Results 681-700 of 2,533 for speaker:Colm Brophy

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Aid (26 Jan 2022)

Colm Brophy: Ireland remains committed to an effective global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past two years, my Department, through the Irish Aid programme, has invested €200 million in global public health with further investment to come in 2022 of at least another €100 million. This includes COVID-19 specific response measures, and ongoing work to strengthen health systems for...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Travel Documents (25 Jan 2022)

Colm Brophy: My Department has not been informed of Irish citizens experiencing difficulties with tourist visa applications for travel to Ethiopia, noting that operation and processing of visas for Ethiopia is of course a matter for the Ethiopian authorities. My Department published a ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory on the Department’s website (www.dfa.ie) in respect of travel to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Legislative Measures (25 Jan 2022)

Colm Brophy: The Government is committed to holding a referendum on extending the franchise at Presidential elections to Irish citizens living outside the State as set out in the Programme for Government and affirmed in the new Diaspora Strategy which was launched in November 2020. To this end the Government restored the Thirty-Ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Presidential Elections) Bill 2019 to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (25 Jan 2022)

Colm Brophy: A Better World, the Government's policy for international development, establishes gender equality as a policy priority. Ireland is consistently among those OECD countries with the highest annual proportion of official development assistance (ODA) invested in gender equality measures. The 2019 annual report on Government of Ireland ODA had a particular focus on the wider Irish Aid support...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Humanitarian Access (19 Jan 2022)

Colm Brophy: I am gravely concerned by the situation in Afghanistan which is now one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. Nearly 23 million Afghans now face acute food insecurity. In response, the Government through its Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme, Irish Aid, has provided over €4 million in humanitarian support for the people of Afghanistan since mid-August. This...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Vaccination Programme (19 Jan 2022)

Colm Brophy: Ireland fully supports international efforts to ensure an effective global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the need for fair access to knowledge, property rights, and technology. My Department, through the Irish Aid programme, has responded with a global public health investment of €200 million over the past two years, with further Irish Aid investment in global...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Vaccination Programme (19 Jan 2022)

Colm Brophy: Ireland fully supports international efforts to ensure an effective global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the need for fair access to knowledge, property rights, and technology. My Department, through the Irish Aid programme, has responded with a global public health investment of €200 million over the past two years, with further Irish Aid investment in global...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Humanitarian Access (19 Jan 2022)

Colm Brophy: I am gravely concerned by the situation in Afghanistan, which is now one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. Nearly 23 million Afghans now face acute food insecurity. In response, the Government through its Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme, Irish Aid, has provided over €4 million in humanitarian support for the people of Afghanistan since mid-August. This...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (16 Dec 2021)

Colm Brophy: Presidential and parliamentary elections took place in Uganda on 14 January 2021, with the incumbent President Museveni returned for his sixth term with 58% of the vote, while his key challenger Robert Kyagulanyi (known as Bobi Wine) garnered 35% of the vote.  The President's reinauguration took place on 12 May 2021, with no legal challenges against the result outstanding.  This...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Covid-19 Pandemic (15 Dec 2021)

Colm Brophy: Ireland is committed to universal and fair access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. This is essential for our health at home as well in low income countries where the impact of the pandemic is reversing hard won gains and deepening social and economic inequalities. Currently just over 55% of the global adult population is vaccinated, but this falls to rates as low as 1.3% in some of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Humanitarian Access (14 Dec 2021)

Colm Brophy: The humanitarian situation in Somalia is worsening, exacerbated by a three year long drought which has affected more than 2.8 million people in 66 out of the 74 districts in Somalia. An estimated 133,000 people, mostly in central and southern areas have been displaced. There are fears that the situation could continue to worsen into 2022. The Somalia government declared a state of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Covid-19 Pandemic (14 Dec 2021)

Colm Brophy: Universal and equitable access to safe, effective and affordable vaccines, diagnostics and treatments is crucial in the global fight against COVID-19. My colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, leads on trade and World Trade Organisation matters (WTO), including on the current discussion on the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (7 Dec 2021)

Colm Brophy: The ongoing crisis in Ethiopia, including the recent escalation in military operations and declaration of a state of emergency, is having a devastating humanitarian impact on people across Ethiopia including and in particular Tigray. Through our bilateral engagements, as well as within the European Union and at the UN Security Council, Ireland continues to advocate for urgent and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (2 Dec 2021)

Colm Brophy: I am deeply disappointed by the Government of Ethiopia’s decision to restrict the size of our Embassy in Addis Ababa, requiring the majority of our diplomatic staff to leave the country.  Our Ambassador and one other diplomat have been permitted to stay.   The Embassy remains open, with a particular emphasis on critical consular assistance to Irish citizens. The...

Seanad: Human Rights in China: Motion (1 Dec 2021)

Colm Brophy: I thank the Acting Chairperson. I am very pleased today to contribute to this important debate. Ireland has a proud history of supporting the protection of human rights around the world. We are a small country but we are an independent voice on the international stage, prioritising the most vulnerable and marginalised. We are committed to the universality, indivisibility and...

Seanad: Human Rights in China: Motion (1 Dec 2021)

Colm Brophy: To conclude, I thank Senators for their contributions thus far and look forward to hearing further contributions from them.

Employment Support Services: Motion [Private Members] (30 Nov 2021)

Colm Brophy: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important matter. The Minister, unfortunately, has had to leave, but she was in attendance, as Deputies would acknowledge, for the vast majority of the debate. She spoke comprehensively on the Government's approach to the expansion of employment service provision and the extensive engagement with the sector. I commend the quality of the employment...

Employment Support Services: Motion [Private Members] (30 Nov 2021)

Colm Brophy: Nor is there an exemption that would remove the State's obligation. The Minister spoke earlier about the extensive engagement with the sector, as I mentioned, including visits to every provider and engagement with representatives from the sector. Those engagements have been critical in the approach taken to expand an integrated, high-quality employment service model, while meeting the need...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (25 Nov 2021)

Colm Brophy: After almost 30 years of military dictatorship, the 2019 people’s revolution put Sudan on the path to democratic civilian government. The military coup, which began on 24/25 October, represents a major setback to this transition. The military leadership’s violent crackdown on the country’s civilian and civil society leadership, mass detention of protestors, attacks on...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (24 Nov 2021)

Colm Brophy: The deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the Sahel generally, and in Burkina Faso specifically, is of significant concern. Burkina Faso faces internal and external threats, with internal non-state armed actors frequently linked to extremists in neighbouring countries. The deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso has many complex and interwoven drivers provoking...