Results 10,681-10,700 of 11,433 for speaker:Michael Kitt

Passports Bill 2007: Second Stage (18 Oct 2007)

Michael Kitt: Next Tuesday, subject to agreement with the Whips.

Passports Bill 2007: Second Stage (18 Oct 2007)

Michael Kitt: I thank all the Deputies who contributed to the debate on the Passports Bill. Like many Members, this is an important Bill. The tone and content of the debate was constructive. There is a great deal of consensus in this area. We all share a desire to ensure that our citizens obtain the highest level of service and security. It has been remarked to me that the Bill is very accessible. In...

Passports Bill 2007: Second Stage (18 Oct 2007)

Michael Kitt: Deputy Timmins raised the issue of the biometric passport.

Passports Bill 2007: Order for Second Stage (18 Oct 2007)

Michael Kitt: I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

Passports Bill 2007: Second Stage (18 Oct 2007)

Michael Kitt: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." The purpose of the Passports Bill is to provide a comprehensive legislative basis for the regulation and issuance of passports. Over recent years, we have seen a rapid growth in international travel and a corresponding increase in demand for passports. More than 630,000 Irish passports were issued last year, compared with 468,000 in 2003...

Seanad: Burma: Motion (11 Oct 2007)

Michael Kitt: I thank the Chair for his kind words and am glad to address this important issue in the House. I welcome this all-party motion on Burma and the further opportunity to set out the Government's views, which I know are widely shared across both Houses of the Oireachtas and throughout the country. Although a semblance of calm has returned to cities and towns in Burma and the military regime...

Charities Bill 2007: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Oct 2007)

Michael Kitt: He is a good Galway man.

Foreign Conflicts. (2 Oct 2007)

Michael Kitt: I thank Deputies Higgins and Costello for raising this issue. On behalf of the Government, I welcome this opportunity to comment on the recent events in Burma. The Government remains gravely concerned at the appalling situation in Burma. The people of Burma have made clear their demands for democracy, national reconciliation and an end to military dictatorship and the Irish Government and...

Foreign Conflicts. (2 Oct 2007)

Michael Kitt: The Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, in his address today to the UN General Assembly in New York, will again highlight our concerns. He is taking every opportunity while at the General Assembly and in Washington to discuss the situation in Burma with the UN Secretary General, the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and other leaders. The situation in Burma is truly deplorable, but we...

Foreign Conflicts. (2 Oct 2007)

Michael Kitt: I will return to that point. We will continue to demand that the Burmese military regime desists from further violence against its own people, releases all recent and longer-term detainees, including Aung San Suu Kyi, initiates inclusive dialogue with the democratic opposition and ethnic minorities, prioritises national reconciliation, and co-operates in full with the UN and the demands of...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (3 Jul 2007)

Michael Kitt: I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 99 together. Under the Government's decentralisation programme, the Development Cooperation Directorate of the Department of Foreign Affairs, which is Irish Aid's Headquarters, will decentralise to Limerick. This is scheduled to take place in early 2008 on completion of the premises. It will involve the relocation to Limerick of 124 posts. Good...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (3 Jul 2007)

Michael Kitt: I propose to take Questions Nos. 105, 162, 163 and 277 together. Under the Government's decentralisation programme, the Development Cooperation Directorate of the Department of Foreign Affairs, which is Irish Aid's Headquarters, will decentralise to Limerick. This is scheduled to take place early in 2008 on completion of the premises which are currently under construction. It will involve...

Written Answers — Rapid Response Initiative: Rapid Response Initiative (3 Jul 2007)

Michael Kitt: A recruitment campaign was launched across the national media seeking applications to join the Rapid Response Corps in early February 2007. This first recruitment round was completed on 21 June. I am very pleased with the response received and, more particularly, the depth, breadth and range of experience of the individuals who applied, as well as their willingness and enthusiasm to be...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (3 Jul 2007)

Michael Kitt: I propose to take Questions Nos. 131 and 171 together. The humanitarian situation in Iraq has continued to deteriorate with up to 2 million internally-displaced persons within Iraq and some 2 million seeking refuge outside the country, mostly in Syria and Jordan. Provision of basic services and people's access to services are being severely affected by the current conflict. Access to water...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (3 Jul 2007)

Michael Kitt: My Department is deeply conscious of the need to raise awareness and increase understanding among the public of the Irish Aid programme. The need has become more apparent in recent years, in light of the Government's commitment to reach the United Nations target of 0.7% of Gross National Product for overseas development assistance by 2012. One of the key recommendations of the White Paper on...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (3 Jul 2007)

Michael Kitt: I propose to take Questions Nos. 153 and 173 together. The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, announced at the UN Millennium Review Summit in New York on 14 September 2005 that the Government will reach the target of spending 0.7% of GNP on Official Development Assistance by 2012. We have agreed a number of steps along the way to achieving the target. Firstly, we have an interim target of 0.5% of GNP...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (3 Jul 2007)

Michael Kitt: The recent storms in Pakistan and India have severely affected some of the most vulnerable communities in the region. It is estimated that hundreds of people may have been killed and thousands have lost their homes as well as their livelihoods. The worst-affected areas have been in and around Karachi. The Pakistani Red Crescent Society has been active in its response and is providing support...

Written Answers — Debt Relief: Debt Relief (3 Jul 2007)

Michael Kitt: Increasing efforts are being made to tackle the problem of debt owed by developing countries to the International Financial Institutions, in particular the World Bank, African Development Bank and IMF. The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative was introduced in 1996 and strengthened and enhanced in 1999. It sought the reduction of the debt burden of qualifying countries to...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (3 Jul 2007)

Michael Kitt: The situation in the ecologically and politically fragile region of the Horn of Africa is a high priority for Ireland, the EU and the United Nations. The problems faced by the countries of the region include the ongoing conflicts in Darfur and Somalia; a prolonged stalemate in the Ethiopia-Eritrea peace process; and the need to rebuild southern Sudan following decades of civil war. At a...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (3 Jul 2007)

Michael Kitt: HIV/AIDS continues to be the single biggest obstacle to reducing poverty and to attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Current statistics from the United Nations Joint Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) indicate that, in 2006, almost 40 million people were living with the HIV virus. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the worst-affected region in the world and is now home to over 25...