Results 34,841-34,860 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Covid-19 Pandemic (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Current Danish travel restrictions classify all countries into three categories: yellow, orange and red. Ireland is currently categorised as 'orange' under this system. Those travelling from orange category countries can enter Denmark, irrespective of the purpose of their entry, with proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 test. The test must be taken no more than 48 hours before the time of entry....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Passport service has been in direct contact with the person referred to in the Deputy's question. The Passport Service commenced the scaling up of operations on 4 May 2021 in line with the phased easing of restrictions set out in “COVID-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 – The Plan Ahead”. The Service has been focused since then on four priority areas. - Clearing the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 270 to 272, inclusive, together. Ireland is a strong contributor to European Union and United Nations efforts to eliminate human rights violations. This includes our work across the UN system, including at the UN Security Council, UN General Assembly, and at the UN Human Rights Council. The rights of women and children are central to our engagement and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: The protection and promotion of human rights is a core pillar of Ireland's foreign policy, and Ireland together with our international partners has been active in raising our concerns in relation to the situations in Hong Kong, in Myanmar and in other locations where human rights are under threat. Like our EU partners, Ireland is concerned about the adoption by the National...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: The International Criminal Court, which is an independent international body with close links to the United Nations, was established as the first permanent international court to end impunity for the perpetrators of international crimes. The Court was established in 2002 with the entry into force of the Rome Statute. Ireland is a party to the Rome Statute.  The Court promotes and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 275 and 291 together. At the outset, I refer the Deputy to my separate response to his question in relation to human trafficking (see PQ 34200/21).  In regards to unlawful detention, I regret that the trends are not positive. The detention of political opponents, demonstrators and journalists is a growing concern.  I, and my officials, regularly...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Issues (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 276 to 278, inclusive, together. The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland was negotiated and agreed by the EU and the UK to address the complex set of challenges presented by Brexit on the island of Ireland. An integral part of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement, the Protocol is the agreed way to safeguard the Good Friday Agreement, to avoid a hard border on...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Issues (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Following the UK’s departure from the European Union and the end of the Transition period, we are working closely with our EU partners to support the development of the EU-UK relationship and full implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and Withdrawal Agreement.  At the same time, we are working to strengthen British-Irish relations insofar as possible,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Conflict regrettably continues to be prevalent throughout the world, despite the call by the UN Secretary-General to all warring parties to pull back from hostilities during the current pandemic. Worldwide, conflict remains the primary driver of hunger and humanitarian crises. The number and complexity of these crises globally has increased in recent years but each conflict is unique in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Ireland stands in solidarity with the Belarusian people in their dignified and staunch defence of their democratic and human rights. The international community have repeatedly expressed their strong concerns regarding the ongoing repression of the Belarusian people by the Lukashenko regime across a range of international fora. Along with our EU and like-minded international partners, we will...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Military Honours (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: The issue of awarding of Military Medals for Gallantry (MMG) and Distinguished Service Medals (DSMs) to personnel who served in Jadotville in September 1961 has been considered on a number of occasions over the years and a number of actions have taken place to give due recognition to the courage and bravery of all the members of “A” Company, 35th Infantry Battalion who were...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy. Our preference is, of course, to keep people in the Defence Forces for as long as possible. As a serving member approaches retirement, either on age grounds or voluntarily, a range of supports is made available to him or her by the Defence Forces. Transition to civilian life courses are conducted by personnel support service teams throughout the year aimed at personnel...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Further initiatives arising from the 2015 White Paper on Defence will be developed. I was very much involved in ensuring the White Paper was quite ambitious in this area. Initiatives include the implementation of systems, procedures and scheduled training to ensure preparedness for the transition to civilian life after military service, the development of a career platform or portal for...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: The first priority is to ensure people get a rewarding return from their career in the Defence Forces. That means constant development of skill sets. It means certainty of income. It means adventure, which is what many people join the Defence Forces for. It means serving their country with pride. Of course, if people want to leave the Defence Forces having served there for a period of...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy. This is quite a precise question. I assume the Deputy is referring to paragraph 12 of Conditions Governing the Appointment of Medical Officers in the Defence Forces Medical Corps 2013 which is attached to CCR 451. These terms and conditions, specific to the 2013 medical officers recruitment campaign, were agreed with the representative association. They provided that...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: The starting position that must be understood is there was an exception to the normal terms and conditions in 2013 in an effort to deal with the recruitment and retention issues at that time, which were clearly an issue. There was not deemed to be the same difficulty or pressure point in 2017 and 2018 when the terms and conditions were essentially returned to normal. During that process,...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: We will take a look at it now that the Deputy has raised it. As I said before, terms and conditions for any Defence Forces competitions are always individually developed and consulted on. Terms and conditions for such competitions, including for medical officers, can have materially different terms and conditions to what was previously provided for, depending on the recruitment and...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: I did not get a chance to hear that meeting this morning but I will certainly look at the transcripts. I assure the Deputy that from my perspective the challenges we face with recruitment and retention in the Defence Forces are certainly not irreversible. We must apply ourselves to resolve this issue. The overall number in the Defence Forces is 1,000 people short of where we should be. We...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: The answer is that there is an ongoing review so we will not determine an outcome until it is concluded. In 2019, agreement was reached with PDFORRA that all privates and corporals recruited post 1994 would be allowed to continue in service to 31 December 2022. I know that is the timeline many people are concerned about now. Alternatively, they could continue until they reach the age of...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: From now on I will start to challenge some of these generalisations, such as the bald statement that morale in the Defence Forces is at an all-time low. We have challenges in the Defence Forces and we also have fantastic people. Morale is not at an all-time low. I spent nearly 24 hours on a naval vessel travelling from Dublin to Cork on patrol the other day and morale was really positive...