Results 34,101-34,120 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Covid-19 Pandemic (31 Mar 2021)

Simon Coveney: I am aware of the situation in the Suez Canal, which I am glad to note has been resolved. Issues relating to vaccination are a matter for the Minister for Health, who is best placed to comment on the supply of Covid-19 vaccines to the EU.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (31 Mar 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Department operates in a number of locations in Ireland and approximately 90 locations worldwide and comprises of two Votes; Vote 27 International Cooperation and Vote 28 Foreign Affairs. The Department ensures that there is an appropriate focus on good practice in procurement and that procedures are in place to ensure compliance with all relevant procurement guidelines. Procurement takes...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel (31 Mar 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy will be aware that the State Claims Agency (SCA) has delegated authority to manage personal injury claims taken against the Minister for Defence. With regard to the specific breakdown of personal injury claims requested by the Deputy, this information is not held by the Department in this format. The SCA has been contacted to ascertain if the information can be provided in...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Covid-19 Pandemic (31 Mar 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 544 and 555 together. The COVID-19 vaccine Allocation Strategy was developed by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) and the Department of Health, endorsed by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), and approved by Government on 8 December 2020. It sets out a provisional list of groups for vaccination. The Defence Forces has...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Expenditure (31 Mar 2021)

Simon Coveney: The White Paper on Defence 2015, reinforced by the White Paper Update 2019, sets out the Government’s medium term policy for Defence. It is recognised that the principal demand drivers of Defence capital funding are the ongoing renewal, retention and acquisition of military equipment along with the development of Defence Forces built infrastructure. The acquisition of military...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Remuneration (31 Mar 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 546 and 548 together. A review of technical pay in the Defence Forces was provided for in the Public Service Agreement 2010 - 2014 (Croke Park Agreement). The purpose of the review in the context of the agreement was to rationalise existing technical pay arrangements and consider if the requirements could be met in a more cost effective manner. A review of...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Reserve (31 Mar 2021)

Simon Coveney: My Department has been actively involved with the Military Authorities in the process of reviewing Defence Force Regulation (DFR) R5. Completion of amendments to DFR R5 and DFR S7 (matters relating to RDFRA) are interlinked. These Regulations encompass a broad range of matters from Finance, Human Resources, promotions and training to effectiveness criteria. Amendments are complex and time...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Reserve (31 Mar 2021)

Simon Coveney: The legislative provision regarding Officer promotions is set out in Part 4 section 45 of the Defence Act. Defence Force Regulation R5 (New Series) is the governing Regulation for the Reserve Defence Force, and Paragraph 31 therein governs promotions within the Army Reserve and Naval Service Reserve. Section 31(2) of the Regulation additionally provides that an Officer of the Reserve,...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Army Equitation School (31 Mar 2021)

Simon Coveney: The mission of the Army Equitation School is to promote the Irish Horse through participation in international competition at the highest level. The Army Equitation School has discharged this task with considerable distinction down through the years and, through its participation and numerous successes in equitation events at home and abroad, it has successfully promoted the qualities of the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Recruitment (31 Mar 2021)

Simon Coveney: It is anticipated that cadetship competitions for the 3 branches of the Permanent Defence Force will commence shortly. The Government is committed to maximising recruitment and so retain the capacity of the Defence Forces to operate effectively across all roles.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Irish Sign Language (31 Mar 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Irish Sign Language Act, 2017 recognises Irish Sign Language (ISL) as a native language of the State and provides that the “community of persons using ISL shall have the right to use, develop and preserve Irish Sign Language”. My Department is committed to doing all that is reasonable to ensure free ISL translation services for ISL users when that person is seeking to...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Commencement of Legislation (31 Mar 2021)

Simon Coveney: I wish to advise the Deputy that there are no Acts, or parts of Acts, coming under the responsibility of the Department of Defence awaiting commencement.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Domestic Violence (1 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: I issued a statement on 21 March making clear that Ireland deeply regrets the decision of the President of Turkey to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. The Convention is essential in protecting women and girls from violence. The decision to withdraw is a serious backwards step for the protection of women’s rights in Turkey, and it sends a disturbing message across Europe and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (1 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: The human rights situation in Iran has long formed an important part of Ireland's engagement and dialogue with Iran. Reports on the treatment of Christians, Baha’i, and other religious minorities in Iran are deeply concerning. It is unacceptable to discriminate against individuals on the basis of their religion. Ireland has consistently raised concerns around the treatment of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (1 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: In line with Government guidance that, at Level 5 of the National Framework on Living with COVID-19 only essential work should take place, the Passport Service continues to provide a high-quality essential service in line with Government measures to reduce social contact and combat the spread of COVID-19. This essential service is available for those who are required to travel due to the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Staff (1 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: In the Department of Foreign Affairs, there are three distinct streams at Headquarters - Diplomatic, General Service and Specialist. For sake of completeness, the figures listed below include equivalent grades to those referenced in the Deputy's question. Grade Group Female Male Total ASEC & equivalent 6 15 21 ...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (1 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Passport Service of my Department is one unified service composed of three constituent offices located in Lower Mount Street and Balbriggan in Dublin and South Mall in Cork. It operates three passport printing machines, two of which are located in the main production facility in Balbriggan and the third in the Passport Office in Lower Mount Street, Dublin. Passport applications from...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Data Retention (1 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: In relation to the sharing of personal data, my Department does not share personal data with other Data Controllers, including other Departments, unless it has a legal basis for doing so under Article 6 and, where appropriate, Article 9 of the GDPR. Data sharing with other Data Controllers is detailed in the Department’s Article 30 GDPR, Record of Processing Activities. There are no...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Data Protection Regulation (1 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: The table below lists the Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) which my Department has received under Article 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) since 25 May 2018. Year - Status Number of DSAR 2018 15 Granted 13 Withdrawn 2 2019 31 Granted...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (1 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: Ireland is a strong contributor to global efforts to prevent and resolve conflict, prevent atrocities, and eliminate human rights violations including against women, children and vulnerable groups. Central to this is our strong and enduring commitment to effective multilateralism, particularly through our membership of the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations. Ireland...