Results 361-380 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche

Departmental Expenditure. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: One additional, very large item.

Departmental Expenditure. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: To take the last point first, as every Member of the House will be aware, we face very difficult economic circumstances and the budgetary situation could not really be worse. All programmes are under review. On the first point, I did not mean to mislead the Deputy. There was a specific allocation of $2 million for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum in Boston, thereby...

Departmental Expenditure. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: Last year, the greatest allocation was for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. The Deputy has been given a full list of the allocations in tabular form. The second highest allocation, $500,000, was to San Francisco GAA. Some $250,000 was allocated to the American Irish Historical Society. Various grants were given, including grants as low as $25,000. The largest allocation...

Human Rights Issues. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I share the Deputy's dismay over the decision of the Government of Sri Lanka to order the expulsion of Mr. James Elder, the UNICEF communications chief in Sri Lanka, on 21 September. Mr. Elder's expulsion follows the sentencing on 31 August of the journalist J. S. Tissainayagam to 20 years hard labour by the Colombo High Court on charges of violating anti-terrorism laws. Both cases give...

Human Rights Issues. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I agree absolutely with the Deputy. His point is well made and a purely military victory is bound to be pyrrhic. I also agree with the Deputy because a range of views exist within the Tamil community and clearly not everyone sought some form of military action. The Deputy is also correct to state - this is the strong view of the Government - that only through respect for human rights and...

Human Rights Issues. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: The Deputy will be aware that unfortunately not all members of the UN Security Council are ad idem on this issue. It seems this is where a degree of cynicism has entered into the discussions. A member of Irish Aid rapid response has been deployed to Sri Lanka to assist in the emergency response and the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Peter Power, is providing...

Departmental Expenditure. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: In light of the current challenges in the public finances, the Government is examining all areas of expenditure to identify where savings can be made, while minimising the impact on frontline services to the public. The Deputy is correct to state a great range of subjects have been mentioned in the McCarthy report or the report of the special group on public sector numbers and expenditure...

Departmental Expenditure. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: It would be easy for me to be critical of Mr. McCarthy and his report.

Departmental Expenditure. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: The report considered the issue from a blank sheet perspective but we never start from a blank sheet. There would be very significant damage done in some of those areas where we have built up resources. The point made by Deputy Timmins is valid, as there is undoubtedly capacity for synergies; many of our State bodies also operate in other member states. I am being coy in advance of the...

Departmental Expenditure. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I accept the Deputy's positive contribution and synergies must be sought within existing services. The Deputy is correct in that we depend on exports; more than 80% of what we produce is exported and we must keep in touch with what is happening on the ground. The only way to do so is to be represented on the ground.

Departmental Expenditure. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I acknowledge the last point. I was fully aware that the Fine Gael Party leader had commitments at the time of the event.

Foreign Conflicts. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: The report of the UN fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict mandated by the UN Human Rights Council last April and chaired by the distinguished South African jurist, Judge Richard Goldstone, was issued on 15 September. The House will know that it makes for salutary reading. Judge Goldstone and his team, including retired Irish Army officer, Colonel Desmond Travers, have produced an...

Foreign Conflicts. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I have previously discussed the matter with the Deputy. On several occasions at European Council of Ministers meetings I have stressed the point on which there is general agreement in this House; it is simply wrong in every sense of the word that the people who live in Gaza should be isolated and aid should have to go through the current process and be delayed as a result. On the other...

Foreign Conflicts. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: We must be balanced. It also criticised Hamas and its use of rockets as deliberate and focused terror attacks on Israeli citizens. We have been around the grounds on that before. The Government will continue, with its EU partners, to support a request that Israel terminate its completely erroneous policy in respect of the blockade as quickly as possible. Mr. Ging has been extremely...

Foreign Conflicts. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: I hope we will do so. As the Deputy is aware, I formerly held a UN human rights fellowship. I take a particular interest in this matter. One of the saddest aspects of what is happening in the Middle East is that Israel, which should know more than any other nation about affronts to human dignity, has become mired in this situation. Unless both sides decide to respect human dignity and the...

Departmental Strategy Statements. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: The high-level goals of the Department of Foreign Affairs address the full range of Ireland's foreign policy objectives. Successful delivery of its objectives is critically dependent upon the effective management of the Department's resources and its ability to adapt and to manage change. As part of the Government's fiscal adjustment process, the Department has undergone a reduction in the...

Departmental Strategy Statements. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: As the Minister of State noted in the previous response, we are working closely to achieve our goals over a period in respect of ODA. It is worth mentioning the six goals because Members have been discussing them in the abstract. The first goal is to contribute to international peace and security - no Government, irrespective of its make-up, will demur from that - and to promote conflict...

Departmental Strategy Statements. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: To take that last point, the Deputy is aware that a €75 million fund has been set aside to address humanitarian emergencies, including climate-related emergencies.

Departmental Strategy Statements. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: Yes. The other point already has been addressed by Deputy Peter Power, who, with his section, is working closely with the NGO community to deal with the specific point made by Deputy Deasy earlier. There is realisation in the community that while times are difficult, we wish to avoid, in so far as is possible, discontinuities, particularly on the issue of staffing. The Minister of State,...

Human Rights Issues. (23 Sep 2009)

Dick Roche: The internal political situation in Iran remains of serious concern. While the public demonstrations arising from last June's disputed presidential election may have abated somewhat, the overall human rights situation has deteriorated considerably in Iran since then. The response of the Iranian authorities to the largely peaceful protests, the most recent of which took place on 18...