Results 561-580 of 46,197 for speaker:Simon Harris

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: All passport applications are subject to the terms of the Passports Act, 2008, as amended (“the Act“). The Act provides a legal basis for the various policies and procedures that are applied by the Passport Service in the issuing of passports. There is a field on the data page of the Irish passport to record the place of birth of the holder, but nationality is not displayed on...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: My Department is currently in the busiest season of the year for processing passport applications, as citizens prepare for their upcoming summer travel plans. Thanks to operational and staffing plans implemented by my Department, the Passport Service is successfully responding to the current high demand, and has issued over 440,000 passports to date this year. All turnaround times are at...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Public Procurement Contracts (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 113, 114 and 115 together. I will answer PQs 27020/25, 27038/25 and 27056/25 together. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is responsible for two Votes - Vote 27 (International Cooperation) and Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs and Trade). The policy of the Department is to operate competitive tendering as standard procedure in order to achieve best...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Anti-Racism Measures (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I note that the Deputy’s question relates to the illustrative examples that accompany the IHRA’s non legally binding working definition of antisemitism. On its public website setting out the definition and the illustrative examples, the IHRA notes that it provides a non-exhaustive list of what contemporary manifestations of antisemitism could include, while also noting that...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Agreements (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 118 and 124 together. Following the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on 20 May, the EU High Representative announced that the EU will conduct a review of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. This is an important decision, reflecting the grave concerns held by Member States regarding the situation in Gaza. The EU remains steadfast in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Military Aircraft (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: Ireland’s policy of military neutrality means that Ireland does not participate in military alliances or common or mutual defence arrangements. As I have said in this House on many previous occasions, there are no plans to alter this policy. Responsibility for the regulation of foreign aircraft landing or overflying the State is shared between Departments. The Minister for Foreign...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Agreements (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: The Government is committed to supporting free, fair and open trade. Indeed, recent developments in the global trading environment have highlighted the importance of market diversification via an expanded set of EU free trade agreements. EU FTAs support more opportunity for exports and investment, help support jobs and growth at home, maintain strict EU standards on food safety, animal and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: Responsibility for the regulation of foreign aircraft landing or overflying the State is shared between Departments. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has primary responsibility for the regulation of foreign military and state aircraft, while the Minister for Transport leads on regulation of civil aircraft. Under the terms of the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: The Government has consistently condemned the blockade of essential aid to Gaza and called for the immediate resumption of unimpeded humanitarian aid into and throughout Gaza. The humanitarian situation in the Strip is catastrophic with almost no aid allowed in by Israel since 2 March. The limited amount of aid allowed in in recent days is clearly insufficient. Following the meeting of the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: Sanctions are an important tool to promote the objectives of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy in response to breaches of international law including international humanitarian law and human rights. I welcome that the European Union adopted successive rounds of sanctions against violent Israeli settlers under its Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, in April and in July...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: All civil servants posted to our missions abroad, including third secretaries, are paid the standard salary for their grade as determined by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and are paid in accordance with the normal Irish taxation and social security obligations that apply to civil servants. In common with other diplomatic services, this Department further...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: In my intervention at the EU-Palestine High Level Dialogue in Luxembourg last month, I stressed the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority. In this regard, I welcome the recent joint statement by the High Representative Kaja Kallas and the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee supporting the Palestinian Authority in assuming all of its...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: Ireland has resident Ambassadors in 72 countries. Some of these are also accredited as Ambassador of Ireland on a non-resident basis to other states in their region.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Public Procurement Contracts (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 154, 155 and 156 together. The detailed information sought by the Deputy is not readily available within the time frame sought. Officials in my Department are collating this information and I will arrange to have this information forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (27 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 157 and 158 together. The military authorities have advised it has not been possible to provide the required information within the timeframe available. I shall provide the information to the Deputy once it becomes available.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy McAuliffe. He raises an interesting and fair point, and it is one that comes up quite a lot. I will certainly commit to engaging with the Minister for Justice on this. We are going through a period of reform in the passport service. Many challenges that used to exist, including delays in getting passports, are, thankfully, gone. Many people are pleasantly shocked at how...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Neville for raising this matter. He is right that it is a major priority for us in government. In the programme for Government we have outlined 21 specific commitments on childcare. My constituency in Wicklow it is not too dissimilar to Deputy Neville's constituency in Kildare in terms of a very fast-growing population of people. They are pleased to see the reduction we...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Carthy for raising this matter, and for providing me with the figures, which do seem quite extraordinary in terms of the amount of plastic being collected under the scheme that then has to be shipped out of the country. I do not profess to be an expert on the detail of this but I will ask the Minister for the environment to look at the specific issue raised by Deputy Carthy to...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I know but I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to come back to Deputy Carthy on it.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 May 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Lawless for raising what is clearly is a very important issue. I am pleased to tell him there is a proposed public health nicotine inhaling products Bill which will contain a range of measures to reduce youth use of nicotine inhaling products such as vapes, a ban on point-of-sale displays and advertising, a ban on devices resembling toys and games, restrictions on flavours for...