Results 34,201-34,220 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU Protocol on Northern Ireland-Ireland: Engagement with the Minister for Foreign Affairs (27 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: I do not want to over-comment on knocking off the barnacles. I know what the Prime Minister was getting at. He wants to try to smooth the implementation, which has been very jarring for some people in terms of tension on certain issues, such as bringing plants into garden centres in Northern Ireland in the springtime and the time delays in ports. Some people would make a very strong case...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU Protocol on Northern Ireland-Ireland: Engagement with the Minister for Foreign Affairs (27 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for what is quite a thoughtful question on the democratic deficit issue. The opportunity and upside of the protocol for Northern Ireland is of course that it has left the EU but is still treated as part of the EU Single Market for goods. This is a unique opportunity for it where trade and business are concerned. In the context of how the rules of the Single Market...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU Protocol on Northern Ireland-Ireland: Engagement with the Minister for Foreign Affairs (27 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: On the trust issues, in a negotiation that is complex trust builds up over time. The breakdown of relationships at different moments during the Brexit discussions are well documented and understood at this stage. What would help from an EU perspective would be to get clarity and line of sight on, for example, physical infrastructure in ports in Northern Ireland with regard to Border control...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU Protocol on Northern Ireland-Ireland: Engagement with the Minister for Foreign Affairs (27 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: I need to be careful here that I do not start prescribing solutions. We have people who are a lot smarter than I am, who are technical experts on trade and concepts such as dynamic alignment versus equivalence and who are looking at this issue and trying to find a way in which EU trade rules will not be undermined. At the same time, the British Government, I hope, will look with an open...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU Protocol on Northern Ireland-Ireland: Engagement with the Minister for Foreign Affairs (27 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: It is great to have the TCA because if we did not, we would face a no-deal Brexit. We would be asking our businesses to spend hundreds of millions of euro on tariffs to facilitate trade across the Irish Sea. It would have been a disaster and we would have been looking at enormous compensation packages for certain sectors that would have had to reorient their supply chain and the markets...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU Protocol on Northern Ireland-Ireland: Engagement with the Minister for Foreign Affairs (27 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: Yes, and one of the points President von der Leyen made in the European Parliament today was that if the TCA is ratified the EU has tools to respond if the UK breaks the deal. There are tools built into the TCA such as dispute resolution mechanisms and arbitration, or we could respond by applying tariffs on certain products, for example, if it is appropriate to do so. Having the TCA...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU Protocol on Northern Ireland-Ireland: Engagement with the Minister for Foreign Affairs (27 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: -----but if the withdrawal agreement and the protocol do not function, that has a knock-on consequence for trade, which means there is a knock-on consequence for the TCA. If the protocol is not functioning and if the island of Ireland collectively is not guaranteeing the integrity of the EU Single Market, that has a knock-on consequence for Ireland's place in the Single Market, which,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU Protocol on Northern Ireland-Ireland: Engagement with the Minister for Foreign Affairs (27 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: I think the US would like to do a trade deal with the UK and that it would also be open to doing a trade deal with the EU. This is an administration that wants to reach out and build transatlantic trade partnerships, which is good news for Ireland and for the UK. President Biden has been very consistent and firm, as have the Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and other prominent individuals in the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (28 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: The events of recent weeks in Northern Ireland have been of real concern for us all, and the Government has been in regular contact with the British Government and the political parties in Northern Ireland throughout this period. The Taoiseach and Prime Minister Johnson have spoken and called for calm and dialogue, and I have been in regular contact with the Secretary of State for...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications (28 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: In line with the National Framework on Living with Covid-19, 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.  Applicants who require an urgent or emergency passport, can contact the Passport Service via our Customer Service Hub Webchat function on our website. Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (28 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: Last week, the Danish authorities provided an update to EU Ambassadors to Denmark, including Ireland’s Ambassador, on the current situation in the context of migration policy and the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. I understand that the decisions referred to by the media regarding Syrian refugees were made by an Independent Appeals Board in Denmark which is part of the independent...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (28 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: The importance of acknowledging, respecting and effectively dealing with the tragic legacy of the past cannot be underestimated. Lost Lives, which chronicles all of the 3,700 people killed in the conflict, is a significant historical and social resource. The rights to Lost Lives are solely a matter for its authors, who have made such a valuable contribution to the historical...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Public Procurement Contracts (28 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: Ireland is wholly opposed to Israeli settlements in Palestine, which are contrary to international law, and is committed to upholding relevant UN Security Resolutions on settlements. It is critical however that action against settlements must be both lawful and well-considered, since actions which are not fully thought-through risk ultimately being unwound, thereby undermining the cause they...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications (28 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 507, 511, 518 and 519 together. In line with the National Framework on Living with Covid-19, 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 death...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Issues (28 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: Effective whole-of-Government coordination has always been central to the Government’s approach  to Brexit. Dedicated structures and working methods to ensure effective and coherent cooperation are in place in both the Permanent Representation in Brussels and at Headquarters. During the EU-UK negotiations there was ongoing contact between the Brexit structures of the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ministerial Meetings (28 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 509 and 510 together. I did not meet either President Macron or Chancellor Merkel in December 2020, and as such, no briefing material exists. Throughout the negotiations process that led to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, Ireland stayed in close contact with other EU Member States and the Commission. This included engagements I held with my counterparts,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications (28 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: In line with the National Framework on Living with COVID-19, 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.  Applicants who require an urgent or emergency passport, can contact the Passport Service via our Customer Service Hub Webchat function on our website. Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Birth Registration (28 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: The processing of Foreign Births Registration (FBR) applications has been temporarily paused since Ireland entered Level 5 restrictions of the National Framework for Living with COVID-19. Prior to this pause, it took twelve to eighteen months to process applications. This was due to a heavy demand on the FBR service, the complex nature of FBR applications, as well as constraints on output...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (28 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: I am aware of the report to which the Deputy refers.  Ireland’s position on this issue will continue to be based on international law, Israel’s obligations as the occupying Power under the Fourth Geneva Convention, and on the relevant Resolutions of the UN Security Council. Our approach is rooted in the illegality of Israel’s occupation and the right of Palestinians...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Language (28 Apr 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 515 and 516 together. My Department takes its obligations under the Official Languages Act (2003) very seriously. Passport Online, the Passport Service’s online application service, is available through Irish. Passport applicants can also complete paper application forms in Irish. APS1G and APS2G are Irish language forms. A fluent Irish speaker works...