Results 27,861-27,880 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Passport Applications (21 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Passport Service operates a counter service in both the Dublin (Mount Street) and Cork offices where applicants who need their passport application processed in timeframes shorter than those offered by the Passport Express and the online passport application service can be accommodated. While priority is given to applicants who need their passport issued within these timeframes there are...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Undocumented Irish in the USA (21 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Government continues to attach a high priority to achieving a solution for the undocumented Irish living in the United States. The Taoiseach visited Washington, D.C., from 13 to 16 March, on the occasion of St Patrick’s Day and had the opportunity to meet with the President, the Vice-President, Speaker Ryan, and the members of the Congressional Friends of Ireland group. He raised...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Election Monitoring Missions (21 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy may recall that arrangements for the 2014 elections in Bangladesh were disputed and were ultimately boycotted by the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which therefore does not currently hold any seats in parliament. Voter turnout was also very low. The 2016 local elections, which took place with opposition participation, were tainted by violence...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Passport Applications Data (21 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: Turnaround times for passport applications in Ireland are outlined in the following tables: Type of Passport Application Current Average Turnaround Times Online Passport Application 7 working days An Post Passport Express Renewal Applications 16 working days An Post Passport Express First Time Application, Lost/Stolen/Damaged Replacements 25 working days Northern Ireland Passport...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Passport Applications Data (21 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: From 1 January – 14 March, the Passport Service received over 198,000 applications in total, an increase of 7% on the same period last year. The Passport Service is working hard to minimise the impact of high application volumes on turnaround times and continues to closely monitor the level of passport demand to ensure that all resources, including staffing, are effectively deployed.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Passport Applications Data (21 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: Tracking of passport applications is in general carried out against channel of application rather than by other metrics, including country of origin. Bearing this in mind, the following general breakdown of applications will give the available detail on numbers of passport applications received from Northern Ireland and Great Britain for 2012 to 2017 and in 2018 to date: Year Northern...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Staff Data (21 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: The following table details the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff permanently employed by my Department and assigned to the Passport Service on 1 January for each of the years requested: Year No. of Staff (FTE)  2012 306.8 2013 297.8 2014 286.9 2015 272.6 2016 269.7 2017 301.7 2018 322.5 In addition to this, 20 permanent staff have joined the Passport Service since the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Good Friday Agreement (21 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Joint Committee of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is an important institution under the Good Friday Agreement with a mandate to consider human rights issues on the island of Ireland. I met with the Joint Committee on 23 January last to discuss Human Rights under the Good Friday Agreement and Brexit. This was a very...

Leaders' Questions (22 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: That was a long three minutes from Deputy Darragh O'Brien.

Leaders' Questions (22 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: I was not making any accusations.

Leaders' Questions (22 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: I join with my colleagues on both sides of this House in thanking the emergency responders who responded to a significant and extensive fire in the Metro Hotel and apartment building in Ballymun last night. There were 11 units of Dublin Fire Brigade, eight fire engines, two aerial appliances and the incident command unit, comprising 60 firefighters, involved in managing that blaze. The...

Leaders' Questions (22 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: -----but it could have been a very different and tragic scene. However, it was not. That is a reflection on the professionalism of our emergency services and first responders. Today, the Garda Síochána has the scene cordoned off. There will be an extensive investigation to understand what happened. As Deputy Darragh O'Brien has done, I thank those involved for their...

Leaders' Questions (22 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: That is not what I said.

Leaders' Questions (22 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am not sure the Deputy has raised it time and again with me.

Leaders' Questions (22 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: The facts are-----

Leaders' Questions (22 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: Let me deal with your questions, Deputy.

Leaders' Questions (22 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: You have raised it before now but it has not been time and again. This has been a particular problem over the past several weeks. Changes have ensured passport services have improved dramatically in the past year. We must deal with the facts. The processing time for passport express renewal applications is now 16 days again. This was reduced from 23 days two weeks ago for the reasons I...

Leaders' Questions (22 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: There are always exceptions with passports with which we have been dealing. With respect, my office has been accommodating to many Members on this issue for several weeks.

Leaders' Questions (22 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: It is true that extra staff come in on a seasonal basis as passport applications spike, as they always do, in the build-up to the summer.

Leaders' Questions (22 Mar 2018)

Simon Coveney: We have also sanctioned overtime to deal with the backlog because of the difficulties caused by the recent bad weather. The Deputy can see the evidence of that in that two weeks ago passport express applications were taking three days but today they are taking 16 days.