Results 281-300 of 47,282 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service (30 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: Earlier this year, I instructed a team consisting senior military officers, led by the Chief of Staff, and my senior officials to conduct a detailed workshop with the Naval Service. I am advised that on foot of same, a Naval Service Regeneration Plan will be submitted to me shortly by the military authorities for my consideration. The issue of additional Naval bases, on the East Coast or...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: The Government affords the highest priority to the State’s security and to the security of individuals. in particular, the safety and security of its personnel is paramount to Óglaigh na hÉireann. The Defence Forces implements a broad range of measures to ensure security is maintained in both the physical and cyber domains. Cyber security awareness is one of the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Maritime Jurisdiction (30 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: I can confirm that the Defence Forces monitor activity within Irish territorial waters and the Irish EEZ on a continual basis. It is important to note that The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) allows for all vessels, including military vessels, to transit through the territorial waters of coastal states when conducting innocent passage (as defined by art. 19 of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Sanctions (25 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: The European Union implements all sanctions adopted by the United Nations Security Council. EU Regulations relating to sanctions have direct effect in Irish law, meaning that they must be complied with in the same way as domestic Irish legislation. As such, a natural or legal person who contravenes a provision of an EU sanctions Regulation would be guilty of an offence and liable to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (25 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: The Passport Service accepts both apostrophes and fadas for inclusion on citizens' passports. The Passport Service is aware that some applicants have experienced difficulty entering an apostrophe on the Passport Online application form. Following an investigation, it appears that this is a limited issue occuring when using an iOS device where the 'smart punctuation' feature is enabled....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (25 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 180 and 181 together. On 19 September, together with Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, I announced publication of an agreed Joint Framework on the Legacy of the Troubles. The full text of the Joint Framework is available on gov.ie. The Joint Framework sets out a comprehensive package aimed at providing truth and accountability for...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (25 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: The Government approved the move to ‘Level of Ambition 2’ (LOA2), as set out in the capability framework devised by the Commission on the Defence Forces in July, 2022. This provided for a rise in the Defence budget to €1.5 billion, in 2022 prices, by 2028, as part of the annual Estimates process. The revised NDP Capital allocation for the Defence Vote Group for the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (25 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: The Government approved the move to ‘Level of Ambition 2’ (LOA2), as set out in the capability framework devised by the Commission on the Defence Forces (CoDF) in July, 2022. This provided for a rise in the Defence budget to €1.5 billion, in 2022 prices, by 2028, as part of the annual Estimates process. The Estimate process encompass a twelve-month funding cycle, and is...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Relations (24 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: The EU and the US represents the largest bilateral trading relationship, with €4.4 billion worth of goods and services crossing the Atlantic each day. In the context of this highly important trading relationship, it is clear that imposition of large additional tariffs by the US would significantly affect Ireland’s export base. At the Government Trade Forum on 2 July,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Presidency (24 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time from 1 July to 31 December 2026. This will be an important opportunity for Ireland to lead and shape the European agenda, and the Government has made a firm commitment to resource and deliver a successful Presidency in 2026. Work on preparations and planning has been stepped up across Government, led...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (24 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: The 2024 and 2025 budget allocations to the embassies based in Seoul, Wellington, Rabat, Pretoria and Tokyo are set out in the table below. - 2024 2025 Rabat 814,011 765,253 Seoul 972,009 1,269,507 Tokyo 2,849,422 2,928,930 Wellington ...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: National Security (24 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 and 5 together. As Minister for Defence, I am regularly briefed on matters of national security but, precisely for reasons of national security, I am not in a position to disclose the nature of such briefings or to comment on the detail of security matters. However, I can assure the Deputy that the Government affords the highest priority to the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Air Corps (24 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service is maintained and developed. This is to enable the Defence Forces to carry out the roles assigned by Government. Equipment priorities for the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service are considered in the context of the established capability development and Equipment Development...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (24 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: The Defence Forces Infrastructure Development Plan (IDP) sets out a programme of project delivery for the years 2023 to 2027. The Programme reflects the complex environment in which the Defence Forces operate and the corresponding need for appropriate infrastructure to provide for accommodation and training of personnel, as well as maintenance and storage of equipment for land, sea and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Agreements (23 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: The European Commission presented its final package on the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement on 3 September for onward adoption and approval by the Council of the European Union and European Parliament. The package includes the consolidated text of the original agreement negotiated in 2019 and the additional legal instrument addressing trade and sustainability commitments which was agreed...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (23 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: The Passport Service is aware that some applicants have experienced difficulty entering an apostrophe on the Passport Online application form. Following an investigation, it appears that this issue only occurs when using an iOS device where the 'smart punctuation' feature is enabled. The Passport Service is working with external partners to resolve this issue but in the meantime,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (23 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 97 and 98 together. The Department does not have any record of any direct purchases of goods or services in Ireland from Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territory over the past two years. The acquisition of goods and services by my Department complies with all relevant legislation, including EU Directives, and with Office of Government Procurement...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (23 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: The Consulate General of Ireland in Mumbai opened in 2019 in an Ireland House format, co-located with Enterprise Ireland and IDA offices. The Consulate is a three diplomat mission, supported by three local staff, and covers the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa, as well as the Union Territories of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The Consulate provides consular support and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (23 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: I strongly condemn the violation of EU airspace by the Russian Federation. Three such instances have taken place in recent days: Russian drones were detected in Polish airspace on 9 September, and in Romanian airspace on 14 September. Russian military jets were detected in Estonian airspace on 19 September. These actions are deeply concerning. They threaten the security of EU citizens and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Agreements (23 Sep 2025)

Simon Harris: Ireland has taken note of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union with regard to Western Sahara. The European Union is now preparing to negotiate an amendment to the 2018 Agreement between the EU and Morocco in the form of an exchange of letters following the conditions established by the Court in that judgment. As the process evolves, Ireland will keep progress in...