Results 31,541-31,560 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

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

Simon Coveney: -----and capacity and we have done much on planning. This does not happen overnight. We are seeing a dramatic increase in house building, planning permission applications and commencements and-----

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

Simon Coveney: -----we will see the Rebuilding Ireland plan come to fruition.

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

Simon Coveney: The Deputy knows only too well that I am not going to approve sewage schemes for individual villages in Kerry during Leaders' Questions.

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

Simon Coveney: If the Deputy would listen----

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

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is entitled to raise it and I have not said otherwise. I am stating that I am not in a position to sanction expenditure on individual programmes. That is not how politics works.

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

Simon Coveney: How politics works now is that we now have Irish Water. It is planning to spend €1.9 billion on wastewater projects in the next five years. About €10 billion has been spent over the last two decades on water infrastructure generally and we need to continue to spend heavily so that villages, such as those mentioned, can grow and expand if that is appropriate from a planning and...

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

Simon Coveney: I know some of the towns and villages mentioned by the Deputy well, in particular Caherdaniel. It is one of the most beautiful parts of this island. Irish Water has to prioritise how and where it spends funds. Sometimes that means investing in upgrading existing facilities and at other times it will mean the construction of a brand new treatment plant. It has to prioritise those areas...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: The waiting lists are too long. Many people who need, want and should get home help are not getting sufficient home help hours. That is something the Government wants to correct. We are putting significantly more money into home supports each year. I can reel off the figures for the period from 2015 until 2019 for the Deputy if he wants but close to €150 million of extra...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: These families deserve the truth. This was an appalling attack and I am sure many of the families still carry the scars of that. That is why we need to have legacy structures up and running, consistent with what was agreed in the Stormont House Agreement. I continue to prioritise this issue in my conversations with the British Government and I continue to raise it with the British...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy will get a lot of clarity on that on Tuesday because it is budget day. I do not want to talk about the budget too openly today for obvious reasons but we are preparing a budget for a no-deal Brexit. That means preparing a budget for virtually no growth next year and it also means ensuring we set a significant amount of money aside to deal with the kinds of issues the Deputy has...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: I will ask the Minister to get back to the Deputy.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: I will ask the Minister's office to contact Deputy directly.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: I am slow to get into too much of that detail, but I note that if we have full alignment then we have to have a level playing-field and agreement on the rules of the Single Market. We obviously cannot have farmers in Northern Ireland producing food according to a totally different set of rules and regulations to farmers south of the Border and expect there to be no requirement for Border...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: First, I note that we are trying to find all-island solutions to the challenges posed by Brexit. That is exactly what we have been doing for almost three years now. That is why we are looking for alignment; to protect the functioning of an all-island economy. That is why we are trying to protect the Good Friday Agreement and its institutions, even though those institutions are not up and...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: The Minister concerned is more than aware of this issue and has already met Deputies to discuss it on various occasions, but I am sure he would be happy to meet them again. As I said when answering this question earlier, we are significantly increasing resources in this area, but demand is also significantly increasing. We will continue to try to improve the number of help hours.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: I will certainly raise that with the Minister.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: The Government is rolling out billions of euro of expenditure to do that right now. That is why we are going to deliver an extra 10,000 social houses this year. I can ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy on the specific cases she raises. From my experience in that Department, the delivery of social housing is primarily a capacity issue rather than a funding issue. That is...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: I will ask the Minister to come back directly to the Deputy on the specific project.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: It sounds like a case where mistakes were made and a family suffered as a result. I ask the Deputy to send me on the details and I will make sure the Minister of State with responsibility for disability gets a copy of it.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Oct 2019)

Simon Coveney: The heads has been cleared and it is a priority for this session.