Results 361-380 of 3,355 for in 'Written Answers' speaker:Joe Costello

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights Issues (19 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I am aware of recent reports of forced evictions of nearly seven hundred families from two makeshift camps in Port-au-Prince. On 22 January, the third anniversary of Haiti’s devastating earthquake. It has been reported that police officers forcibly evicted around six hundred families from Camp Place Sainte-Anne in the municipality of Port-au-Prince. Ten days later another eighty-four...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (19 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I propose to take Questions Nos. 212, 214 to 216, inclusive, 218 and 220 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...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Humanitarian Aid (6 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: I, and Irish Aid officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, have been in communication with the oganisation referred by the Deputy on a number of occasions over the past six months. In my correspondence with the organisation, I have acknowledged the importance of strengthening access to ICT infrastructure in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters. The organisation...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (5 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: Ireland’s assistance is directed to development programmes and emergency humanitarian assistance in over eighty of the world’s least developed countries. In addition to bilateral funding administered directly by Irish Aid, we implement programmes through trusted partners such as Non Governmental Organisations, Missionary Organisations, UN Agencies and other International...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (5 Feb 2013)

Joe Costello: Negotiations on the European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014-2020, the MFF, have made substantial progress. At its meeting on 22-23 November 2012, the European Council gave a mandate to President Van Rompuy and President Barroso to pursue work on the MFF, with a view to reaching agreement at the beginning of 2013. President Van Rompuy now hopes to close negotiations at...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Disaster Response (31 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through Irish Aid has been in communication with the founders of the organisation referred by the Deputy on a number of occasions since August 2012. In my own correspondence with the organisation, I have acknowledged the importance of strengthening access to ICT infrastructure in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters. The organisation...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (31 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: This covered all funding for the Government’s aid programme, including the long term programmes of strategic assistance in Irish Aid’s nine programme countries, administered by our diplomatic missions in those countries. The newspaper report referred to by the Deputy relates to information released by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in response to a request under the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Humanitarian Aid (29 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: I propose to take Questions Nos. 196 to 198, inclusive, together. The World Conference on Disaster Reduction was held in Kobe, Japan in January 2005. The tangible outcome from the conference was a commitment by 168 UN Member States, including Ireland, to strengthen preparedness and minimise vulnerability to disasters through the agreement of a ten-year action plan called the Hyogo Framework...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Public Service Reform Plan Update (29 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: The Government’s Public Sector Reform Plan does not include any body under the auspices of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that is to be rationalised, amalgamated or abolished. However, the Development Education Advisory Committee was included in the list of bodies for critical review. This review took place in the context of the recent Review of the White Paper on Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Research Funding (23 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: My Department has been in communication with the individual referred to in the correspondence supplied by the Deputy on a number of occasions since August 2012. I initially wrote to the correspondent in August last year, the first of a series of replies. In this letter, I acknowledged his particular interest in the important work of strengthening access to ICT infrastructure in the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (22 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: Ireland’s aid 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 effective. The practice of tying aid to the purchase of goods and services of the donor country has long been recognised as reducing the effectiveness and efficiency of development co-operation programmes, as...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Programmes (16 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: Ireland’s EU Presidency comes at a crucial period for international development policy, as the international community opens discussion on the framework for global development after 2015, the target date for the Millennium Development Goals. A Special Event will be held at the United Nations in September to review progress on the MDGs and to begin consideration of the post-2015...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (16 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: Ireland’s aid programme prioritises the fight against global poverty and hunger. It is strongly focused on the poorest countries and communities in sub-Saharan Africa, prioritising investments in the areas of education, health, good governance, food security and nutrition. The programme is central to our foreign policy, has an enviable international reputation, and consistently enjoys...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (16 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 24 together. As the Deputies know I was deeply concerned about the misappropriation of €4 million of Irish development funding in Uganda, which came to light last October. Ireland has always made it abundantly clear that we have no tolerance for fraud or any other form of financial irregularity in relation to our development programme. I...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (16 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: The practice of tying aid to the purchase of goods and services of the donor country has long been recognised as reducing the effectiveness and efficiency of development cooperation programmes. The untying of aid has been shown to improve the effectiveness of programmes aimed at reducing poverty and of better aligning donor assistance with the needs of beneficiary countries. Ireland is one...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (16 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: Ireland has long term, strategic development partnership programmes with a small number of developing countries, called Programme Countries. These are Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia in sub-Saharan Africa, and Timor Leste and Vietnam in Asia. Timor Leste has now ceased to be a Programme Country. In these countries we aim to build government and institutional...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (16 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: The recent conflict in Gaza has exacerbated the already difficult humanitarian situation on the ground and increased the vulnerabilities of many families. Prior to the recent hostilities, Gaza was experiencing a serious humanitarian crisis due to the economic blockade and the effective isolation of the territory from the outside world. As a result, people in Gaza face high unemployment, and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (16 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: Ireland’s aid programme prioritises the fight against global poverty and hunger. The programme is central to our foreign policy, has an enviable international reputation and enjoys consistently high levels of public and political support. For 2012 Ireland provided €639 million to Official Development Assistance (ODA). This funding was directed to development programmes and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Election Monitoring Missions (16 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: International election monitoring missions play an important role in the promotion of democracy and human rights. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains a roster of observers for election monitoring missions. We aim to ensure that, when requested, Ireland is represented at an appropriate level in international observation missions for both elections and constitutional...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Overseas Development Aid (16 Jan 2013)

Joe Costello: About one third of Ireland’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) is channelled through international organisations such as the United Nations and the European Union. Multilateral organisations play a central role in building international agreement on key development challenges and provide support for the fight against global poverty, for the protection and promotion of human rights...