Written Answers Nos. 37-47
37. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps he has taken to address inadequate international response to commitments humanitarian; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23181/13]
View answer84. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the degree to which commitment entered into in respect of aid have been honoured, wholly or partially, with particular reference to areas of civil conflict or natural disasters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23616/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 37 and 84 together.
Significant progress has been made in recent years to improve the scale and effectiveness of the response of the international community to major disasters and humanitarian crises. This has included the provision by Ireland and other donors of predictable emergency response funding. However, disasters on the scale of the earthquake in Haiti, the famine in the Horn of Africa and, more recently, the conflict in Syria continue to challenge the humanitarian system. For such crises, international pledging conferences are often considered necessary in order to generate additional donor funding.
Two months after the January 2010 Haiti earthquake, an international donor conference was held in New York, at which US $4.5 billion worth of assistance was pledged by the international community in response to the crisis. UN figures indicate that, by the end of 2012, just $2.38 billion of this had actually been disbursed. For our part, we have worked hard to meet the Government’s commitments to the people of Haiti. Ireland pledged €13 million at the Haiti Donor Conference in March 2010 and, by the end of 2012, had honoured this commitment, with support totalling almost €14 million.
Similarly, at a Ministerial mini-summit in New York in September 2011, An Tánaiste pledged that €10 million in humanitarian assistance would be made available to help the poorest and most vulnerable in the Horn of Africa before the end of 2012. I am happy to report that this pledge has also been met, with almost €12 million in funding provided by December 2012. To date in 2013, I have approved almost €6 million for continued humanitarian assistance to this region.
Most recently, at the High-Level International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria in January 2013, I announced a commitment of €4.7 million to support the provision of humanitarian assistance in Syria and its neighbouring countries. Since I made that pledge, Ireland has already surpassed our commitment, with funding of €5.7 million having been provided to date this year. Ireland, as one of the founding members of the Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) initiative, takes seriously our commitment to act as a responsible and accountable donor. Equally, we are committed to the full implementation of the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, which clearly articulates the EU and its Member States’ commitment to ensuring that humanitarian aid pledges are transformed into commitments and disbursements in a timely way, and are clearly linked to the assessment of needs. As Presidency of the European Union during the first half of 2013, we will continue to press our fellow EU Member States to live up to their commitments under the Consensus.
In order to promote the importance of ensuring that donor aid pledges are credible, achievable, and properly monitored, the OECD has published a ‘Recommendation on Good Pledging Practice’. This comprises a set of principles relating to pledging practice for financial undertakings to developing countries. The Recommendation is designed to serve as a benchmark to help OECD Member States frame future aid pledges in terms that are clear, practical, realistic, and capable of being monitored. Ireland strongly supports this OECD initiative and will continue to use all appropriate fora to urge our fellow donors to ensure that they meet their humanitarian commitments in full.
38. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment’s (CPT) report into prison conditions between 31 May to 13 June 2011 in Spain, which was released on 30 April 2013; which found that some Basque political prisoners were subject to mistreatment and torture in Spanish prisons; and if he will raise the issue with the Spanish Government. [23239/13]
View answerThe Council of Europe’s European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) conducts periodic visits to places of detention in each Member State. On 30 April, the Committee published the report of a visit it undertook to Spain between 31 May and 13 June 2011 to review prison and detention conditions in the country. The detailed response of the Spanish Government to the CPT report was also published at the same time. The visit was the sixth such one to Spain. It involved, at central level, meetings with the Minister of the Interior and representatives of law enforcement, prison services and the courts as well as visits to police centres, Guardia Civil centres, prison establishments and detention centres. It also included similar meetings and visits to establishments under the control of the Autonomous Regional Government of Catalonia and visits to the General Headquarters and Police Academy of the Autonomous Regional Government of the Basque Country. The report notes that the CPT delegation received excellent cooperation from the Spanish authorities throughout the visit.
39. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress that has been made to date following discussions regarding the need to progress the Bill of Rights in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23207/13]
View answerThe Government remains firmly committed to ensuring the full and effective implementation of the Good Friday and St. Andrew’s Agreements. In contacts with the British government, we will continue to stress the importance of implementation of all aspects of the Agreements, including of a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland which takes account of the separate and specific context of Northern Ireland. I will also continue to urge all the parties in the Assembly to engage in constructive discussion with a view to reaching agreement on the substance of a Bill of Rights. A Bill of Rights drawn up by agreement between the main parties of the Assembly could set out precisely and formally the rights upon which a shared society for Northern Ireland can be based. Some of the contentious issues around parades, flags and identities have at their heart rights issues and a Bill of Rights is the key to dissolving the obstacles to progress on these issues. As I said in a speech in Belfast last year ‘Human rights and equality are fundamental to building a stable future for the island of Ireland. They are necessary for a solid, unshakeable, foundation for a lasting peace. A clear expression of these rights in a formal Bill of Rights can act as a touchstone.’
