Results 30,581-30,600 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications Data (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: The number of passport applications received from applicants who were resident in Northern Ireland at the time of application during the period 2006 to 2018 is detailed in the table below. The Passport Service has provided the below figures from readily available data sets. Identifying the figures for the period prior to 2006 would require an extensive research process which was not possible...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Visa Applications (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: A visa application from a Cambodian national who is currently resident in Cambodia should be made online and supporting documentation forwarded to the Embassy of Ireland in Hanoi, Vietnam for consideration. In circumstances where the applicant is visiting a family member in Ireland, the person concerned should apply for a "Visit family/friend" visa. Prospective applicants for these types of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Meetings (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: I have not been contacted by representatives of the Chinese Government with regard to the use of technology by the company referenced by the Deputy. I and officials in my Department frequently hold meetings, as well as other contacts, with representatives of the Chinese Government, where we engage in discussions on a broad spectrum of bilateral issues. These include our political...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Meetings (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: My Department has regular, constructive contacts with the US Administration both through our Embassy and Mission network in the US and through the US Embassy here in Dublin. As part of regular Government engagement in the US, I also travelled to New York and Washington DC last month for meetings with the US Administration and other political leaders. Those meetings, and all contacts at...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Strategy (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: The Belt and Road Initiative has been raised with me by representatives of the Chinese Government on a number of occasions during the course of wide-ranging discussions on a range of bilateral and foreign policy issues, notably during my visit to China in March 2018, and during high level visits from China to Ireland. During these discussions, I welcomed the Belt and Road Initiative as an...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: I am pleased to present to the committee the Revised Estimates for my Department for 2019. I will focus on Vote 28, which is the Vote for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, while the Minister of State will address the committee afterwards regarding Vote 27, which deals with international co-operation, which is the bulk of the expenditure for which my Department is responsible. ...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: We do not take any chances in my Department.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: They are not all new applicants. Many of those are renewals.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: On legacy, I was in the Seanad yesterday and we had a good debate on legacy and reconciliation. I thought the debate had some depth. Members of different political parties gave different perspectives. I thought we need to have more of the approach taken to that debate on the issue of legacy and reconciliation to ensure that victims and their families from all sides and all communities can...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: We do not get to hold on to the money unfortunately. It goes straight into the Exchequer, I am afraid.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: About €60 million came in last year from the increased fees charged etc.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: That was a significant increase on the previous year.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: It was.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: I will come back to the Deputy in a second on that.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: We have looked at the idea of a passport office in Northern Ireland. The vast majority of applications received by the passport service from applicants residing on the island of Ireland, however, are submitted through Passport Express and Northern Ireland Passport Express. Northern Ireland Passport Express allows applicants living in Northern Ireland to apply for their passport through more...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: I take that point and would not like to be in any way dismissive of that. We need to keep that issue under constant review. On the reconciliation fund, we have increased it by €1 million, which is an increase of almost 25%. I would like to see us continuing to increase it. I hate to say it but politics in Northern Ireland and the relationship between communities is quite fragile....

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: That is all there is to programme A. I do not think there is anything controversial in it. It contains modest increases in important areas.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: On the staffing aspect of Brexit, the largest impact for us will be on the passport service. We have a communications unit dedicated to Brexit and, in sheer numbers, there has been a significant increase in the numbers we have taken on to ensure we will have an efficient passport delivery service. The other areas across Departments that have taken on significantly more staff in the context...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: The only place we can print passports in an emergency is Dublin. Even if someone goes into the Passport Office in Cork to see someone at the desk, the passport cannot be printed there and then. Many people who need passports quickly fly out of Dublin which is by miles the busiest airport. We are trying to move the process to a place where we can have a lot more interaction online as the...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade (Revised) (28 Mar 2019)

Simon Coveney: We did have an exploratory meeting with the leaders of all the political parties a few weeks ago in Belfast. They outlined their positions and all said they wanted to get back into devolved government structures in Northern Ireland. There was, however, a fairly direct conversation about the expectations of different parties about what was required to do this. It is very difficult to create...