Results 1,441-1,460 of 1,981 for speaker:Conor Lenihan

Leaders' Questions. (10 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Deputy Joe Higgins is in grave ideological error.

Leaders' Questions. (10 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Perhaps there is a conspiracy against the Deputy.

Centenarian Bounty. (9 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: It will not apply to all the people that Deputy Ó Caoláin has on the register.

Written Answers — Departmental Committees: Departmental Committees (4 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: The members of the Department of Foreign Affairs' Audit Committee are: John G. O'Connor (Chairperson), John S. Pittock, John A. Jackson and Valerie Little. This independent exclusively external Audit Committee was established in November 2003. It has responsibility for both Votes of the Department. The Committee supports the Accounting Officer by reviewing and monitoring the risk management,...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (3 May 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 272 and 282 together. Securing access to safe water and sanitation in Africa is an important priority of Irish Aid, the Government's official programme of overseas development assistance. Ireland has responded promptly to the emergency needs of some eleven million people at risk from the ongoing drought in the Horn of Africa. In 2006 to date, €7 million in...

Seanad: Middle East Peace Process: Statements. (26 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: It has taken a long time for us in Ireland to verify that fully, but it has been verified. The sincerity of the people who began the process is not in question now. It was in question over a period of 12 years in this country. While it is clear from what the Minister, Deputy Ahern, said earlier, I want to provide some clarification on the following matter. I am the Minister of State with...

Seanad: Middle East Peace Process: Statements. (26 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I thank the Acting Chairman for his attention and thank those Senators who contributed to the debate before my arrival to conclude it on behalf of my senior colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern. Unfortunately, he could not be present to hear the debate's conclusion. However, many Members will have read and listened to his excellent contribution. In particular, I...

Seanad: Middle East Peace Process: Statements. (26 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: We have never tried to cut and run. It is unfortunate——

Seanad: Middle East Peace Process: Statements. (26 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: We have never been anything other than even-handed and proper in our position with regard to Palestine and to suggest that we are being improper now or at any stage is grossly incorrect. It is unfair to all parties of all political colours. I must be clear in this regard. If the Senator takes the time, when he gets the opportunity, to take the opinion of the Palestinian representative who is...

Seanad: Middle East Peace Process: Statements. (26 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I would not dream of putting words in his mouth. However, I know both the representative and the issues so well that I am confident that——

Seanad: Middle East Peace Process: Statements. (26 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Most fair-minded people would accept that there is broad cross-party support within this House and the Dáil for the policy established over the past 20 or 30 years. As it is not an item of dispute, perhaps rhetorical exuberance got the better of the Senator when he made that particular statement. However, it is simply not true and does not stand up to analysis. We do not in any way share the...

Seanad: Middle East Peace Process: Statements. (26 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: The Government did not talk to either Sinn Féin or the IRA until the violence had ended and a ceasefire had been declared. That was the major breakthrough about which people in Ireland forget, namely, that the IRA entered into a full ceasefire in August 1994 and that ceasefire was, broadly speaking——

Seanad: Middle East Peace Process: Statements. (26 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: ——observed.

Seanad: Middle East Peace Process: Statements. (26 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Moreover, it was crystal clear, from the Downing Street Declaration and the various declarations made by the IRA circa 1993 and 1994, that it was entertaining a route that involved a full scale involvement in politics and peaceful means, not allowing a quick or occasional resort to violence.

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (25 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: In the light of recent political developments in Ethiopia, including the loss of life and civil strife, a number of donors providing general or direct budget support to the Ethiopian Government undertook a review of this type of funding. In the light of this review, they specifically and significantly decided that they would not withdraw such assistance, estimated at €400 million, from...

Written Answers — Humanitarian Aid: Humanitarian Aid (25 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Kenya and its neighbouring countries in the Horn of Africa are in the grip of a severe drought that is directly affecting up to eleven million people across the region. The drought has already killed thousands of livestock, depriving people of their livelihoods and leaving many pastoral communities destitute. It is estimated that 5 million people in Kenya alone require food aid. Over 2.5...

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (25 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: These studies were commissioned when the Cotonou Agreement between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific, ACP, countries was being negotiated. Article 37 of that agreement expressly provides for the conclusion of Economic Partnership Agreements, EPAs, between the EU and ACP countries. While it is true that the impact assessment studies in question highlight a number of areas of...

Written Answers — Diplomatic Representation: Diplomatic Representation (25 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Lesotho has a special place in the history of Ireland's official development assistance. The Lesotho aid programme, established in 1975, was our first and for many years our largest development cooperation programme. The upgrading of the mission in Lesotho to full ambassadorial level reflects both the significance of our present aid programme in that country and also a decision in principle...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (25 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Ireland's aid programme is internationally recognised as being of the highest quality. It is centred on some of the least developed countries in the world and on reducing poverty among the poorest of the poor. Successive evaluations by the OECD have endorsed its design and implementation. Last year a survey by ActionAid concluded that aid from Ireland really reached and directly benefited its...

Written Answers — Humanitarian Aid: Humanitarian Aid (25 Apr 2006)

Conor Lenihan: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, and the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, are both key partners in Ireland's programme of assistance in Palestine. Ireland provides annual funding to both of these agencies and we liaise closely with them through Ireland's representative in Ramallah. In 2005, Ireland delivered over €4 million in development and...