Written Answers Nos. 24-32
24. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline the matters which were discussed when he met Bill Gates recently; and if there are any new partnerships between Irish Aid or Irish Aid agencies and the Bill and the Melinda Gates Foundation expected. [8846/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraBill Gates, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has made an enormous contribution to improving the lives of some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. I have a deep respect for his successes in business and innovation, and his personal commitment to ending poverty, hunger and disease in the world. Mr. Gates visited Dublin on 23 January and I held a breakfast meeting with him, along with my colleague, Minister of State for Trade and Development, Mr. Joe Costello, T.D.
We and the Gates Foundation have strong shared interests in global development, in particular in tackling the challenges of hunger, health and childhood and maternal mortality. During our meeting we discussed development aid priorities for Ireland’s EU Presidency, including the negotiations on the development budget of the European Union. We also discussed how we can work together, with our partners internationally, to help shape the new international development framework after 2015, the target date for the Millennium Development Goals, in order to ensure that it meets the needs of the poorest communities.
We exchanged views on our shared priorities of reducing global poverty and hunger, focusing on smallholder agriculture and improving child and maternal health. We agreed to continue to focus our efforts on addressing under-nutrition which continues to blight the lives of young children in developing countries. We agreed that building sustainable agriculture and offering better opportunities for smallholder farmers in Africa is key to reducing hunger and poverty and we will continue to work together to advance progress on these critical issues.
Through the aid programme, the Government collaborates closely with the Gates Foundation on a number of initiatives to combat diseases of poverty, including through the Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunisation.
No specific new partnerships were agreed at this meeting. However, we did agree that Ireland would continue to work closely with the Gates Foundation on vaccination and immunisation for poor people, with a specific focus on the complete elimination of polio globally.
25. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has decided on any specific issues to bring forward in the coming months on the UN Human Rights Council. [8853/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland’s membership of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) presents an opportunity to enhance our reputation internationally and to make a meaningful contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights. During our three-year membership of the HRC, we will seek to add value to the work of the Council and to strengthen the institution itself. Ireland’s approach to membership of the HRC will be guided by the pledges and commitments made during our election campaign, which reflect our well-established human rights priorities. These include the following: defending the universality of human rights; freedom of expression (particularly on the internet); freedom of religion or belief; LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex) rights; peace building and conflict resolution; the human rights situation in the Middle East; strengthening the UN Human Rights Treaty Body System; the promotion and protection of human rights defenders; the promotion and protection of an enabling environment for civil society; and women’s rights, combating discrimination and Gender-Based Violence
We will also highlight the importance of ensuring that human rights considerations underpin all areas of development, with a particular focus on combating hunger, health and education. We will respond proactively to emerging human rights situations and themes, including emergency situations, and we will play an active role in the Council’s three yearly sessions (March, June and September) and in the sessions of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) examinations, during which countries’ human rights records are examined. Ireland will continue to promote and defend the work of the Treaty Bodies and the Human Rights Council Special Procedures and in particular, the independence of those bodies and of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
We will work to strengthen the Council as the key institution in the UN human rights framework, including through helping to protect the right of civil society organisations to participate fully in the Council sessions and to prevent reprisals against them. As the UN High Commissioner, Navi Pillay, has remarked, “A dynamic and autonomous civil society, able to operate freely, is one of the fundamental checks and balances necessary for building a healthy society, and one of the key bridges between governments and their people.” Civil society consists of many actors, including NGOs, academics, journalists, bloggers, students, trade unions, labour organisations and charities working with vulnerable groups. No matter how they define themselves, however, civil society actors have a legitimate role as human rights defenders. They play a key role in a collaborative effort with government and international institutions to ensure human rights protection. We intend to advance the promotion and protection of an enabling environment for civil society during our term on the HRC, building on a successful event held during the September 2012 session in relation to consolidation of the space for civil society.
In practical terms, our membership may be divided into two parts: the EU Presidency (January-June 2013) and the post-Presidency period (July 2013-December 2015). During the EU Presidency semester, the main role for Ireland at the Human Rights Council will be to act as a lead negotiator for the EU, in partnership with the European External Action Service, on the most important draft resolutions on the Council agenda. As a Council member and as Presidency, we will work to fulfil our obligations and responsibilities, helping to ensure that the EU more widely, and Ireland in particular, are strong and effective voices for the robust promotion and protection of human rights.
26. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the EU is considering additional sanctions against Iran; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8923/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra50. Deputy Michael P. Kitt asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the imposition of sanctions on Iran; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8938/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 26 and 50 together.
