Results 1,481-1,500 of 1,981 for speaker:Conor Lenihan

Seanad: Diplomatic Relations and Immunities (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Conor Lenihan: They are acting in a diplomatic manner or fashion where they represent their country.

Seanad: Diplomatic Relations and Immunities (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I thank Senators, particularly Senator Lydon, for their worthy contributions. I would welcome a submission on the Order of Malta, one of the organisations which acquired privileges and immunity under the diplomatic regime in place hundreds of years ago. Later, however, it was deemed necessary to discontinue the organisation's immunity, not because it did anything bad — it does fantastic...

Seanad: Diplomatic Relations and Immunities (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I do not think that is possible. The convention confers the immunities, so they are absolute privileges. Obviously, however, one depends on the goodwill of states and sponsoring governments to ensure missions act in an appropriate manner. It is not a charter for abuse. I agree with Senator McDowell on the heads of missions of our overseas aid offices in Africa. The matter came to my attention...

Seanad: Diplomatic Relations and Immunities (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Conor Lenihan: If the Cathaoirleach will bear with me, there are only four female ambassadors in the Department, of whom Ms Margaret Hennessy in Greece is the most recently appointed. Ms Paula Slattery, who works on UN and multilateral issues, was formerly ambassador to Argentina. The Department has a good record with regard to the promotion of women. Ms Patricia O'Brien is the Department's third female...

Seanad: Diplomatic Relations and Immunities (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I wanted to mention names because they are few in number.

Seanad: Diplomatic Relations and Immunities (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I wish to stress that they are able people who operate at the highest levels in the Department's headquarters and overseas. I acknowledge Senator Mooney's good wishes for the Secretary General, who is from the Senator's county. Senators Bradford and Mooney expressed their concern that diplomatic relations with Burma could confer legitimacy on that country. Quite the opposite obtains, however,...

Seanad: Diplomatic Relations and Immunities (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (22 Mar 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I welcome the opportunity to bring this Bill before the House. As the Bill will amend a previous Act of the Oireachtas which has been amended once before and is of a technical nature, I will first provide the House with a brief description of the current law on international immunities. I will then explain the reason which gives rise to the Bill and set out its provisions. In 1967 Ireland...

Written Answers — Humanitarian Issues: Humanitarian Issues (21 Mar 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Kenya and neighbouring countries in the Horn of Africa are in the grip of a severe drought that has brought millions of people to the brink of starvation and killed thousands of livestock, leaving pastoral communities in northern and north-eastern Kenya destitute. The impact of poor rainfall during the long rainy season of March-June last year has been compounded by the failure of the short...

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (21 Mar 2006)

Conor Lenihan: The Minister of State with responsibility for children has primary responsibility regarding adoption matters. Ireland signed the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of intercountry adoption in 1996. Ratification of the convention requires legislative amendment and the designation of a central authority. In 2005, following the publication of the...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (21 Mar 2006)

Conor Lenihan: The political, economic and humanitarian situation within Zimbabwe continues to deteriorate. Over the last five years, Zimbabwe has slipped over 25 places down the human development index, HDI. This is the UN index that measures the human and material well-being of a country and its people across a wide range of indicators. This slippage mirrors the descent of a once moderately prosperous...

Order of Business. (7 Mar 2006)

Conor Lenihan: To be effective, not long-winded.

Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy. (1 Mar 2006)

Conor Lenihan: As Deputy for Dublin South-West, I would like to be associated with the kind words said about the late Larry McMahon. He was a wonderful man, who was not partisan in his approach. He and the late Sean Walsh worked tirelessly for the Tallaght area at a time when the area was growing and going through its growing pains as a community and constituency. He worked in a non-partisan way with the...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (22 Feb 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I have not met Dóchas on this specific issue but I am aware of its concerns with respect to the decentralisation of the development co-operation directorate of the Department to Limerick. These concerns were set out in a letter received from Dóchas to which my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, replied in detail on 31 January. In this letter, the Minister stated that...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (22 Feb 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 77 and 104 together. Ireland's total bilateral aid to Ethiopia in 2005 amounted to €35 million. It is expected that the total funding to Ethiopia in 2006 will be at approximately the same level. Ireland's support to Ethiopia is focused on addressing the basic needs of the rural poor. Ireland does not provide general or direct budget support to the federal...

Written Answers — Aid Distribution: Aid Distribution (22 Feb 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Within hours of the appalling disaster of 8 October 2005 in Pakistan, the Government pledged an initial €1 million for humanitarian relief assistance. As the scale of the catastrophe became clear, the Government quickly increased this amount to €10 million in support of relief and recovery efforts. This places Ireland as one of the highest donors per capita to this disaster. Some €8...

Written Answers — Democratisation Process: Democratisation Process (22 Feb 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 95 and 141 together. The Government is committed to helping the poorest and most vulnerable people in the developing world. Support for good governance and democratisation is critical for eradicating poverty and promoting development. Ireland's aid programme is committed to strengthening good governance in our partner countries through support for democratic...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (22 Feb 2006)

Conor Lenihan: In line with the Government's commitment to increasing official development assistance in order to meet the UN target of 0.7% of GNP by 2012, an allocation of €600 million has been provided in 2006 in the Estimates for my Department's Vote for International Co-operation, Vote 29. This represents an increase of €129 million, 27%, on the 2005 level. Taken together with the contributions of...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (22 Feb 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 108, 240, 243 and 244 together. There is no internationally recognised system for ranking either the severity of humanitarian crisis situations around the world or countries deemed guilty of the greatest deficiencies in the administration of democracy and the observance of human rights. However, it is clear that there is a strong interrelationship between...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (22 Feb 2006)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 124, 125, 176 and 233 together. Last November my colleague the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, announced two initiatives to coincide with the Government's decision to make substantial increases in Ireland's programme of official development assistance over the coming years. These are: first, to establish a rapid response initiative with the...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (22 Feb 2006)

Conor Lenihan: Ireland responded immediately to the devastating earthquake in Pakistan last October. Within a few hours of the catastrophe, the Government made an initial pledge of €1 million in support of the relief effort. My Department kept in close contact with the UN, the EU and our partners in civil society throughout. As the full scale of the disaster became evident, I moved quickly to increase...