Michael McNamara
Ceist:897. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if Ireland will recognise the Armenian genocide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21571/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraCommemorative Events
Ceisteanna (897)
Freagraí scríofa
I refer the Deputy to my answers to recent questions on this issue in which I set out the Government’s position in detail, including in relation to this year’s centenary commemorations.
The Irish Government has never taken a position on this issue, believing that it is not in a position to adjudicate on this contentious matter, involving the consideration of complex legal issues and an assessment of the actions and intentions of many parties in 1915 and following years. This issue was discussed in April by the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade and I have taken note of the views expressed by the Committee’s members.
The centenary commemorations have raised global awareness of the intense suffering endured by Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during that time. In April, President Higgins conveyed to President Sargsyan of Armenia the sympathy of the Irish people for the suffering of the Armenian people. Ireland’s sympathy was also expressed by our Ambassador, John Biggar, through his attendance at the official centenary commemorative event in Yerevan.
In the spirit which has guided Ireland’s own centenary commemorations, I wish to reiterate the hope I expressed in my earlier replies, that both Armenia and Turkey would avail of any opportunity to advance reconciliation between their two peoples for the benefit of both countries and of the wider region.
Northern Ireland Issues
Ceisteanna (898)
Michael McNamara
Ceist:898. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if Ireland sought an apology from the British Government of the former British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, for the Great Famine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21572/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
In early June 1997, a number of weeks after entering office as British Prime Minister, Tony Blair went on record with the following statement:
“The famine was a defining event in the history of Ireland and of Britain. It has left deep scars. That one million people should have died in what was then part of the richest and most powerful nation in the world is something that still causes pain as we reflect on it today. Those who governed in London at the time failed their people through standing by while a crop failure turned into a massive human tragedy. We must not forget such a dreadful event”.
The then Taoiseach, former Deputy John Bruton, welcomed this message, saying that “while the statement confronts the past honestly, it does so in a way that heals for the future”.
This took place during a period when Ireland was commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Famine, and when the then Government had assigned specific responsibility for the commemoration to a Minister of State. It also took place during an important phase of the Northern Ireland peace process and as efforts continued to improve and normalize British-Irish relations for the future.
Passport Applications
Ceisteanna (899)
Bernard Durkan
Ceist:899. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress to date in determining an application for a passport in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21778/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
This passport application has been received and approved, and the passport has been printed. This passport will be dispatched to Ottawa on Friday 12 June 2015.
Passport Applications
Ceisteanna (900)
Bernard Durkan
Ceist:900. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress, to date, in determining an application for a passport, in the case of the son of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21779/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
In order to determine the progress of the application in the case of the person mentioned, the Passport Service requires specific details pertaining to the applicant in order to trace it.
The passport application for the mother has been approved and will be dispatched to Ottawa this week.
Overseas Development Aid
Ceisteanna (901, 911)
Billy Timmins
Ceist:901. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position in relation to a time frame to achieve the 0.7% in official development assistance in foreign aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21849/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Dominic Hannigan
Ceist:911. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans to implement the 0.7% United Nations development goal for official development assistance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22262/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 901 and 911 together.
The Government is strongly committed to Ireland’s overseas aid programme, which is at the heart of our foreign policy. This is clearly articulated in both ‘The Global Island - Ireland’s Foreign Policy for a Changing World’, and in our policy on International Development, ‘One World, One Future’. We have reaffirmed our commitment to the UN target of providing 0.7% of Gross National Product (GNP) for Official Development Assistance (ODA), and to making further progress towards it when economic circumstances permit.
Over the past four years, in the context of severe economic difficulty, we successfully managed to stabilise allocations to the aid programme. I believe this to have been a major achievement for the Government. For 2015, we have again protected overall allocations to the aid programme, and provided a total of just over €600 million for ODA.
Last month, at the meeting of EU Development Ministers in the Foreign Affairs Council, which I attended in Brussels, the EU recommitted to providing 0.7% of collective GNP in Official Development Assistance. At the meeting, Ireland played a strong role in helping broker the agreement to achieve the target within the timeframe of the post-2015 development agenda.
As our economic recovery continues to consolidate and strengthen, the challenge now is to determine how best we can make sustainable progress towards the UN target, as we continue to build on Ireland’s world-class aid programme by ensuring we make an effective contribution to the fight to end extreme poverty and hunger. I will be making the strongest possible case for an increase in the budget for the aid programme for 2016.