Ireland fully supports the diplomatic efforts which are being made with Iran to address the serious international concerns relating to its nuclear programme. We also fully support the sanctions which have been imposed on Iran with a view to persuading it of the need for a negotiated solution of this problem.
Progressive sanctions have been reluctantly imposed by the EU, particularly in the last two years, after many years in which Iran simply refused to negotiate on this issue. During 2012, sanctions were extended to include oil and gas imports and increased restrictions on financial transactions and investment. We believe that these sanctions have been successful in bringing Iran to the negotiating table. However, the Iranians have as yet shown no real evidence that they are ready to engage seriously with this process.
A further round of talks with Iran, involving the E3+3 group and led by HR Ashton, is scheduled to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan, at the end of this month. The United States, through Vice-President Biden, has recently repeated its willingness to meet directly with Iran to discuss issues on which they have differed.
However, the indications are not positive. Recent meetings between Iran and the IAEA have made no progress; and Iran has been reluctant to agree dates for the E3+3 meeting. The Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reacted negatively in public to Vice-President Biden’s proposal for direct talks.
If there is no progress on the diplomatic track, there will inevitably be pressure to strengthen sanctions further. In addition, recently enacted additional US sanctions may lead to renewed pressure within the EU for a further tightening of bilateral EU sanctions against Iran. However, it will be difficult to go much further in this direction without reaching what amounts to a de facto trade embargo on Iran. Any further proposals for EU sanctions would have to be considered carefully by all member States and in the context of Iran’s engagement with the ongoing negotiations.
Ireland will continue to lend full support to High Representative Ashton and to the dual track approach which is being pursued by the E3 + 3 on this issue.
28. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on internment in Northern Ireland. [8876/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraWe all have an obligation to use language responsibly and in particular to be careful with the use of terms such as internment. Internment in 1971 resulted in the detention without trial of over three hundred people who were arrested and held in conditions which contravened the accepted standards of international law at that time. Today we find ourselves in a situation where justice and security arrangements have largely been devolved to the Northern Ireland assembly, significant changes have been introduced to the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the circumstances at present simply do not bear comparison with 1971.
31. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will indicate the degree to which his Department continues to monitor aid intended for specific countries and-or projects to see if it reaches its destination unimpeded; the degree to which he continues to receive confirmation from the NGOs to this effect or otherwise; the most efficient method of dispensing aid whether by bilateral or multilateral methods; the means whereby the greatest level of accountability can be achieved with a view to making sure that best practice is observed at all times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8913/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra34. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there are proposals to introduce new monitoring processes in relation to expenditure on programmes funded under Irish Overseas Development Aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8927/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra60. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to review Ireland's overseas aid programme in view of the recent news reports of Ireland's aid programme in Uganda; the measures that have been put in place to prevent a repeat of what happened in Uganda; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8734/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra90. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which overseas development aid donations continue to be monitored with a view to ensuring that criterion is strictly observed in terms of the intended donors obtaining maximum benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9279/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI 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 assistance is targeted at those most in need and delivered in the most effective manner we work through a variety of delivery channels in partnership with national governments, local communities, NGOs, and key multilateral partners such as the United Nations. Each of these partners is fully accountable to my Department for any funds received. Programmes in receipt of Irish Aid funding are subject to regular internal and external monitoring to ensure that our support is reaching its intended beneficiaries and the planned objectives and goals of the Irish Aid programme are being achieved. These programmes are regularly monitored by internal auditors, by independent experts, and by the Evaluation and Audit Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. These reports are reviewed by the independent Audit Committee of the Department.
In line with best practice and with recommendations from the OECD for improving the accountability of all development financing, Ireland strongly supports the strengthening of partner country delivery systems. We provide assistance to national Government oversight institutions, such as the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committees of national Parliaments, to ensure Governments are held to account for the effective expenditure of public funds, including overseas development assistance.
The recent case in Uganda, where there was evidence of the fraudulent use of Irish Aid funds, is a clear indication of the need for continuous vigilance in the oversight of any Irish Aid funds disbursed to our programme partners. The report into the events in Uganda, which is available on the Department’s website, contains a number of recommendations for improving the monitoring and oversight of Irish Aid spending. As Deputies will be aware, the misappropriated funds have now been returned.
Our management and oversight systems are continually under review to ensure that Irish development funding goes to those most in need, and that we meet the highest standards of accountability. I have accepted all of the recommendations of the Uganda report. Our oversight systems are also being reviewed in the light of the report and, where necessary, will be adapted if any deficiencies are indentified.
