Written Answers Nos. 317-329
317. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of permissions for landing at Shannon Airport that have been sought to date in 2015 for refuelling planes belonging to the military of the United States of America. [37141/15]
View answer318. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of refuelling planes belonging to the military of the United States of America en route to support the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen that have landed in Shannon Airport since that bombing campaign commenced. [37142/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 317 and 318 together.
The Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order 1952 gives the Minister for Foreign Affairs primary responsibility for the regulation of activity by foreign military aircraft in Ireland.
Arrangements under which permission is granted for military aircraft, including US aircraft, to land at Irish airports are governed by strict conditions. These include stipulations that the aircraft must be unarmed, carry no arms, ammunition or explosives and must not engage in intelligence gathering, and that the flights in question must not form any part of military exercises or operations.
Requests to permit the landing of military aircraft, including those that can operate as refuelling aircraft, are considered by my Department on the basis of the conditions outlined above. Up to 20 October 2015, permission in respect of 46 refuelling aircraft was granted subject to these conditions.
I have stated previously my view that peace talks are the optimum way to achieve a political consensus which can restore order to Yemen and I would encourage all parties to engage with the UN to this end so that a ceasefire can be agreed and a negotiated political solution found.
323. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Ireland's membership of the United Nations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33972/15]
View answerDecember 14th 2015 marks the 60th anniversary of Ireland’s membership of the United Nations. Our engagement with the United Nations has been, and continues to be, central to our foreign policy, and it was a privilege for Ireland to play such a central role in the final negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals in this, our anniversary year.
In May of this year, my Department launched a programme of events to commemorate sixty years of UN membership. The commemorations began with a lecture in Dublin Castle delivered by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, titled The UN at 70: Looking Backwards, Looking Forward. The following day the Secretary General hosted a youth event on sustainable development in Iveagh House. In July, in recognition of our commitment to international development and humanitarian assistance, Ireland’s first Humanitarian Summit was opened by President Michael D Higgins.
In September, my Department published a classroom map charting Ireland’s engagement with the United Nations over the past six decades. Also that month I launched the UN Youth Delegate Programme, which saw two young Irish citizens travel to New York to participate in the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly. While in New York, I opened a commemorative exhibition at the American Irish Historical Society in Manhattan, showcasing Ireland’s first years at the UN. This exhibition will travel to the Palais des Nations in Geneva before its launch in Ireland in December for showings in Dublin and Cork.
Later this month my Department will host a seminar on new security challenges facing the UN and the multilateral order in the twenty-first century. In November, the Department of Defence and the Permanent Defence Forces will host a public event to mark Ireland’s contribution to UN peacekeeping since our first deployment in 1958, and in December, the programme of anniversary events will conclude with a Symposium marking the actual date of Ireland’s accession to the UN in 1955.
As we look back on sixty years of membership we must also look forward. It is through our continued commitment to the United Nations and to the values and principles it represents that we can provide the most fitting commemoration of this important anniversary.
324. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the commitments undertaken following the ratification of the Sustainable Development Goals to lead the way in securing their implementation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33925/15]
View answer325. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on the ratification of the Sustainable Development Goals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33924/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 324 and 325 together.
At the end of September, the Taoiseach led the Irish delegation at the UN Summit in New York where world leaders ratified a new global development agenda, including a detailed new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets. The SDGs are universally applicable and will guide the actions of all countries in their efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger and achieve sustainable development over the next fifteen years.
The Summit was a proud moment for Ireland given the role we were asked to play in facilitating the intergovernmental negotiations that achieved agreement among all 193 Member States. This agreement, ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, is aimed at transforming the global approach to development.
Ireland had already played a key role in framing the parameters of the new agenda at both EU and UN levels. This included brokering EU Council Conclusions during the 2013 Irish EU Presidency and securing agreement at the UN on a road map for the post-2015 negotiations at a Special Event on the Millennium Development Goals in September 2013.
The universal nature of the SDGs will require all countries to take action. In common with our EU partners, we will now focus on developing the most appropriate institutional framework to deliver the new development agenda domestically and internationally.
