Results 341-360 of 3,356 for in 'Written Answers' speaker:Joe Costello

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ministerial Travel (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: I travelled to South Africa from the 14th to 17th March this year. The visit was part of a programme to three African countries - Tanzania, South Africa and Mozambique. In Tanzania, I visited Irish Aid funded projects and held discussions with the Tanzanian Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister. In Mozambique I chaired, on behalf of the EU, the Ministerial political dialogue between the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: I attended the meeting of EU Development Ministers in Brussels on 26 February, which was convened by the Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, to coordinate the EU approach to the provision of long term development assistance in Mali. The meeting was organised following the detailed discussion on the situation in Mali at the informal meeting of EU Development Ministers which I chaired...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ministerial Travel (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: Between 10 and 23 March, I visited Tanzania, South Africa and Mozambique to examine the impact of Ireland’s development assistance programme and opportunities for the expansion of trade and investment. My programme in South Africa was predominantly focused on strengthening economic and business links with Ireland. Tanzania and Mozambique are priority countries for the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: I share the widespread concerns about the situation in the Great Lakes region and particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The country has been ravaged by a long series of violent conflicts and millions of innocent civilians have been killed, injured or displaced from their homes. There have been systematic abuses of human rights, extremely high levels of sexual violence...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: Since its inception in 1974, Ireland’s programme of official development assistance has had a particular focus on the continent of Africa. Both historically, and in many cases up to and including the present day, African countries have been faced enormous difficulties, including food insecurity, poverty, protracted conflict, environmental degradation, weak government capacity, unequal...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (28 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: As Minister of State with responsibility for Ireland’s Official Development Assistance, I am very conscious of the need to ensure that Irish Aid continues to reach its intended beneficiaries in the most sensitive and difficult regions of the world, and that our development assistance continues to make a real difference in the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable. Through our...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (20 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: Ireland’s aid programme prioritises the fight against global poverty and hunger. Ireland has long term, strategic development partnership programmes with eight Programme Countries. These are Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia in sub-Saharan Africa, and Vietnam in Asia. In these countries we aim to build government and institutional capacities to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (14 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: Ireland’s aid programme prioritises the fight against global poverty and hunger. Ireland has long term, strategic development partnership programmes with a number of developing countries, called Programme Countries. These are Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia in sub-Saharan Africa, and Vietnam in Asia. In these countries we aim to build government and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (12 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: I propose to take Questions Nos. 145 and 149 together. I welcome the focus of this year’s Trócaire Lenten Campaign on the rights of citizens and community organisations to participate in and influence decisions that affect their lives. Civil society organisations play an important role in bringing citizens together to act collectively and participate in the development of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (12 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: Ireland’s commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights is a cornerstone of our foreign policy. Ireland works in nine Programme Countries mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and all our aid programmes are targeted at the poorest and most vulnerable. Regular dialogue is an essential part of the work of our Embassies in their engagement with partner Governments. The promotion and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (6 Mar 2013)

Joe Costello: Ireland’s commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights is a cornerstone of our foreign policy. We strongly believe that sustainable development can only be achieved by ensuring a strong human rights foundation. That is why the Government places such an emphasis on the promotion of human rights in its poverty eradication efforts in developing countries. Through our...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (21 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: As Minister of State with responsibility for Ireland’s Official Development Assistance, I am very conscious of the need to have a high level of accountability of our development assistance and to ensure that it makes a real difference to the lives of the world’s poorest people. International reviews by the OECD have clearly stated that the Government’s international aid...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (21 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I propose to take Questions Nos. 65 and 66 together. I welcome the focus of this year’s Trócaire Lenten Campaign on the rights of citizens and community organisations to participate in and influence decisions that affect their lives. Civil society organisations play an important role in bringing citizens together to act collectively and participate in the development of their...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (20 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: Mali has been the subject of ongoing discussion by EU Foreign Ministers since March 2012 when there was an army coup and armed groups seized control of the north of the country. The issue was discussed most recently at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday, attended by the Tánaiste. At that meeting the Council adopted comprehensive Conclusions which reaffirm the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (20 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 32 together. I chaired the informal Meeting of EU Development Ministers in Dublin Castle on 11 and 12 February. The meeting provided the first opportunity for a substantive discussion by Ministers on the shape of the framework for international development after 2015, the target date for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Significantly, three...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Humanitarian Aid (20 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 22 together. The situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, causing further suffering for Syrians and others caught up in this terrible violence. An excess of 60,000 people are now estimated to have been killed as a result of the almost two year old conflict, which has witnessed indiscriminate targeting of civilians and residential areas, as well as...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (20 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I propose to take Questions Nos. 31, 34, 60 and 90 together. As Minister of State with responsibility for Ireland’s Official Development Assistance, I am very conscious of the need to have a high level of assurance that our development assistance is fully accountable and that it makes a real difference to the lives of the world’s poorest people. To ensure that our...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Humanitarian Aid (20 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: The political crisis and ongoing conflict in Mali has compounded an already serious humanitarian situation, in which millions of people have been affected by drought, hunger and food insecurity across the Sahel region. The conflict has forced half a million Malians from their homes, with the latest fighting uprooting thousands more and bringing the total number of refugees in neighbouring...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (20 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: The 2006 White Paper on Irish Aid set out clearly the basis and priorities for Ireland’s official aid programme, which is working on behalf of the Irish people to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people. The programme has been recognised internationally for its focus on poverty and hunger, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, and for its leadership in making aid more...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (20 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I propose to take Questions Nos. 62 and 76 together. I welcome the focus of this year’s Trócaire Lenten Campaign on the rights of citizens and community organisations to participate in and influence decisions that affect their lives. Civil society organisations play an important role in bringing citizens together to act collectively and participate in the development of their...