Results 101-120 of 46,197 for speaker:Simon Harris

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: Not at all. To Deputy Michael Murphy, with the exception of this foreign affairs meeting, the best and nicest thing I have done today - I am only joking - was meeting the Little Blue Heroes. I thank him for bringing them here. It would warm your heart. It is an incredible initiative by An Garda Síochána. I also thank its members for it. I hope the nine young people here today,...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (24 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: Let us do that. I appreciate Deputy Ó Laoghaire's raising of this issue. He is entirely right; not alone is the world not doing enough about the issue but it is not even getting enough attention, bandwidth or discussion, yet the scale of the catastrophe is huge. Ireland has consistently advocated for greater international attention. We must challenge ourselves and see what more we...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Moynihan so much for raising this and for his advocacy on behalf of Conor and Dean and so many children and patients more widely across our country who want us to get this right in terms of access to medication. I could point out that we have made good progress. From 2021 to 2024, we allocated an additional €128 million for new medicines. That facilitated the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising that issue. I absolutely will follow it up directly with the Minister for Health. As the Deputy said, we want all of our public servants, including our front-line emergency staff, to work in fit-for-purpose but most importantly safe environments. That sounds like a very serious situation. I will directly speak with the Minister for Health and ask that we...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy McGrath very much for raising this important matter. I will speak with both the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, with regard to that and see if we can find a resolution that works for everybody and most particularly works for the children. As the Deputy said, their excitement was palpable with regard to this. Let me talk to the two...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: Absolutely. I thank Deputy Lawless for raising this issue on behalf of Michelle and Katie. I hope the outcome of that very significant surgery has gone well. I appreciate the Deputy highlighting this issue. I am going from memory and past experiences but, generally, the scheme would try to be compassionate and engaging with regard to supports for family members who may need to travel and...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Clendennen. I, too, am very proud of the progress we have made on public health. We have much more work to do. There is a legitimate issue of timing when it comes to labelling. My colleague, the Minister, Deputy Heydon, has shared economic concerns relating to the policy due to the uncertain trading environment, which has been raised with him by many colleagues trying to do...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Ó Cearúil for raising this issue. He is right. Sometime, means tests can just be mean. We have to make sure that they are fit for purpose. That is why the programme for Government specifically makes this commitment. We want to do a thorough deep-dive on means tests, particularly where there are anomalies or poverty traps or they do not align with other parts of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Crowe for his very constructive suggestion. Tomorrow, we will have a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council, which will be an opportunity for colleagues across the island of Ireland to get together. I will raise the issue of DMD on the meeting's margins. If it is possible for professionals throughout the island to work together in the interests of patients with a...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I agree with a lot of what the Deputy said. The idea that any parent has to watch his or her young child in such a fragile state when the parent knows there is medication available that could significantly improve the child's quality of life and health is not right. The HSE is engaging on this matter. In light of it being raised in the House today by a number of Deputies, I will seek an...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Whitmore. As she can imagine, I have been looking into this situation as well. Like her, I want to see it progress. I have corresponded directly with the Minister for housing on the matter. We are going to have a review of the national development plan. If the issue is one of funding constraints - it should not be - I am eager that we rectify it in that plan. The review...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Callaghan for raising this issue. It is one that is raised with me often. The Deputy is correct, in that these people are not against renewable energy. Far from it, but they want to have a rational understanding of how we best use the land in our communities with all of the various competing interests. As the Deputy said, our programme for Government commits to completing...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Ward for the constructive way in which he has been engaging on this issue on behalf of his constituents in Donegal. I am pleased with some of the progress that we have been able to make together after the Minister, Deputy Browne, worked intensively with Deputy Ward's constituents and the advocacy groups in Donegal. I will ask the Minister to reflect on the Deputy's point...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Collins for raising this issue. I am not in any way doubting the accuracy of what he says or his bona fides on it, but if true, that lack of communication would be quite extraordinary. I must say without knowing all the details that the idea of moving people 100 km is extraordinary at any stage in a person's life, least not in the latter stages. I know the Department of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Brennan for raising this issue. This Government is keen to support small and medium enterprises. They make up the backbone of our economy and every community that we proudly represent in Dáil Éireann. We have taken two measures already. The SME test makes sure that all proposals that come to the Government are put through the prism of what their impact on our...

Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I am definitely not directing my remarks at the people of Dundrum – far from it. I met some of them when in Clonmel, but we have seen that huge pressure and challenges have been imposed on the gardaí in dealing with extremist elements in certain places. They visit my constituency as well. I thank the gardaí, who often must operate in the face of considerable abuse, which...

Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: However, I am taking the Deputy’s broader point and on this occasion I am agreeing with him in that we obviously need to do more to increase the Garda presence. I assure him that the programme for Government, and also the pipeline we are now seeing from Templemore, will see us on a more positive trajectory as a result of the foundations we have put in place over the past several...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Cullinane for raising this issue again. I acknowledge he has raised it frequently. I would make the point that when we have worked together, across parties in this House, on issues relating to Waterford and the rest of the south east, including the university in recent years, we have managed to make progress together. This is a similar issue. Genuinely across the House,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I extend my sympathy to the family of the young man, Evan Fitzgerald. He was a countyman of mine. The incident was a great shock in the local community and County Wicklow. I understand this is a complex case. Obviously, I am not privy, nor should I be, to when the Garda Commissioner does or does not use the provision in the Act. That is a matter between the Commissioner and the Minister,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: We are treating this as an emergency. It is a housing emergency and that is why we are taking big decisions each and every week to try to increase housing supply. We have increased housing supply from the floor to around 30,000 homes each year. We need to increase that significantly to deliver 300,000 more homes by the end of 2030. We have been following the evidence base of the Housing...