I believe that all parties in this house will share my frustration at the lack of progress on a Bill of Rights and I will continue to engage actively with the British government and the Northern Ireland Executive on this issue.
40. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has considered the UN report Making the most of Africa's Commodities; his views on the future economic development of Africa and Irish Aid's role in supporting it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23179/13]
View answerThe recent report compiled by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union, ‘Making the most of Africa’s Commodities: Industrialization for Growth, Jobs and Economic Transformation’, places a spotlight on Africa’s gradual emergence as a global economic power. The report highlights how the continent should take advantage of this opportunity through a commodity-based industrialization strategy, leveraging Africa’s abundant resources, high commodity prices, large youth populations and the changing global production process.
These opportunities, and how Ireland can support them, are very much to the fore in the Government’s recently launched Policy for International Development: One World, One Future. The Policy recognises the emergence of renewed confidence in developing countries, as they generate more of their own revenues, and open up further to the world. This is particularly true in Africa, which is and will remain the focus of the Government’s official aid programme. Our aim, and the aim of our Key Partner Countries, is to reduce the dependency on aid and to empower governments and communities to address poverty and drive their own development.
One of the three major goals in the Policy for International Development, therefore, is Sustainable Development and Inclusive Economic Growth. With this, we intend to increase our focus on trade and development and, in line with the Government’s Africa Strategy, to better link development cooperation with the political and trade dimensions of our engagement in Africa. In doing so, we seek to contribute to increased trade and investment, private sector development, increased employment and enhanced human well-being.
The Government very much welcomes the UN and African Union report. The implementation of industrial and other development policies to promote value addition and economic transformation and to reduce dependence on producing and exporting unprocessed commodities; the implementation of appropriate development planning frameworks and effective industrial policies; the removal of bottlenecks, the boosting of skills and capacity; and the promotion of regional and global integration, are all important recommendations from the report. If implemented, these recommendations will go a long way towards ensuring that Africa will no longer be a bystander to its own destiny addressing youth unemployment, poverty and gender disparities, and the other challenges faced by that continent.
In our aid programme’s engagement on economic growth, we too have a particular focus on those who are being left behind ensuring that development efforts target those most excluded, deliberately addressing the inequalities people face. Because if economic growth and industrialisation is to be sustained, it needs to be inclusive and it needs to tackle the root causes of poverty and vulnerability, thereby enabling developing countries to fully exploit their true potential and ensure development for all.
We are also very conscious of the fact that efficient and fair tax systems in developing countries are essential for sustainable growth, poverty reduction and the provision of basic services. Tax avoidance and evasion present a major issue for developing countries seeking to drive their own development. Ireland is playing a strong role in global efforts to increase revenue generation and tackle tax avoidance and evasion in developing countries. The brokering by Ireland of an agreement in the EU for the revision of the EU transparency and accounting directives, which when passed into legislation will improve transparency among EU multinational companies involved in extractive and logging industries in developing countries, is one recent example of this.
Over the coming years, as we implement Ireland’s new Policy for International Development, we look forward to partnering with African Government’s to deliver on the economic and trade opportunities identified in the very timely report by the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union.
41. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which he has engaged with his EU colleagues with a view to redefining a modern vision for Europe with particular reference to the need for solidarity, unity of purpose and mutual respect; if the experience of Europe over the past four years has identified particular or specific weaknesses needing attention the attendance to which in turn could have a major impact of confidence building and stability, politically, socially, fiscally and economically; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23347/13]
View answerEurope has faced an unprecedented economic challenge in recent years, with serious economic and social consequences. The Government has been engaged intensively with colleagues to meet these challenges and to get to grips with the consequences. As the themes of the Irish Presidency suggest, the first task for the Union was to restore stability, as a necessary precondition for tacking the twin issues of jobs and growth. At the core of this were the steps taken to underpin the security of and confidence in the euro. Mechanisms to provide support to Member States were put in place - initially on a temporary footing – the EFSF and the EFSM; subsequently a permanent support mechanism in the form of the ESM.