“One World, One Future”, our policy for international development, sets out priorities which are very much in line with the new sustainable development agenda. It clearly articulates the Government’s commitment to the UN target of providing 0.7% of Gross National Product (GNP) for Official Development Assistance (ODA). In his address to the UN Summit, the Taoiseach reiterated our commitment to making progress towards the 0.7% target.
Our track record in support of Ireland’s aid programme speaks for itself. Over the past four years, we have protected and stabilised budget allocations, at a time of extraordinary economic difficulty. We stated consistently that we would make progress towards the 0.7% target once economic conditions allow. As our economic recovery gains momentum and becomes more widely established, we can now begin delivering on that commitment.
The Budget for 2016, announced on 14 October, involves the first substantial increase in the aid budget in seven years. For next year, we have provided a total of over €640 million in ODA, an increase of €40 million, or almost 7% on the 2015 level. We estimate that this will entail a small increase in our ODA/GNP percentage, from a projected 0.35% in 2015 to a projected 0.36% in 2016.
The major challenge for the year ahead will be to ensure Ireland continues to play a leading role in the comprehensive response to the unprecedented levels of humanitarian crisis, especially in Europe’s broader neighbourhood, while ensuring that our aid programme remains effective in addressing the root causes of poverty and hunger in the poorest countries as we work towards the objective of ending extreme poverty and hunger by 2030.
326. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will address a matter (details supplied) regarding bullying in primary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36855/15]
View answerResponsibility for tackling bullying in schools falls to the level of the individual school. New Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools were published in September 2013. These Procedures and the associated Department Circular 0045/2013 apply to all recognised primary and post-primary schools and to centres for education (as defined in the Education Act 1998) which are attended by pupils under the age of 18 years. School authorities and school personnel are required to adhere to these procedures in dealing with allegations and incidents of bullying.The purpose of these procedures is to give direction and guidance to school authorities and school personnel in preventing and tackling school-based bullying behaviour amongst its pupils and in dealing with any negative impact within school of bullying behaviour that occurs elsewhere. The new procedures require all schools to formally adopt and implement an anti-bullying policy that fully complies with the requirements of the procedures. The school's anti-bullying policy must then be made available to school personnel, published on the school website (or where none exists, be otherwise readily accessible to parents and pupils on request) and provided to the Parents' Association (where one exists). The Board of Management (BOM) of each school in developing its anti-bullying policy must formulate the policy in co-operation with both teaching and non-teaching school staff under the leadership of the Principal, and in consultation with parents and pupils. Where a parent or guardian feels that school staff are deficient in addressing bullying matters they should raise the issue with the school managing authority, its BOM. In the event that the BOM fails to satisfactorily remedy the situation it may be raised with the school patron or trustees to whom the BOM is accountable.
327. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the supports available to a pupil (details supplied) with a disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36859/15]
View answerThe purpose of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children with special educational needs arising from a diagnosed disability. Bus Éireann, which operates the scheme on behalf of my Department, is responsible for the planning and timetabling of school transport routes. The Company has been requested to examine the case with a view to improving the level of service for this child. The family will be advised of the position as soon as the report from Bus Éireann is received and considered.
328. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education and Skills when the report resulting from an inspection carried out on 14 September 2015 will be available to a school (details supplied) in County Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36880/15]
View answerThe Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills has no record of having conducted an inspection in St Annin's NS, Rosscahill, Co Galway (RN 14590D) for which a report has still to issue.
329. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students living in, or from, the defined RAPID area of Ennis in County Clare who are attending, or who have attended, third level education for the years 2011 to 2014, inclusive, and to date in 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36901/15]
View answerInformation on the number of students living in or from the defined Rapid area of Ennis, Co. Clare that are or have attended third level education is not available. The Higher Education Authority have however, provided information on the number of enrolments from Co. Clare in higher education for 2012/13 and 2013/14 as follows: 2012/13 - 4,517; 2013/14 - 4,645. In 2014, the HEA carried out an analysis on the higher education participation rates from each county, i.e. the percentage of people ages 18-20 in each county that entered higher education as first-time new entrants, in the academic year 2011/12. In County Clare, 910 people aged 18-20, out of a population of 1,545, entered higher education as first time new entrants. This participation rate of 59% is an above-average rate (national average is 51.5%).