Millennium Development Goals
Ceisteanna (902)
Jerry Buttimer
Ceist:902. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans and objectives for the United Nations Financing for Development, Third International Conference to be held in Ethiopia on 13 to 16 July 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21914/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
2015 is a crucial year for international development. We are preparing for three interlinked international conferences: in Addis in July on financing for development, in New York in September on a new set of Sustainable Development Goals and in Paris in December on a new climate treaty. The outcome of Addis will be essential for success in the subsequent conferences. Ireland is playing a strong international role in the overall process to agree a new framework for global development to follow on from the Millennium Development Goals, post-2015.
The contours of a successful agreement at Addis will need to be broad if they are to support the new set of Sustainable Development Goals to be adopted at the major Summit at the UN in New York. Official Development Assistance (ODA) will be a vitally important element of the package, but agreement will also be needed on a much wider range of resources for development. It will be important to ensure that all countries contribute on an equitable basis and that the Conference can agree on measures to unlock all available sources of financing for development. These will need to include domestic resource mobilisation, the most rapidly growing component of development finance over the last decade, as well as ways of involving the private sector as inclusive partners in development and recognising the importance of science and technology.
While ODA will not be the sole focus of negotiations at Addis, it remains particularly important for the fight to end poverty in the Least Developed Countries, including many African countries and fragile states, countries which are the focus of Ireland’s aid programme. The Government remains firmly committed to reaching the 0.7% target and to making further progress towards it as our economic recovery consolidates. At the meeting of EU Development Ministers at the Foreign Affairs Council which I attended in Brussels on 26 May, agreement was reached to reconfirm the EU’s collective commitment to reaching the 0.7% target within the timeframe of the post 2015 agenda. We also agreed on the need to direct more aid to the Least Developed Countries, and especially to the poorest African countries. Ireland is a world leader in the proportion of our aid which we provide to the poorest countries.
I look forward to attending the Conference in Addis Ababa and to working with our EU and UN partners to secure an inclusive agreement that will support the new, transformative Sustainable Development Goals.
Millennium Development Goals
Ceisteanna (903)
Jerry Buttimer
Ceist:903. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his position on a new development agenda that will build on the Millennium Development Goals, which is set to be launched at the Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21915/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
This year, Ireland is playing a strong role in the work for global agreement in three major international conferences on sustainable development. The Conferences are interlinked. They are on Financing for Development, in Addis Ababa in July, on a new framework for global development at the UN in New York in September and on a new climate change agreement in Paris in December. The aim is to deliver a new and transformative sustainable development agenda for the period up to 2030, with Sustainable Development Goals to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) after 2015.
Ireland is co-facilitating intergovernmental negotiations at the United Nations to agree the new SDGs which will complete the work of the MDGs on the eradication of extreme poverty and will also place sustainable development at the core. The SDGs will be universal in nature and address development challenges through social, environmental and economic actions in low, middle and high-income countries alike. They will address a wide range of areas including MDG priorities such as food and nutrition, but also broader challenges, including on climate, sustainable production and consumption, trade and global governance structures, and peace and governance.
Ireland’s key priorities for the post-2015 Development Agenda have been the fight to end hunger and under-nutrition, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and good governance and rule of law. These priorities are drawn from Ireland’s Policy for International Development ‘One World, One Future’ and the priorities set out following the Foreign Policy Review in ‘The Global Island’. Ireland’s positions in the UN negotiations and in the relevant EU coordination are agreed through a whole-of-Government coordination process involving all relevant Government Departments. We have advocated for strong goals and targets in each of these key areas, and we have emphasised the need to incorporate human rights in the new development framework, reduce global inequality and protect the role of civil society.
I am confident that the inter-governmental negotiations on the SDGs which are being co-facilitated by Ireland and Kenya will agree an ambitious outcome which will be adopted by a Summit of world leaders in September in New York. Ireland is committed to playing an active and constructive role with our EU and UN partners in reaching agreement on these new, transformative goals.
Consular Services Provision
Ceisteanna (904)
Jerry Buttimer
Ceist:904. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in view of the recent devastating earthquakes in Nepal, if he will develop a register for Irish citizens in all countries susceptible to such natural disasters, including Taiwan, which would make it easier to facilitate contact between Irish persons and their families, should a nationwide natural disaster occur; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21951/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
In response to the earthquakes in Nepal, the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade opened its Consular Emergency Response Centre in Dublin and in concert with the Embassy of Ireland in New Delhi, India, which is accredited to Nepal, provided consular assistance to some 170 Irish citizens who were in the region at the time.
