Results 31,861-31,880 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: The question of a legally binding treaty to regulate the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises has been under consideration by an open-ended inter-governmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises, which was established on foot of a resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council in 2014. The working group has had...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consular Services Representations (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: I am aware of this case, which is very complex and sensitive. My Department has been in ongoing contact with the family of the citizen, and has provided wide-ranging consular assistance, since the case was first brought to our attention. Our Embassy in Riyadh has had extensive engagement with the local authorities regarding the welfare of the citizen, and will continue to do so. My...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: United Nations (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: Since joining the United Nations in 1955, Ireland has been consistent in our commitment to the values and principles enshrined in the UN Charter. As a strong supporter of the United Nations, Ireland actively and positively engages in discussions and actions at the UN level to promote and affect reform of the organisation, across a range of priority areas. Ireland remains open-minded to the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Election Monitoring Missions (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: Ireland greatly values the vital role that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine plays in gathering information and reporting on the security situation throughout Ukraine. Since its deployment in 2014, Ireland has continued to provide political, technical, and financial support to the Mission towards the ultimate aim of reducing tensions and facilitating dialogue between all sides. ...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: Ireland takes a very active role in supporting human rights defenders, open civil society space and the protection and promotion of fundamental rights and freedoms. As outlined in the response to the previous PQ you mention, I am aware of the difficult situation that exists for human rights defenders in Colombia, and continue to reject the use of threats, including death threats, intimidation...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Offices (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: Outside of Dublin city my Department has office accommodation in Balbriggan in County Dublin as well as in Cork and Limerick cities. Usage of desks in the Passport Offices in Balbriggan and Cork varies considerably throughout the year, in line with the demand for passports. During the busiest months of March-August all workspaces are fully utilised while during September-February lower...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Enlargement (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: Ireland continues to be a strong supporter of enlargement of the European Union. Our support is premised on the basis that it is up to candidate countries to ensure they meet the necessary conditions for Membership. We therefore do not attach a particular timeframe to the admission of specific countries. Accession happens if and when candidate countries meet the conditions. Serbia and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Freedom of Information Data (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: A central tenet of my Department's commitment to transparency and accountability is the public disclosure of all non-personal Freedom of Information requests. The policy is to publish all non-personal Freedom of Information requests and the responses on the Department's website. Where records pertaining to the request exist, the associated schedule of records is also published. Records that...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Negotiations (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: Following agreement on 17 October of a revised Withdrawal Agreement, the EU and the UK have committed to begin the formal process of negotiating a future relationship as soon as possible after the UK's withdrawal from the EU. The framework for the future relationship negotiations is set out in the revised Political Declaration. The Declaration sets the course on what I hope will be a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Relations (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: The Embassy network continues to play a central role in advancing Ireland’s international trade as part of Team Ireland overseas. Embassies and Consulates around the world provide vital support for Ireland’s state agencies, including by supporting their strategic objectives and activities in overseas markets. In June 2018, the Government launched the Global Ireland initiative,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Peace Process (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: I have given a high priority to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly the situation in the Gaza strip, over the last two years, and have worked consistently to maintain an international focus on the issue, and support for the two state solution. I regularly discuss this situation with my counterparts in the EU and the region. For example, in February of this year I convened a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: The Government condemns, in the strongest terms, the brutal attacks committed on civilian populations by terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab. Ireland remains engaged in efforts by the international community including European Union and the United Nations to combat terrorism. We continue to work with international partners to address the root causes of radicalisation and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Enlargement (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: In regard to the accession status of Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo, I would refer the Deputy to the reply given to Parliamentary Question 45803/19. In relation to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the European Commission’s Annual Enlargement Package and country reports, published in May this year, set out the opinion that Bosnia-Herzegovina does not yet fulfil the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: After a months of increasing violence, there has been some positive momentum in recent weeks with regard to the ongoing conflict in Yemen. Nevertheless, the situation remains grave. Ireland and the EU have been clear from the beginning that this crisis can only be solved by political means, and that efforts to impose a military solution will be both fruitless and dangerous. We fully support...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Advertising Campaigns (12 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: My Department attends and participates in emergency planning meetings with other Departments. However, my Department does not have a lead role in the winter ready campaign and has incurred no expenditure.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Data (13 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: My Department is fully committed to keeping all personal data submitted by its customers, safe and secure during administrative processes. It is not possible to provide the number of requests over the past twenty years as section 41 of the Data Protection Act 2018 only came into force in May 2018. A case management system was instituted in January 2019 to provide more accessible statistics...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for raising these issues again. I assure the House that the Government is more than aware of the pressure that hospitals and their staff are under, as well as the strain and stress that many patients experience, particularly in overcrowded conditions in hospital accident and emergency departments. That is why we are launching the detail today of a winter plan to ensure...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is better than his comment on spin just now. There are real issues here and are not about money that is being spent on public relations. It is about applying significantly increased resourcing to healthcare to provide better services for patients, to bring about better management of our hospitals, and to fund improved discharge in order that people can move out of hospital when...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: I outlined in response to Deputy Calleary what the winter plan aims to do. There are two different issues here. The first is the ongoing pressure on emergency departments that we have seen through the summer and into the autumn, particularly in hospitals such as the university hospitals in Limerick and Cork. I am more than familiar with that. The answer there is increased resources and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Nov 2019)

Simon Coveney: On home care packages, we are providing for an additional 1 million hours next year.