Results 1,201-1,220 of 2,771 for speaker:Colm Brophy

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (15 Dec 2020)

Colm Brophy: I am aware of the case raised by the Deputy. The person whose details are supplied is a child who was sentenced to ten years in prison by a Sharia Court in the State of Kano, northern Nigeria, following a conviction for blasphemy handed down on 10 August. Following the sentencing, on 16 September UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, called on the Nigerian Government and the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (10 Dec 2020)

Colm Brophy: I remain deeply concerned by the ongoing armed conflict between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the regional authorities in Tigray, including reports of atrocities and targeting of ethnic groups. There are credible allegations of mass casualties and of human rights abuses, although the ongoing communications blackout has made it very difficult to verify information.  ...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Northern Ireland (9 Dec 2020)

Colm Brophy: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Lost Lives, which chronicles all the 3,700 people who were killed in the conflict, is a truly invaluable resource. In documenting each name, life and family, it is a work of both extraordinary scholarship and great empathy and inspires that empathy in all those who read it. Although those lives were tragically cut short, they will always be...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Northern Ireland (9 Dec 2020)

Colm Brophy: Again, I thank the Deputy for his comments in response.It is important to acknowledge the key point that it is not a controversial book. Lost Livesserves as a powerful reminder that we must continue to work towards deeper reconciliation and that all we do is to heal the wounds we can. That is obviously done through the process of acknowledgement of the most painful parts of our history and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (9 Dec 2020)

Colm Brophy: The organisation in question was awarded a one-year grant of €250,000 under the 2018 Civil Society Fund for their project to improve access to early childcare and education and protection in Ethiopia. As far as my Department is aware, the organisation was not under statutory investigation at the time of the grant award. The Charities Regulatory Authority appointed investigators to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Aid (9 Dec 2020)

Colm Brophy: Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) partners of the Department of Foreign Affairs, funded through 'Irish Aid', the Government's official development cooperation programme are expected to comply with the Charities Regulatory Authority Governance Code and guidance.  They are also expected to promote best practice in the delivery of aid and in this regard must also be signatories to, and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (3 Dec 2020)

Colm Brophy: Ireland is strongly committed to the promotion and protection of human rights, including the right to peaceful demonstration. The #EndSARS protests in Nigeria, which took place in a number of cities including Abuja and Lagos, were in reaction to allegations of excessive use of force and other abuses committed by a unit of the Nigerian police, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (1 Dec 2020)

Colm Brophy: Ireland is strongly committed to promotion and protection of human rights, including the right to peaceful demonstration. The #EndSARS protests in Nigeria, which took place in a number of cities including Abuja and Lagos, were in reaction to allegations of excessive use of force and other abuses committed by a unit of the Nigerian police, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Brophy: Ireland has consistently called for a cessation of hostilities and we welcome the agreement reached by Armenia and Azerbaijan to end the military conflict in and around Nagorno Karabakh. We remain deeply concerned for the humanitarian situation in the region, where hostilities have had a devastating impact on local civilian populations. Ensuring access for humanitarian organisations must be a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Brophy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 25 together. I am deeply concerned by the recent outbreak of armed conflict between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the regional authorities in Tigray and by reports of atrocities and targeting of ethnic groups. There are credible allegations of mass casualties, including civilian casualties, and of human rights abuses. There is a grave risk...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Emigrant Support Services (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Brophy: The Emigrant Support Programme (ESP) provides funding to non-profit organisations and projects to support our most vulnerable emigrants overseas, to strengthen Irish communities abroad and to facilitate the development of closer and more strategic links between Ireland and the global Irish. The budget allocation for the programme in 2020 is €12.595 million and is a demonstration of the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Brophy: South Sudan continues to endure an ongoing crisis, in large part the consequence of civil war. Since the outbreak of conflict in 2013, almost 400,000 people have died and more than 7.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance out of an estimated population of 12 million. This has been compounded by the impact of flooding and COVID-19. In 2018, President Salva Kiir signed a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Brophy: All countries have been affected by COVID-19, with low-income countries particularly impacted by the need to deal with multiple challenges simultaneously. Ireland, in responding to the global impact of the pandemic, has prioritised use of the international development programme to reduce the incidence of the virus and mitigate its secondary impacts. This is line with Ireland’s...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Brophy: The conflict which began in 2015 is the principal cause of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, impacting on its capacity to address other serious problems such as flooding, cholera and COVID 19. Along with the UN and the EU, Ireland believes that the only way to bring about a long-term sustainable improvement in Yemen is through a negotiated end to the conflict. The UN’s repeated recent...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Brophy: Development co-operation needs to be people-centric and respond to national priorities. Promoting national ownership is one of the key principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Ownership is the best strategy to guarantee that development investments succeed, and has the best opportunity of reaching the furthest behind first. Ireland’s eleven Embassies in Sub...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Election Monitoring Missions (26 Nov 2020)

Colm Brophy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 255 and 256 together. I refer the Deputy to the response to Parliamentary Question No. 113 of 11 November, as well as in the Information Note on the Overseas Election Observation Roster prepared for the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade (JCFATD), where these issues have been comprehensively addressed and which is attached to this response, and,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Presidential Elections (25 Nov 2020)

Colm Brophy: The Government is committed to holding a referendum on extending the franchise at Presidential elections to Irish citizens living outside the State. We have restored the Thirty-Ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Presidential Elections) Bill to the Dáil Order Paper. The date for the holding of the referendum will be decided once the legislation has been approved by the Oireachtas.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (25 Nov 2020)

Colm Brophy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 91 to 93, inclusive, together. I am deeply concerned by the recent outbreak of armed conflict between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the regional authorities in Tigray and by reports of atrocities and targeting of ethnic groups. There are credible allegations of mass casualties, including civilian casualties, and of human rights abuses. There is a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Presidential Elections (24 Nov 2020)

Colm Brophy: I thank the Senator for raising this matter. It gives me the opportunity to outline to the House the position in relation to the commitment in the programme for Government to hold a referendum on extending presidential voting rights to Irish citizens resident outside the State. I appreciate that in his contribution, the Senator mentioned some of the main timeline points, to which I also...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Presidential Elections (24 Nov 2020)

Colm Brophy: We are very serious about our programme for Government commitment. As the Minister of State with responsibility for the diaspora, I am very much committed to this. In recent days I launched our new diaspora strategy, a centrepiece of which is this extension of the franchise to Irish citizens. Since I became Minister of State, I have worked extensively on this area to ensure it remains a...