aid will continue to invest in practical research, through a variety of partnerships and networks in a range of...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: Under the Government's decentralisation programme, the Development Cooperation Directorate of the Department of Foreign Affairs will decentralise to Limerick. In May 2007 an advance party comprising over 50 staff moved to Limerick. There are three categories of Specialists employed by Irish Aid: Principal Development Specialists, Senior Development Specialists, and Development Specialists....

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: The White Paper on Irish Aid underlines that culture can contribute to public awareness and understanding of complex development issues and plays an important role in building stronger public appreciation for the diversity of the partner countries and societies within which Irish Aid works. Irish Aid strategies for improving the lives of people in developing countries are devised and...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: Cyclone Sidr, with wind speeds of up to 240 kilometres per hour, hit Bangladesh on the evening of 15 November. The storm caused extensive damage to the southern districts of the country. More than 4 million people in 28 southern districts are now known to have been directly affected by the cyclone. As of 20 November, the Government of Bangladesh had reported a death toll of 3,447 people,...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: As indicated in my earlier reply referred to by the Deputy, progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals has been mixed. There has been good progress on reaching some targets, with more intensive effort required on others. On the positive side, if current trends continue we are on target to reach the MDG on the poverty reduction target for the world as a whole. Extreme poverty...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: I would like to assure the Deputy that it is of particular importance to me that Ireland's overseas aid to African countries is used for the benefit of the poor. The overall objective of Ireland's overseas development assistance is to help the poorest and most vulnerable people in developing countries, particularly in Africa. There is a wide range of measures in place to ensure that Irish...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: Irish Aid has provided significant support in recent years to the Irish Congress of Trade Union's global solidarity project under our Development Education Funding Scheme. Grants totalling €230,000 were awarded to ICTU for the 2005-2007 phase of the project and a total of €84,764 was awarded in 2003-2004. This funding reflects our support for the aims of the programme. These include...

Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: Audits of Missions are carried out as part of a Departmental three-year rolling audit work plan and associated annual operational plans. The work plan consists of two streams — one focusing on Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs), the other on Vote 29 (International Cooperation). The work programme seeks to ensure that sufficient coverage is obtained to provide the Secretary General of the Department,...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: The humanitarian situation in Darfur remains extremely fragile, characterised by ongoing armed clashes, continuous new population displacements, increased violence inside the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps and seriously constrained humanitarian access to an ever growing number of conflict affected people. In October, armed clashes in Muhajiriya (South Darfur) and Um Dukhum (West...

Written Answers — Humanitarian Assistance: Humanitarian Assistance (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: I was shocked by the severity of the floods experienced in the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas in the aftermath of Hurricane Noel. These were the worst floods suffered in the southern Mexico region for 50 years. As much as 80% of the state of Tabasco was under water, while it is estimated that as many as 900,000 people were made homeless. The response by the international community to...

Written Answers — Foreign Conflicts: Foreign Conflicts (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: My colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dermot Ahern T.D., has recently returned from a visit to Chad. While there, he was able to observe at first hand the humanitarian situation in the country, and the tremendous difficulties involved in providing essential relief to those in need across the vast expanse of Eastern Chad. During his visit, Minster Ahern pledged an additional €2...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: In recent years, the international community has redoubled its efforts to address the serious challenges facing the continent of Africa. The adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 marked a watershed in uniting the international community around a single set of development objectives. Agreed targets include halving extreme poverty and providing...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: The overriding objective of Ireland's overseas aid programme is to help the poorest and most vulnerable people in developing countries through assisting in bringing about positive and lasting change in their lives. Across the development programme, strategies are devised in close consultation with national governments and other stakeholders to ensure that the support provided complements...

Order of Business (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: Deputy Kenny knows his history.

Millennium Development Goals. (27 Nov 2007)

Michael Kitt: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has assigned the task of monitoring implementation of the millennium development goals, MDGs, to the United Nations Development Programme. This programme compiles information against each of the MDG targets in collaboration with national governments, regional groupings and experts, other UN partners, the World Bank, the IMF and the OECD. The...