All Irish citizens may register their details and presence in particular countries through contacting their local Irish Consulate or accredited Irish Embassy. Additionally since 2007, the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade has operated an on-line citizens’ registration facility where Irish citizens can register their details directly with the Department. This registration facility is available at https://www.dfa.ie/travel/citizens-registration/
Registration with an Irish mission abroad or through the online facility is entirely voluntary. The online registration facility is intended for use by all citizens whether they may be travelling for leisure or business or indeed if they have taken up long-term residency overseas. Citizens who register their details with the Department greatly facilitate their being located and contacted in a crisis situation which then allows the Department to promptly provide assistance to them as may be necessary and as may be possible.
Foreign Policy
Ceisteanna (905)
Finian McGrath
Ceist:905. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is aware of the legal action of the Argentinian State against unlawful hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation activities on the Argentinian Continental Shelf; if he will support Argentina on this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22009/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I am aware of the matter referred to by the Deputy and officials of my Department have been briefed in detail by the Embassy of Argentina, at their initiative, on their country’s position. I am aware also of concerns at Argentina’s actions that have been raised in the context of the Foreign Affairs Council on 20 April this year, and in other EU fora, including the Trade Policy Committee.
The steps recently taken by Argentina impact on a number of EU countries, with wider potential implications also, and are being kept under review by the European Commission.
The House is aware of the context in which these developments arise. I would encourage the governments of the countries concerned, with which Ireland has excellent bilateral relations in each case, to avoid any steps that might exacerbate the dispute between them and to pursue a solution to their differences based on the relevant UN resolutions.
Northern Ireland Issues
Ceisteanna (906)
Brendan Smith
Ceist:906. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the outcome of his recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the leaders of the political parties in the Northern Ireland Executive, in relation to the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement; his proposals to hold further discussions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22083/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I represented the Government, together with Minister of State Seán Sherlock, at the Review meeting of the Stormont House Agreement which took place in Belfast on 2 June. In addition to the Review round table meeting, Minister Sherlock and I also had bilateral meetings with each of the Northern Ireland Executive political parties and with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers, MP, who was accompanied by NIO Parliamentary Under-Secretary Ben Wallace, MP.
During meetings on Tuesday, the seriousness of recent political developments and their implications for the sustainability of the Stormont House Agreement and the stability of the political institutions in Northern Ireland was acknowledged by all participants.
While the budgetary matters currently at impasse come within the remit of the devolved institutions, I underlined the Government’s wish to see a resolution as we have a clear interest in the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement as a whole, not least in relation to its provisions on dealing with the legacy of the past.
I believe that, with political will, a way through the current challenges can be found. A solution will require resolve and leadership from all participants. In the period ahead, the Government will remain closely engaged with the British Government, and with the Northern Ireland political parties, to encourage a resolution that enables the full implementation of the Stormont House Agreement and underwrites the stability of the devolved institutions.
Consular Services Provision
Ceisteanna (907)
Shane Ross
Ceist:907. Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts that have been made by his Department to assist a person (details supplied) who is an Irish citizen and who is currently being denied exit from Palestine through either the Israeli or Egyptian borders; if he is aware of the person's medical condition; the plans there are to assist the person to return to Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22114/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I am informed that the person referred to by the Deputy is a dual Irish/Canadian citizen who entered Palestine on their Canadian passport. I understand that the individual has sought consular assistance from the Embassy of Canada. The individual concerned has been in consistent contact with the Canadian authorities.
In circumstances where an Irish citizen travels on the passport of another country, my Department remains available to provide consular support. However, the host country is not obliged to recognise our right to do so nor is it obliged to grant Irish officials access to the citizen.
The Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv contacted the person referred to by the Deputy in February this year and informed them of this situation. The Embassy further informed the citizen of the possibility to depart Palestine at the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Israel by following the procedures that were in place for travellers at that time.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has for many years strongly advised Irish citizens against all travel to the Gaza Strip and the areas immediately adjacent to it.
Departmental Staff Recruitment
Ceisteanna (908)
Mary Mitchell O'Connor
Ceist:908. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when the next open competition for the post of First Secretary will be held; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22195/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
A competition for open recruitment to the grade of Assistant Principal Officer, incorporating an option for recruitment to the grade of First Secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has recently been advertised by the Public Appointments Service. Details are available on the Public Appointments Service website: http://www.publicjobs.ie/publicjobs/campaignAdvert/19358.htm
Prospective candidates should note that the closing date for this competition is Thursday 18th June 2015.
