Results 31,521-31,540 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Capital Expenditure Programme (1 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: No contracts or tenders for capital construction projects over €10 million have been awarded or completed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade since 2014.  There are no agencies under the aegis of the Department.

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Statements (1 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: I am grateful for this opportunity to again brief the Seanad on developments on Brexit. Political developments in the United Kingdom cast a long shadow and we are in a period of extraordinary uncertainty and volatility. In this challenging environment we are continuing our efforts across Government to protect Ireland's priorities and to mitigate the effects of the UK's withdrawal on Irish...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Statements (1 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: To clarify, neither the Taoiseach nor I said that. In a no-deal scenario, some checks will be required. There will not be checks one way or the other if we get a deal. Any deal will be based on not having checks.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: It was not.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: It was to get planning permission more quickly and the Deputy knows it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: That is not what happened.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: It is a tiny percentage.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is playing politics.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (2 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: Deputy Micheál Martin, who is a party leader, is playing constituency politics.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (2 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: Our relationship with China is one of constant engagement. We have good and regular engagement with the Chinese embassy in Dublin and raise a spectrum of issues, including those relating to human rights, on a regular basis.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to respond to what is the issue of the day, despite storms, rugby matches and so on. These are very serious issues. The British Prime Minister has put forward what we regard as a serious proposal. We are taking it seriously and so is the EU. That is why the response will be a cautious one until we have had an opportunity to study the detail...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: I believe the Deputy and I are at one on this. I thank the other parties in the House for their co-operation on these issues. We share a concern because all parties in the House understand the complexity of this challenge but also the fragility and vulnerability of Northern Ireland and relationships North and South in the context of what we are trying to do here. Jonathan Powell, a former...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy. The first judgment call that the Irish Government and the EU collectively have to make is on whether the Boris Johnson Government wants a deal and what the evidence, language, conversations and phone calls between Dublin and London suggest. My judgment is that Boris Johnson does want a deal and that the paper published yesterday was an effort to move us in the direction...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: We certainly acknowledge the problems. That is what this is all about. We have spent three years trying to address the problems, and the complexity of those problems, in the context of the UK as a whole leaving the EU and all that flows from that. We continue to hold out for the solutions that can respond to the practical problems that people living on the Border and the island generally...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: We will keep the House informed on the Brexit issues. Next week will be really important, not just because we will be dealing with the budget, which is, understandably, being put together on the basis of a pessimistic outlook due to the fact that we need to be cautious but also because I hope to see progress in terms of the British proposal developing into something that is fit for purpose....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: There is always a time lag between planning permission being granted and a developer getting the finance together to be able to start building houses. Let us start talking about the real world.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: One cannot instantly deliver houses, one must obtain planning permission first. We have a new and better system to do that and we need to deal with the other issues too, which are part of the Rebuilding Ireland strategy.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: I am not quite sure what the question is there.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: We have taken the level of delivery of new homes from approximately 12,000 to well over 20,000 this year. That happened in the space of three years. We need to get to a figure of more than 30,000 per year, given the current and predicted population growth in this country. To do that, we need to build a lot of social houses, which we are doing. We will add more than 10,000 to the social...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: We are doing as much as possible within the legal parameters. Deputies should understand that if they were part of the debate on this issue when we introduced that legislative measure. We are, therefore, doing much on the provision of public infrastructure by ensuring public funding is in place, for example, though the local infrastructure housing activation fund, LIHAF, which I hope people...