Results 27,041-27,060 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Issues (5 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Article 50 negotiations between the EU and the UK are proceeding on the basis of the phased approach set out in the European Council Guidelines of 29 April 2017. Ireland fully supports this approach, which foresees that discussions on the future EU-UK relationship, including trade, will get underway as soon as sufficient progress has been made on the EU’s key priorities under the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Freedom of Information Data (5 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 131 together. The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table. It is not possible in the time available to provide the number of requests for access to records which were decided within twenty working days or the number of requests for which the period of consideration was extended. When, due to the nature and/or number of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Meetings (5 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: EU High Representative Mogherini has invited Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel to meet with EU Foreign Ministers at a breakfast meeting on 11 December, taking advantage of the fact that many Foreign Ministers may have arrived for the Foreign Affairs Council which will follow later that day. The Middle East Peace Process is a very important issue for the EU. Ireland supports efforts to...

Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The House might be interested in noting that I made direct contact yesterday with the US embassy to express our real concern at the suggestion of the US President to formally recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. I made the point very clearly that, in our view, such a decision would be very unhelpful in trying to progress a stable peace process in the Middle East and also cause a lot...

Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: I will come back to the Deputy on that matter.

Business of Dáil (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: Come off it.

Business of Dáil (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: It is not.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Undocumented Irish in the USA (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Government continues to avail of all opportunities to raise US immigration reform and the status of the undocumented Irish with the US administration and with contacts on Capitol Hill. Officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, working both here and in the US, are engaged on the issue on an ongoing basis and I am kept fully informed of developments.Neither I nor my...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Data (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The number of passports issued from the beginning of the year to the end of November 2017 was 742,280. During the same period, 36,955 passport cards were issued. At this stage in the year, figures for associated receipts are strictly provisional only; and receipts for November 2017 are not yet complete. On this provisional basis, passports and passport cards issued have generated total...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: EU High Representative Mogherini has invited Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel to meet with EU Foreign Ministers at a breakfast meeting on 11 December, taking advantage of the fact that many Foreign Ministers may have arrived for the Foreign Affairs Council which will follow later that day. The possibility of inviting both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas to Brussels for such...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The records sought by the Deputy relate to a very wide range of expenditure areas and to a very lengthy period, beginning over twenty years ago and running to almost seven years ago. In that context, the bulk of the records in question are no longer available and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost to my Department and the Exchequer.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Negotiations (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Government is determined to ensure that the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts is fully protected and respected in the context of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and this has been a headline priority since the UK referendum result. As co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the Government has a solemn responsibility to protect the Agreement, in all its parts, and the gains...

Leaders' Questions (7 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for raising these issues. He will appreciate that I will not be able to give detailed answers to all of his questions, but I will ensure the line Minister will contact him about them. I am familiar with the Succeed in Ireland initiative and have been involved in a number of promotional events with ConnectIreland at different times. Undoubtedly, ConnectIreland has...

Leaders' Questions (7 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: I will raise the issue with the new Minister in the Department, but it is important to point out that ConnectIreland's original business model did not provide a viable return for the operator and subsequently needed to be altered. A contracting arrangement was put in place and financial support provided. We need to assess what happened with the business model, whether it was returning what...

Leaders' Questions (7 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Government has acted in a way that has been consistent for months and we do not intend to move away from that position. We regard the responsibility of the Government in the Brexit negotiations as being hugely important in the context of the national interest on the island of Ireland as a whole. That is why we have tried to listen to all views from political parties in government and...

Leaders' Questions (7 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: I can confirm that the position of the Government has not changed. This week, Deputy McDonald heard the Taoiseach and I outline our position in regard to the negotiations. As the Taoiseach said yesterday, this is a sensitive negotiation at a very sensitive time. Deputy McDonald will not get statements from which will stoke up what is already a difficult relationship management exercise. ...

Leaders' Questions (7 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: I am not going to get dragged into the agenda of one political party. We have-----

Leaders' Questions (7 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: We have an input into a negotiation which is formally continuing. Most people in the House will understand the sensitivities of that and the reasons why I should be somewhat cautious about what I say and how I say it. In that regard, let me reassure the Deputy that the statements we have made this week as a Government still stand and we will continue to act in the interests of the country...

Leaders' Questions (7 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: I can agree with the Deputy on something, which is his concern about the recognition of Jerusalem yesterday by the United States and the instability to which that may possibly lead. I made contact with the US Embassy to express our concern when we heard reports that it might happen and we strongly made our view known that we did not think it was a good idea at this time. Jerusalem is one of...

Leaders' Questions (7 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: Come off it.