Economic governance was significantly strengthened, including through the legislative “six-pack” and “two pack”, the latter agreed under our Presidency; the European Semester process; and the Stability Treaty. We are in the process of examining steps that we need to take to further strengthen Economic and Monetary Union, and are agreed that a significant means of doing this is through a more integrated financial framework, or banking union. Last December, the European Council set an ambitious timetable for this work, and, as Presidency, we are working hard to ensure that commitments are fulfilled and deadlines met.
In March, the Irish Presidency reached provisional agreement with the European Parliament on the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). At the Informal ECOFIN meeting in Dublin, political agreement on the SSM was reached and the texts were legally adopted by Coreper on 18 April. We also secured agreement on the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD IV), will see the risk profile of the European banking system reduced over time.
It is clear, however, that unemployment, especially among the young, remains a very real challenge that must be met. In this regard, I very much welcome the commitment to a dedicated €6 billion to this task as part of the new Financial Framework on which the Government is seeking to reach agreement with the Parliament. As Presidency, we have also secured agreement on the youth guarantee which will ensure that every person under 25 without a job receives a meaningful offer of work, training or education.
We also need to focus our attention on generating growth. The Commission’s forecasts for the Union are not encouraging and we need to deploy every tool at our disposal. The European Council adopted the Compact for Jobs and Growth in June last year. As Presidency, we are working with partners to ensure that it is delivered.
There can be no doubt that the crisis has placed considerable economic and social strain on people across the Union, and that this has been reflected in political outcomes in some Member States. This is something that we cannot ignore, and that must drive us to redouble our efforts to ensure economic recovery and the return of confidence. The Government will continue to insist that Europe’s future must be built on the values that have served it so well to date, including solidarity, unity of purpose and mutual respect.
42. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the series of constitutional changes initiated by the Hungarian Prime Minister were discussed at the European Union Foreign Affairs Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23210/13]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy that the issue he has referred to was not discussed at the EU Foreign Affairs Council nor, indeed, could such an issue be expected to be discussed in a forum focussed on EU external relations questions.
43. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has discussed the security threats that the upcoming marching season will bring, with the Northern Ireland Executive and the British Government; and if he has any concerns that the PSNI could be stretched and under resourced over this period because of the unprecedented demands that come with the G8 summit taking place in County Fermanagh. [23234/13]
View answerThe overall situation in Northern Ireland forms a key element in all of my regular discussions with the British government and with the Northern Ireland Executive. I can confirm that both issues formed part of my bilateral discussions with the Secretary State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP on 29 April in Belfast. They also featured in the joint meeting which the Secretary of State and I had with Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson and with the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness later that day at Stormont Castle. In these meetings I expressed the Irish government’s concerns about the current situation as we faced into the summer. I underlined our view that it is essential that the determinations of the Parades Commission are fully respected and that the Parades Commission and the Police Service of Northern Ireland receive full support from everyone. I am concerned at reports that the Police face a very challenging situation this marching season and that the rule of law will be tested, in similar ways to the recent illegal street protests. These protests have strained community relations in Belfast and throughout Northern Ireland and have damaged Northern Ireland’s international reputation.
We all look forward to a successful G8 Summit in Fermanagh in June as one way of countering recent negative publicity. It is an historic opportunity to underline what has been achieved and might yet be achieved in Northern Ireland as we press on with the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and the unfinished business of reconciliation in this country.
46. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Mendez, who was due to visit Bahrain from May 8 - 15, had his trip cancelled by the Bahraini Government; if he is concerned by this development; and if he has raised it with the Bahraini Government. [23229/13]
View answer59. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to a recently released report by the US State Department which detailed human rights abuses in Bahrain; the recent arrest of prominent human rights defender Naji Fateel on 2 May ; and if he has discussed these issues with his European counterparts. [23232/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 46 and 59 together.
The human rights environment in Bahrain continues to be of serious concern, particularly with regard to the ongoing reports and allegations of arbitrary arrest, torture and detention of human rights activists. I fully understand the disappointment expressed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan Méndez, in relation to the decision taken by the Government of Bahrain to postpone his visit to the country, which was scheduled to take place from 8 to 15 May 2013. According to the Special Rapporteur, this is the second time that his visit has been postponed at very short notice.
The Bahrain Government has stated that the proposed visit could be damaging to the ongoing National Dialogue process taking place between the Government and opposition parties. However, I believe that his visit would in fact have been timely given the ongoing concerns which have been expressed in relation to the possible ill-treatment of prisoners in Bahrain. An independent assessment of the situation would have contributed positively to the National Dialogue process and strengthened trust among the parties that the Government is truly committed to taking steps to promote a culture of transparency and respect for human rights in Bahrain.
