Results 2,101-2,120 of 15,389 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: General Affairs Council: Discussion (5 Dec 2018)

Helen McEntee: We see these changes daily. We will all keep an eye on how things go next Monday most importantly. Would no Brexit at all be welcome? I would say "Yes". While obviously this has taken considerable time, cost, energy and effort, nobody wants to see the UK leave. It has been an instrumental partner in the EU for the past 45 years, joining at the same time as us. We have many of the same...

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (12 Dec 2018)

Helen McEntee: I thank Deputies for their statements in advance of the December European Council. The Taoiseach already spoke in some detail about expectations for the Article 50 meeting on Brexit, the euro summit, and several items for discussion tomorrow and Friday. That includes the multi-annual financial framework, which I will go into in more detail in due course, the Single Market, migration,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Brexit Issues (18 Dec 2018)

Helen McEntee: I thank the two Deputies for raising this issue. Given where they are situated, I know how important this is to them and the concerns they have. I assure them we are not planning to fail on this. The potential impact of Brexit and the importance of avoiding a hard border to the people living in all the Border communities cannot be underestimated and the Government has been acutely aware of...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Brexit Issues (18 Dec 2018)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputies for their statements. I know this is an extremely important issue for them. Deputy Breathnach referred to the UK's proposed shared prosperity fund. The UK is considering such a fund on the basis that it will leave the European Union and will no longer receive Structural Funds. Ireland has no intention of leaving the EU and would be foolish to even consider doing so....

Post-European Council: Statements (19 Dec 2018)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for his question. I join other Members in wishing everyone a happy and peaceful Christmas. I hope everyone gets a good break. I am sorry to disappoint Members, but I will not be outlining in great detail the contingency planning that will be announced tomorrow by the Taoiseach. As many Members have mentioned, the Commission has published its communication on...

Post-European Council: Statements (19 Dec 2018)

Helen McEntee: Is there any substance to which views?

Post-European Council: Statements (19 Dec 2018)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputies for their questions. I should have outlined at the beginning that while there are announcements to be made tomorrow and there will be further clarity on the legislation about which we are talking, a lot of work has been done in trying to prepare. Certain industries, particularly agriculture, have already been affected by Brexit. In the past three budgets we have been...

Post-European Council: Statements (19 Dec 2018)

Helen McEntee: I would like to have ten minutes because a number of questions were raised about disinformation. I thank Deputies for their statements and questions about the December European Council meeting. As the Taoiseach indicated, I shall focus in my wrap-up remarks on the efforts to combat disinformation, the fight against racism and xenophobia, as well as citizens' consultations on the future...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Housing Issues (16 Jan 2019)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, who sends his apologies for not being able to be present. I will first outline the work that Irish Water has been doing, which is important to set the scene for what we are discussing. Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has had statutory responsibility for all aspects of water...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Housing Issues (16 Jan 2019)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy for his comments. I appreciate that this is a matter of major concern for him, although I understand that he is not just talking about his own community and county, and that this may well be an issue in other areas as well. That said, I assure the Deputy that Irish Water is trying to develop and implement a long-term investment perspective to strategically address...

National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Order for Second Stage (16 Jan 2019)

Helen McEntee: I move: "That Second Stage be taken now".

National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018: Second Stage (16 Jan 2019)

Helen McEntee: I move: “That the Bill be now read a Second Time.” I am very pleased to introduce the National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Bill 2018. This Bill will provide the legislative underpinning for the rainy-day fund, the Government committed to creating in A Programme for a Partnership Government. It is an important plank of the policies pursued by the...

Government's Brexit Preparedness: Statements (17 Jan 2019)

Helen McEntee: I will update the House on the work that is being progressed to protect the continuity of the supply of medicines and transport connectivity between Ireland and both the UK and continental Europe. First, as Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs, I will focus on the EU's preparedness and contingency planning, which has provided the basis for much of our own domestic...

Government's Brexit Preparedness: Statements (17 Jan 2019)

Helen McEntee: It is all online.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 Jan 2019)

Helen McEntee: Nobody blamed them.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Passport Applications (12 Feb 2019)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Senator for raising what is a very important issue. While much of my response is quite technical in outlining the situation as it stands, the Senator has brought it back to what it should be about, namely, families, children and their parents. While he, I and many others would recognise both people in the example he gave as parents, the letter of the law says otherwise. We have...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Passport Applications (12 Feb 2019)

Helen McEntee: There have been recent discussions on this matter which do not just follow on from the Attorney General's request for further clarification from the Department. There have been other legislative developments, led by the Department of Justice and Equality, the Department of Health and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection which will I hope have a positive impact in this...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Human Rights (14 Feb 2019)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputies for raising this issue. It is, of course, a matter of grave concern for the Government that, eight years on from the beginning of the 2011 pro-democracy protests, Bahrain has not progressed in the way we had hoped. In fact, it has become an increasingly restrictive society, civic society space has contracted significantly and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Human Rights (14 Feb 2019)

Helen McEntee: I thank both Deputies for raising what is an extremely important issue. The Government's position remains the same as it was in the previous eight statements, which is that the situation requires the attention of the UN Human Rights Council. We have raised the issue of Bahrain with the council and we will be sure to raise it again. I reassure both Deputies that the Department of Foreign...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Dental Services Waiting Lists (20 Feb 2019)

Helen McEntee: I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health who sends his apologies for not being here. If the Senator has any follow-on questions I will, of course, raise them with him and he will respond to her directly.I thank the Senator for the opportunity to address the issue of dental services in CHO 5. Eligibility for dental services is provided for in the Health Act 1970. Dental...