Departmental Staff Recruitment
Ceisteanna (909)
Mary Mitchell O'Connor
Ceist:909. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when the next open competition for the post of Third Secretary will be held; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22196/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
All Third Secretary competitions are open competitions. My Department is currently in discussion with the Public Appointments Service regarding the next such competition. It is expected that the competition will be advertised over the coming months. Prospective candidates may wish to register their interest on the Public Appointments Service website www.publicjobs.ie and ask to be alerted by e-mail or text when the competition is launched.
Israeli Settlements
Ceisteanna (910)
Anthony Lawlor
Ceist:910. Deputy Anthony Lawlor asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on Israel's plans to forcibly relocate up to 7,000 Palestinian Bedouins from 46 communities in occupied Palestine, and in view of the assertion by the Secretary-General of the United Nations that, if implemented, these plans would represent a breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, if his Department will call on the Israeli Government to halt its plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22258/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Ireland has consistently condemned the dispossession and eviction of Palestinian people in order to clear land for Israeli settlements. This is clearly contrary to international law. I have expressed these concerns in public statements, in contacts with the Israeli Embassy here, and directly to the Israeli Foreign Minister when I visited the area in February.
We have also consistently made this clear at EU level. The EU has consistently condemned these policies, most recently in the Conclusions of the Foreign Affairs Council in November 2014. I have urged the EU and the international community to take stronger action to oppose this policy.
The relocation plans relate to a number of communities, principally in the E1 area east of Jerusalem. This area has been a focus of international concern for some time. I note the UN Secretary General’s view that, should it proceed, this may amount to forcible transfer contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention, and I share that assessment.
I repeat today my condemnation of these relocation plans, and I call for them to be set aside.
Question No. 911 answered with Question No. 901.
Syrian Conflict
Ceisteanna (912)
Seán Crowe
Ceist:912. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is aware of the case of a Palestinian refugee (details supplied) who had to flee his home in Syria due to the conflict there, who has been living in Jordan but now faces deportation back to Syria, where he faced possible torture and death; if the Minister will raise this case with his Jordanian counterpart and call on the Jordanian authorities to stall the person's deportation, while Germany processes the person's application for asylum. [22361/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Ireland regards the protection of refugees as a core human rights priority. The Syrian conflict, which has displaced millions of Syrians, including over 4 million refugees, is the gravest such problem internationally.
Ireland has committed €41M in humanitarian assistance to the victims of the Syrian conflict. Ireland has also accepted 128 refugees fleeing Syria in previous years and is committed to accepting a further 220 during 2015 and 2016. Furthermore, 114 applicants for admission to Ireland under the Syrian Humanitarian Admission Programme have been accepted, many of whom are already in the state.
All refugee cases are marked by tragedy and the threat of violence. The latest status of the case raised by the Deputy, including such critical matters as the State in which he is currently located, is unclear.
We urge all States to uphold their international legal obligations to protect refugees and asylum-seekers, in this and all other cases of persons seeking refuge from the Syrian conflict.
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
Ceisteanna (913)
Maureen O'Sullivan
Ceist:913. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade If he will list, in tabular form, the representations received by him over the past three years, his Department and his Department’s Ministers of State, on the European Union - United States of America Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or any of the other names by which these negotiations have been known; if he will provide a full list of the persons and organisations from whom these representations came; the number of meetings he, his Ministerial colleagues or his Department officials have had with interested parties regarding it; with whom they were held and the date on which they took place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22463/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade exercises responsibility for trade promotion, and is not the Department responsible for international trade policy. Hence, it does not have the leading role in Ireland’s input to the negotiations relating to the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Accordingly, where formal representations are received by my Department on the TTIP negotiations, these are generally referred to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for their consideration. My Department has received such representations relating to TTIP since June 2012 from a range of organisations and private citizens. A list of the organisations has been annexed to this reply.
The issue of the negotiations on a possible trade agreement between the EU and the US comes up as a regular item for discussion at meetings that I, Ministers of State and officials at my Department have with various interlocutors including Oireachtas members, Members of the European Parliament, the EU Commission, other Member States and the US authorities. In addition, in the course of their work our missions in EU countries and in the US have also had conversations with appropriate interlocutors on the EU-US trade agenda, during which TTIP was discussed.
Annex: Cavan County Council; Chambers Ireland; Copa-Cogeca/European Farmers - European Agri-Cooperatives; Donegal County Council; Dublin International Insurance and Management Association; Emergency Committee for American Trade; European Banking Federation; European Film Agencies Directors; Faith in Action group; IFA; IFUT, INTO, TUI and ASTI; IMPACT; Irish Cancer Society; Irish Medical Organisation; Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association; Presentation Justice Network.