In this case and in all others, Ireland strongly supports the office of the Special Rapporteur on torture and maintains that the independent mandate of his office must be fully respected by all countries. We believe that the Government of Bahrain should honour the commitments made to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review process in September 2012, among which was the acceptance of a recommendation to welcome a visit by the Special Rapporteur.
The US State Department’s 2012 country report on Bahrain, released in April of this year, is a useful and detailed contribution to the international community’s assessment of the human rights environment within that country. The report outlines a number of very serious concerns reported in 2012, including allegations of torture in both official government detention centres and unofficial sites. It also details the lack of due process in trials of political and human rights activists, with some resulting in harsh sentences.
Arbitrary arrest is also one of the issues outlined in the State Department report and in this context the arrest of human rights defender, Mr. Naji Fateel, at his home in north-west Bahrain on 2 May, is of serious concern. Mr. Fateel is a board member of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, and a blogger who has been active in reporting human rights violations in Bahrain. Mr. Fateel attended the Front Line Defenders 2010 Dublin Platform. According to the latest reports received, on 5 May he was transferred to the Dry Dock prison in Bahrain. It is alleged that he is suffering from several injuries received due to torture while he was in detention. On 9 May, he was charged with the establishment of a group for the purpose of disabling the constitution under article 6 of the Terrorism Act. The prosecutor has ordered sixty days further imprisonment pending investigation. I call on the Bahrain government to ensure Mr. Fateel’s human rights are fully respected during his detention.
I have repeatedly called on the Government of Bahrain to demonstrate its commitment to upholding human rights and to implement in full the recommendations of the Bahraini International Commission of Inquiry. I have ensured that Ireland’s concerns on human rights issues in Bahrain have been conveyed regularly to the Bahraini authorities and I will continue to do so. Officials in my Department make clear our concerns to the Bahraini Ambassador in London as required; and Ireland’s Ambassador in Riyadh, who is accredited to Bahrain, has raised human rights issues directly with the authorities there on every appropriate occasion, including most recently with the Foreign Minister while the Ambassador was in Bahrain over the St. Patrick’s Day period.
At EU level, High Representative Ashton and senior EU officials have regularly conveyed to the Bahraini authorities the EU’s concerns about the human rights situation in Bahrain. I fully support the High Representative’s readiness to provide, if requested, EU support for the resumed national dialogue process.
47. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide further details on the three year Strategic Partnership Agreement that the Government recently signed with the UN World Food Programme. [23222/13]
View answerOn 15 April 2013, I joined my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Mr. Simon Coveney, T.D., in signing a three-year Strategic Partnership Agreement with the World Food Programme (WFP) on the occasion of the WFP Executive Director’s visit to Dublin to participate in the Hunger-Nutrition-Climate Justice Conference.
The WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide and, on average, provides food assistance to more than 90 million people in 70 countries every year. Ireland has consistently been one of the WFP’s most generous donors and key partners, being the twenty-fourth highest contributor of 133 donors from 2009 to date. Ireland’s total support to WFP in 2012 amounted to approximately €14 million. Of this, just under €10 million was provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, with the remainder being provided for specific humanitarian emergencies by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through the Irish Aid programme. In 2012, Irish Aid funding was provided for WFP’s emergency activities in Chad, Syria and the Sahel, as well as for the operation of the UN Humanitarian Air Service, which is managed by the WFP.
The Strategic Partnership Agreement with the WFP is a non-legally binding statement of mutual commitment to shared principles and strategic objectives in addressing the issue of global food insecurity. Through the Agreement, the Government has committed itself to supporting WFP in order to reduce hunger and under-nutrition, save lives and livelihoods in humanitarian emergencies, and strengthen the capacity of countries to invest in disaster preparedness and prevention.
Under the Agreement, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has committed to the provision of an annual contribution of €7 million to the WFP over a three-year period. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through the Irish Aid programme, also provides the WFP with additional contributions on the basis of humanitarian need. Under this Agreement, we will continue to consider additional contributions on a case-by-case basis, in view of humanitarian needs identified and funding available.
In this context, to date this year, I have already approved €2.25 million in humanitarian funding for the WFP this year. This includes contributions to the WFP’s emergency food assistance programmes in Syria and Mali, as well as the global operations of the UN Humanitarian Air Service.
