QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of delivery of new school buildings under the Adapt 18 programme; the number of new schools that have been delivered; the status of all projects under the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

ADAPT stands for Accelerated Delivery of Architectural Planning and Tendering.

 It is a pilot programme of 20 major projects which uses a professional external Project Manager (PM) to coordinate and drive the respective design teams on each project. The intention of ADAPT is to provide an improved, accelerated delivery timeframe for each of those projects.

The Project Manager was appointed in mid 2015 and the design teams for each of the projects were appointed in January 2016.

17 of the 20 projects have to date reached advanced architectural planning with most currently completing stage 2(b).

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new site for Gaeilscoil Ros Eo, Rush, Co Dublin, as announced in November 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

As the Deputy is aware, a project to provide permanent accommodation for the school in question is included on my Department's Capital Programme.

Officials in my Department continue to liaise with officials in the relevant local authority in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding in relation to the acquisition of a suitable site for this school.  Discussions with relevant parties regarding the potential acquisition of a preferred site option are currently in progress with a view to advancing matters as expeditiously as possible.

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when the next phase of the school building for Lusk Community College will commence; the status of this project; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

The school to which the Deputy refers commenced construction on 3rd January 2018.  Works are progressing well on site, subject to no issues arising it is envisaged that the school will be ready for occupation in the 4th quarter of 2019.

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding progress on a new school building project for St. Joseph's Secondary School, Rush Co Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

As the Deputy is aware the building project for the school in question is included on my Department's capital programme.

A new school site is required to accommodate this project and officials in my Department have been in contact with the school patron and trustees in relation to the site acquisition.

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new site for Hedgestown National School, Balbriggan; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

The lands at the school referred to by the Deputy, were purchased by the St Laurence O'Toole Diocesan Trust, on behalf of the Board of Management.
 
An initial site adjacent to the school, was procured from Fingal County Council and transferred ownership on 1st June 2017.
 
The second site was purchased from a private vendor and ownership transferred on 18th October 2017.

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a permanent site for Malahide/Portmarnock Educate Together National School; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

As the Deputy is aware, the project to provide permanent accommodation for the school in question is included on my Department's Capital Programme.

Officials in my Department continue to liaise with officials in the relevant local authority in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding in relation to the identification and acquisition of a suitable site for this school and the process is ongoing. 

My Department is in contact with the school patron to appraise them of progress in this regard.

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new secondary school for the Malahide and Portmarnock areas of County Dublin as announced in November 2015; if locations for these proposed schools have been identified; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

As the Deputy is aware, a project to deliver permanent accommodation for the new post primary school to serve Malahide/Portmarnock, as announced in November 2015, is included on my Department's capital plan.

Officials in my Department are continuing to liaise with officials in Fingal County Council under the Memorandum of Understanding for the acquisition of school sites in order to secure a suitable site to facilitate this project.  A suitable site has been identified and engagement in this regard is ongoing with a view to securing a site as expeditiously as possible.

My Department continues to keep Educate Together, as patron of the school, appraised of developments in the site acquisition process.

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new secondary school for the Swords area of County Dublin as announced in November 2015; if locations for the proposed school have been identified; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

As the Deputy may be aware, the proposed location for the new post-primary school referred to by the Deputy is in Mooretown, Swords.

This school building project is on my Department's Rapid Design & Build Programme and the project is currently at architectural planning stage.

QUESTION

To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the financial and technical support his Department is providing either directly or through the EU in the run-up to the presidential elections in Colombia in 2018; his views on violence in the run-up to the election; the safeguards in place to protect candidates; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the financial and technical support his Department is providing either directly or through the EU in the run-up to the presidential elections in Colombia in 2018 to ensure a transparent and peaceful process and to encourage the protection of the spirit and promises of the peace agreement.

REPLY

The first round of presidential elections are due to take place in Colombia on 27 May 2018, following national legislative elections which took place on 11 March 2018, the first since the country’s historic peace accord was approved in November 2016.  

I am aware of the reports of violence in Colombia in the electoral season to which the Deputy refers.  The security situation continues to be cause for concern, and developments in the aftermath of legislative elections and in advance of presidential elections are being closely monitored by my Department and by our Embassy in Mexico which is accredited to Colombia.  I condemn unreservedly any such intimidation or violence perpetrated in Colombia and elsewhere.  As the Deputy will agree, peaceful and fair elections are the cornerstone of any democracy and this right must be guaranteed.

Ireland has made significant financials contribution in support of the Colombian peace process.

Ireland is a founder member and one of the largest contributors to the EU Trust Fund for Colombia, which aims to support the implementation of the peace agreement.  We have committed to providing €3 million in funding over the lifetime of the Fund.  

In addition, in 2017, Ireland contributed €400,000 to the UN Trust Fund for Colombia and €300,000 to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to assist them in carrying out their vital work in Colombia.

Ireland is also funding the secondment of Mr. Pat Colgan as an adviser to the Colombian Ministry for Post-Conflict. Mr. Colgan was formerly Chief Executive of the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), which was set up by the British and Irish Governments to manage the PEACE Programmes and INTERREG Programmes in Northern Ireland.

I firmly believe that Colombia’s peace accord provides the framework in which the endemic violence and impunity which has afflicted Colombian society for decades can successfully be addressed.  Historic strides have been made to date in its implementation, including the full decommissioning of FARC weapons by July 2017 and the transformation of the organisation into a political party, which as part of the agreement is guaranteed to have five seats in each chamber of the national congress.

We know from our own experience in Ireland that achieving peace can be complex and challenging and is far from straightforward.  Whatever the outcome of presidential elections in May, Ireland remains committed to supporting the full implementation of the agreement, which I believe will ensure a more peaceful future for all Colombians.

I wish to take this opportunity to recall the warm relations which exist between Ireland and Colombia, demonstrated by the announcement in October 2017 that Ireland will open an Embassy in Bogotá, and I wish to extend to the people of Colombia all the best for the electoral period ahead.

QUESTION

To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he or his officials have considered transposing the Magnitsky Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he or his officials have discussed the Magnitsky Act with the American Ambassador or with officials in the USA; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the Magnitsky Act was discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council recently; and if will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

The circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 remain deeply disturbing. From the outset, the EU called on the Russian authorities to conduct a comprehensive and independent investigation, and criticised their failure to clarify the circumstances surrounding Mr. Magnitsky’s death.
A number of countries, including some EU Member States, have put in place national “Magnitsky Acts” freezing the assets of, and withholding visas from, certain Russian officials believed to have acted in violation of human rights.
The question of the nature and scope of EU sanctions is always complex and difficult. The adoption of sanctions requires a unanimous decision of the Council. As the Deputy will be aware, EU economic sanctions have been in place against Russia since 2014 in response to its illegal annexation of Crimea and its further actions to destabilise Ukraine.
To date Ireland has raised its concerns regarding human rights in Russia directly with the Russian authorities and through the EU, the Council of Europe and at the UN Human Rights Council. In 2016, the Foreign Affairs Council adopted five principles to guide EU relations with Russia. Key amongst these is strengthening our support for civil society in Russia, a position which Ireland fully endorses.
At the Foreign Affairs Council yesterday Ministers discussed the EU’s policy on Russia. We agreed that the five principles represent a balanced and comprehensive framework for managing our relations with Russia. We also underlined the crucial importance of increasing EU support for civil society organisations and human rights activists at this time. The question of further EU measures against Russia may be considered over the coming period; however no decisions were taken at yesterday’s meeting.
I can confirm that my Department has not had discussions with the US authorities regarding the introduction of a Magnitsky Act in Ireland.