Climate Change Policy
Ceisteanna (914, 915, 916, 917, 918)
Maureen O'Sullivan
Ceist:914. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of meetings the Inter-Departmental Committee on Development has had since the publication of One World, One Future: Ireland’s Policy for International Development and the issues the Committee discussed. [22468/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMaureen O'Sullivan
Ceist:915. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the input Irish Aid has had in the development of a draft National Bioenergy Plan by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Strategic Environmental Assessment of that plan, in the light of the significant impacts of biofuels and other bioenergy on food security and the environment in developing countries. [22469/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMaureen O'Sullivan
Ceist:916. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the input Irish Aid has had in the development of climate change mitigation policy by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, in the light of the significant impacts of biofuels on food security and the environment in developing countries. [22470/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMaureen O'Sullivan
Ceist:917. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the input Irish Aid has had in the development of climate change mitigation policy by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in the light of the impacts of climate change on food security in developing countries. [22471/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMaureen O'Sullivan
Ceist:918. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the input Irish Aid has had in the development of Agri-Food 2025 by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in the light of potential impacts of Irish agricultural policy choices on developing countries including through climate change, impacts on global grain prices, and / or inappropriate or excessive use of breast milk substitutes. [22472/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 914 to 918, inclusive, together.
One World One Future: Ireland’s Policy for International Development renews the Government’s strong commitment to a whole-of-Government approach to international development and effective collaboration across Government in achieving policy objectives. We are committed to identifying specific policy areas where policy coherence for development can be enhanced. The OECD Peer Review of Ireland’s Development Cooperation Programme last year noted the considerable progress already made in this regard. It also recommended that Ireland develop a more strategic approach and focus on a few policy issues where greater coherence is required.
Since the publication of One World One Future in 2013, we have made progress in advancing coherence in a number of policy areas, including on taxation and support for developing countries to raise their own domestic revenue for use in their development. Climate change, energy and agriculture are also areas on which we have focused strongly. They have a critical relationship with global food and nutrition security and hunger, and are priority areas for our development programmes. Through Irish Aid support on climate change and development, we have assisted Least Developed Countries to engage in the international climate change negotiations. On a practical level, we are supporting efforts on climate change mitigation and adaptation in Ireland’s Key Partner Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. We are working closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine through collaboration in the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture, and through joint support for and engagement in the Leadership Forum for Climate Smart Agriculture hosted by the RDS and the Institute for International and European Affairs.
My Department engages fully in cross-Government consultation on these issues. We work closely with the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government which leads on the issue of climate change nationally and internationally, and officials from my Department form part of Ireland’s national delegation to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In line with a whole-of-Government approach to national, European and international climate policy development, my Department participates in the Senior Officials Group on Economic Infrastructure and Climate Change, along with officials from other relevant Government Departments, including the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Department of Energy, Communications and Natural Resources, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine. This group supports the Cabinet Committee on Economic Infrastructure and Climate Change which is chaired by An Taoiseach and in which I have participated.
I would note that the National Policy Position on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development, which was approved by Government, recognises that the need to ensure a coherent and cost-effective approach to the twin challenges of sustainable food production and climate change in the agriculture and land use sector, is a key issue for consideration in the on-going evolution of national climate policy.
Officials from my Department and the Department of Agriculture are in regular contact on a bilateral basis, including on AgriFood 2025.
My colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources takes the lead on Government policy in relation to biofuels including renewable and bio-energy policy. My Department has contributed to the development of policy on bio-energy in Ireland through inputs to the draft National Bio-energy Plan drawn up by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. My Department will continue to contribute to the development of the National Bio-energy Plan through the consultation process leading to the finalisation of the National Plan.
The new Sustainable Development Goals due to be adopted at the UN Summit in New York in September will represent a comprehensive and far-reaching set of universal goals and targets which will transform for the better the world in which we live. The success of the new development agenda hinges on coherence at domestic and international level to ensure policies are focused on poverty eradication and sustainable development. The Interdepartmental Committee on International Development (IDCD) has recently focused on preparations for the UN negotiations on the new development framework. For this purpose, the IDCD has been co-chaired by my Department and the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government to ensure a comprehensive and coherent Irish position on Ireland’s priorities in the inter-governmental negotiations which are taking place in New York. It has met five times since December last year, including with representatives from civil society. The IDCD will continue to meet on a regular basis in this format until September.
It is my intention, following the UN Summit in New York in September, to review how the IDCD is structured and to ensure it is well placed to deliver on our commitment to policy coherence for development. I will work with the members of the Oireachtas to identify the areas where Ireland can most effectively make a difference in advancing areas of policy coherence related to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, building on the achievements to date.