Results 41-60 of 2,009 for speaker:Colm Brophy

Energy Security: Motion [Private Members] (15 Jun 2022)

Colm Brophy: I am happy to confirm the Government's position in response to the motion proposed. The Government has moved a countermotion that affirms its policy position on reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. The programme for Government indicated clearly how we can achieve that, including by committing to ending the issuing of new licences for the exploration and extraction of gas. This mirrors...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Climate Change Policy (14 Jun 2022)

Colm Brophy: International climate action, including climate finance, is a key priority for the Irish Government. Ireland’s Annual Climate Finance Reports, available on the Irish Aid website, illustrate the Government’s continued support to countries that are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. To calculate Ireland’s contribution to international climate...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Strategies (14 Jun 2022)

Colm Brophy: The Global Ireland: Ireland's Strategy for Africa to 2025 was published on 28 November 2019. My Department reports annually to Government on implementation of the strategy, with the reports for 2020 and 2021 available on www.gov.ie. The 2021 progress report was brought to Government last month to mark Africa Day. The 2021 report shows that Ireland’s trade in goods with Africa...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (14 Jun 2022)

Colm Brophy: Global food insecurity is at record level. By the end of last year, nearly 193 million people were experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity, an increase of almost 40 million over the previous record in 2020. This situation has continued to worsen in 2022. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, including its effective blockade on shipping from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, has restricted...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (14 Jun 2022)

Colm Brophy: With over 14 million people inside Syria requiring assistance, Syria has been one of the most complex humanitarian crises in the world since the conflict there began over a decade ago. In addition to those affected within the country, millions more Syrians have left the country as refugees, the majority to neighbouring countries. This is the context within which the wider impacts of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Overseas Development Aid (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: It is important to note as a member of the Security Council we are now dealing with a situation where there are, say, 30 files in this area compared to, say, 13 when we were last on the Security Council. As I noted in my response to the Deputy, we are a very strong contributor in terms of the United Nations, and particularly in human rights. That, I believe, is strengthened through our...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Overseas Development Aid (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: Specifically, to come back to the Deputy on that particular point, that is a key part of my work within Irish Aid. We fully recognise that. A key emphasis of what we do with our aid programme is tackling gender inequality. In promoting gender equality, particularly for young girls in access to education, one of the key aspects is to put in place systems that enable things such as the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ukraine War (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had a devastating impact on Ukraine and the Ukrainians. With both countries together producing 12% of the world's traded calories, the invasion has also driven global food, fuel and fertiliser prices to record highs. This has particularly affected some of the most vulnerable countries in the world, which are reliant on food and fertiliser imports. The...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ukraine War (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: In a number of areas, we continue our commitment to address directly things such as the price impacts. The Department is encouraging our international partners to adjust programmes rapidly in response to the crisis. It is also important that the international response focuses on the need to prevent a further deterioration of food security. As the Deputy and I both acknowledged, it is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ukraine War (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: We continue to highlight the importance of the World Food Programme and support for it. It issued a terrifying warning, I believe, that an additional 47 million people could fall into the grip of acute hunger in 2022. That is from a pre-war baseline of 276 million people. That means that up to 323 million people could become acutely food-insecure in 2022. That is increasing for men,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Overseas Development Aid (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: A Better World, Ireland's international development policy, focuses Irish Aid's work on meeting the needs of the furthest behind first, with an emphasis on those in the world's poorest or most climate-exposed countries, especially women and girls. Delivering on the ambition of A Better World includes a focus on food security and on upholding the rights of those we support. The allocation to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ukraine War (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: I propose to take Questions Nos. 84, 91, 107 and 145 together. Moldova’s response to the Ukraine crisis, in particular its hosting of large numbers of refugees, is remarkable. Minister Coveney discussed Ireland’s assistance to Moldova on several occasions, including at the Support Conference for Moldova on 5 April and in his meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Popescu in the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Communities Abroad (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: The most recent in-person meeting of the Interdepartmental Committee on Diaspora Policy took place  in February 2021.  Two subsequent in-person meetings were postponed due to Covid restrictions with discussions taking place online at official level.  The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled to take place at the end of this month. The new Diaspora Strategy 2020-2025...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ukraine War (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: I remain extremely concerned by the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. In addition to prepositioned funds with UN and other partners, my Department, through the Irish Aid programme, has made over €20 million available to respond to the needs of Ukrainians most affected by the Russian invasion.  This includes funding through UN agencies including UN OCHA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNFPA...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: The situation in Tigray and in other parts of northern Ethiopia is of grave concern. The conflict within Ethiopia which began in 2020 has had a devastating impact on civilians, with many killed or injured, and reports of widespread human rights violations. Over 9 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Against this backdrop, I welcome the Government of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: United Nations (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: Ireland has played a leading role in the international response to the crisis in Ethiopia, at the UN Security Council, through our bilateral engagements, and within the European Union. Since taking up our seat in January 2021, Ireland has been to the fore of the Security Council’s efforts to address the crisis in Ethiopia. We believe that the Security Council has an important...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ukraine War (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: The evolving humanitarian situation in Ukraine and for those who have fled Ukraine is of grave concern. At both EU and UN, Ireland has been active in encouraging coordinated international responses to those affected by the Russian invasion, including reporting on Minister Coveney's 14 April visit to Kyiv. In its review of Ireland’s Official Development Assistance (ODA)...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Aid (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: A Better World, Ireland's international development policy, focuses Irish Aid’s work on meeting the needs of the furthest behind first, with an emphasis on those in the world’s poorest or climate-exposed countries, especially women and girls. The allocation to Official Development Assistance for 2022 is €1 billion, the highest ever and a 20% increase on last...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (10 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: Conflict, climate change and COVID have combined to increase the need for humanitarian assistance, with the international response increasing from €20.65 billion to a record €27.85 billion in the period 2017-2021.Last year, this support meant that over 107 million people across 38 countries received food, medicine and other life-saving assistance. Ireland is playing our...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 May 2022)

Colm Brophy: How can the Deputy say we are heckling?