Results 29,861-29,880 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: The GAA has made it clear that it is a body which makes decisions independently of the Government. The ticket price increase is a matter for the GAA to answer. The statutory instrument concerning final year pharmacy students is a policy decision for the Minister for Health. I will pass on the question to him. It is not a decision for the Taoiseach at this stage. I do not have a timeline...

Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Second Stage [Private Members] (23 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: I am glad to be able to speak to this Bill. The Bill merits very careful consideration in all its aspects. I have addressed this Bill already in the Seanad. I will not therefore repeat what I have said about my activities on the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I trust Deputies will recognise the priority I have attached to this issue, the time I have devoted to it and, indeed,...

Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Second Stage [Private Members] (23 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: I should also mention briefly some other legal and constitutional difficulties identified with the Bill, including the use of ministerial regulations to extend the scope of the Bill, aspects of the extraterritorial application of this Bill, and constitutional difficulties around the legal certainty and capability of enforcement of some criminal offences contained in the Bill. The political...

Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Second Stage [Private Members] (23 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: It is not.

Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Second Stage [Private Members] (23 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: We have our own advice.

Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Second Stage [Private Members] (23 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: Of course, it is.

Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 [Seanad]: Second Stage [Private Members] (23 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: Yes.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consular Services (23 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: There are no plans currently to refurbish the Embassy of Ireland to Spain in Madrid.  As part of the duty of care to staff, their families and visitors the Department works to ensure that all security and health and safety standards, including universal access, are met for buildings at home and overseas.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications (23 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: All passport applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act, 2008 as amended (“the Act”).  Before a passport can issue, the Passport Service must be satisfied as to the identity of the applicant and that he or she is an Irish citizen. An application was received in respect of the person to whom you refer, on 8August 2018.  Following communication and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Staff (23 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: Managing the response to Brexit has impacted on the work of many units in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and its missions overseas and staffing levels have been augmented in response. Global Ireland 2025 will support efforts to grow and diversify export markets, inward investment and tourism, as Brexit becomes a reality. It will ensure that Ireland is better positioned...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Undocumented Irish in the USA (23 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 63 and 64 together. I and my Government colleagues regret that it did not prove possible to secure passage of the Irish E3 Visa Bill in December, during the last term of the outgoing US Congress. While this was disappointing news for all who care about the Ireland-US relationship, it is important to acknowledge the strong support received from many...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and giving me an opportunity to provide some clarity and, I hope, some reassurance to women concerned about this issue. Before answering the Deputy’s political charges and questions, I want to reassure the many women who understandably want to know exactly what is going on. In May, the Minister for Health made the decision to offer free...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: Let me reassure the House that this is not a resource issue. When I say it is a "capacity issue", I refer to the capacity in the labs. At a GP level, doctors have coped extremely well with the significant increase in the demand for smear tests and out-of-cycle smear tests offered without charge. My understanding is that the challenge has been at the lab level, and this is not about...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: Managing a health service in any country always throws up significant challenges at different times because mistakes are made and need to be fixed. Lessons must be learned and we must constantly improve how we provide healthcare services. Those challenges are consistent across every developed country. We spend €16 billion per year on healthcare and there is a constant demand for...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: We need to pay for that to ensure the job is done properly. That is instead of trying to score political points on the back of getting a proper and professional piece of independent work to ensure we get an accurate assessment of what happened and we can learn lessons for other projects. The Deputy mentioned the potential nurses' strike and that is before the Workplace Relations Commission,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: The test for HPV should be carried out within 30 days of the sample having been given by a woman. This is the secondary test when low-grade changes are detected. The HSE is working with Quest Diagnostics, which is one of the three laboratories used by the cervical cancer screening programme, to address the situation that has been identified regarding HPV tests. Of the approximately 500,000...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: Regarding the question about how much scandal the screening programme can take, it is up to this House and the Government to deal with the issues that have emerged and to ensure that we move from scandal to reassurance. This is what the Scally report and the support packages for victims of this scandal were all about and that is what the Minister for Health has been trying to do, in my view,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: No, it was raised with the Minister in December and was subsequently raised in the CervicalCheck steering committee. It is appropriate that patients' representatives and the steering committee would be the first to hear about this and that patients themselves would hear about these issues before the Dáil hears about them.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: Yes, they did. The Minister asked for and was awaiting a report in terms of the detailed numbers on this issue when it was raised yesterday and became a political issue in the Dáil. That is why we have had to respond today in the way that we have.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2019)

Simon Coveney: I did apply that word.