Results 1,321-1,340 of 1,981 for speaker:Conor Lenihan

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (8 Jun 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Ireland provides development support to some of the poorest countries in the world, a number of which are ranked as having a high level of corruption. Corruption affects the poorest in society, and working in countries with corruption and weak governance generates a higher risk for donors, including Ireland. We are committed to addressing corruption through improving transparency and...

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (7 Jun 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I am aware of the very worthwhile development activities carried out by Habitat for Humanity throughout the world. Last year, Irish Aid supported Habitat for Humanity volunteer-related projects in Honduras and Zambia. No request for support has been received, to date, for a Habitat for Humanity project in Nicaragua. Irish Aid has recently initiated a number of programmes to facilitate and...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (7 Jun 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I am very much aware and appreciative of the development work carried out by Irish missionaries in some of the poorest countries in the world. In this context, Irish Aid provides significant funding annually to the Irish Missionary Resource Service (IMRS), which in turn administers project and personnel funding schemes for Catholic missionaries worldwide. This ensures that development...

Written Answers — Humanitarian Relief: Humanitarian Relief (7 Jun 2006)

Conor Lenihan: An earthquake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, struck one of Indonesia's largest cities, Yogyakarta, on the island of Java in the early morning of Saturday, 27 May 2006. Casualty figures are estimated to be in excess of 6,000 deaths, with over 20,000 injured and 200,000 left homeless. Immediate needs have been identified for emergency shelter materials, medical assistance, clean water,...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (30 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I am aware of the vital role played by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Thailand in meeting the humanitarian relief needs of Burmese refugees. Trócaire is one of five recipients of multi-annual funding from Irish Aid. Under this Multi-Annual Programme Scheme (MAPS), Trócaire supports the work of the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), which provides essential services to the...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 64, 134 and 146 together. There are 3 categories of Specialists employed by Irish Aid: Principal Development Specialists, Senior Development Specialists, and Development Specialists. Three Principal Development Specialists serve in Irish Aid headquarters in Dublin. None of the three has applied to decentralise to Limerick. There are twelve Senior Development...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Ireland attaches the highest importance to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were adopted by the United Nations in 2000. We have incorporated them as the overarching framework of the Irish Aid programme. The Goals, which include halving the proportion of people in extreme poverty and reducing child mortality by two-thirds by the year 2015, correspond to our focus on reducing...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Ireland's total aid to Ethiopia in 2006 is expected to amount to approximately €35 million. Of this total, it is anticipated that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in Ethiopia, including Concern, GOAL, Self Help Development International, Trócaire and others will receive financial support of approximately €7 million. The remainder will be delivered through the Irish Aid...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: The current drought in the drylands of East Africa is affecting Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Tanzania. In Kenya, the Government has declared a state of emergency. Countless livestock have died as a result of severe drought in most of north eastern Kenya and other sections of the country. Further south towards the Tanzanian border, the Masaai herdsmen have lost most, if not all, of...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 80, 225 and 231 together. Africa's enormous needs are due to a complex combination of factors including food insecurity, poverty, environmental degradation, weak policies, unequal trading relationships, conflict, severe infrastructural deficits, poor governance, debt and the effects of HIV/AIDS. In response to such needs in Africa and elsewhere, the United...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 83 and 166 together. Years of poor rainfall in the countries of the Horn of Africa combined with weak infrastructure, under-development, asset erosion, population growth and widespread dependence on pastoralism have had a cumulative and devastating impact on the people of this region. With highly weakened coping mechanisms, some 15 million people have faced...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 85, 156 and 161 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...

Written Answers — Democratisation Process: Democratisation Process (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Presidential and parliamentary elections will take place in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on 30 July next. They will be the first multi-party elections in the country since it gained independence in 1960. Successfully conducted elections are critical to the consolidation of peace and security in the DRC and in the Great Lakes region as a whole. Aware of the strategic significance of...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: The core objective of Ireland's assistance to Palestine has been to alleviate the material consequences of the ongoing conflict by enhancing the capacity of Ireland's partners in Palestine to respond to the crisis and to begin, where possible, to meet the future development needs of the Palestinian people. In 2005, Ireland delivered in excess of €4 million in humanitarian and development...

Written Answers — Corruption Levels: Corruption Levels (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I am aware of the concerns of the person referred to by the Deputy, particularly in relation to Ethiopia and Uganda. No Irish Aid funding goes directly to the Government of Ethiopia via direct or general budget support. International donors who previously provided funds for direct budget support in Ethiopia are redirecting those funds to a new multi-donor trust fund monitored by the UN....

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: 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 2005 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 million...

Written Answers — Overseas Recruitment: Overseas Recruitment (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Many developing countries, especially in Africa, are experiencing an acute shortage of health workers. They have insufficient health workers to provide even the most basic services to their citizens. There is clear evidence today that a low density of health workers results in poor health outcomes. Without a strong health workforce, advances in health care cannot reach and benefit the people...

Written Answers — Rapid Response Initiative: Rapid Response Initiative (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: The Rapid Response Initiative is designed to strengthen Ireland's operational response to humanitarian crises. In the context of the overwhelming public response to the Tsunami of December 2004, I believe that Ireland can and should do more to help in responding operationally to sudden-onset emergencies. The Rapid Response Initiative will have three main components: the pre-positioning and...

Written Answers — Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol fall under the remit of my colleague Dick Roche T.D., Minister for the Environment and Local Government. However, I am happy to make a statement on the issue from the perspective of our development co-operation programme and the potential impact of climate change on developing countries. I believe that...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (24 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: The humanitarian situation in eastern Chad, where 350,000 people are dependent on the assistance of aid agencies, is a source of ongoing concern. Approximately 200,000 refugees from the Darfur region of Sudan, which borders Chad, are living in eastern Chad since 2003. Host communities in this region are themselves highly vulnerable to humanitarian crisis. The refugee population is also...