Results 35,501-35,520 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 85 and 86 together. I wish to reassure the House that this issue is a big priority for me. The meetings I had this week with the Women of Honour group and with serving women from the Defence Forces were deeply impactful, not only on me but on my Secretary General and indeed the incoming Chief of Staff. This is an issue we are going to get a handle on....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (29 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 119 to 121, inclusive, and 123 together. With regard to the specific applications about which the Deputies have enquired, the Passport Service has provided an update on the status of the passport application to the applicant.  The current turnaround times are 10 working days for Simple Adult renewals, 15 working days for Complex renewals, 40 working days...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (29 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Department commissions external contractors, consultancy services and outsourcing services where highly specialised skills are not available internally and in particular, where ongoing independent evaluation of programmes and projects is necessary. External expertise has informed, and continues to inform, my Department's strategies and policies and the effective delivery of our services...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (29 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: Ireland’s position on the Middle East Peace Process and the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is informed by international law, respect for human rights and the goal of a two-state solution through a negotiated peace agreement. Ireland has been consistently vocal in its opposition to settlement expansion and annexation. The Government's support for the Dáil...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (29 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I remain gravely concerned by the ongoing human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and particularly the impact on children and their access to education, which has been highlighted in the report from the Norwegian Refugee Council of November 2020, and referred to by the Deputy. Ireland raises the issue of settler violence and intimidation in our interactions with the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Expenditure (29 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: It was not possible to collate the information requested by the Deputy in the timeframe available.  As soon as it is complete, I will provide the Deputy with the requested information directly.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Emergency Services (29 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 127 and 128 together. The Air Corps provides a broad range of services in accordance with its primary defence and security role. It also undertakes a diverse range of non-security-related tasks including the provision of air ambulance services to the Health Service Executive (HSE). The HSE’s Aeromedical Desk in its National Emergency...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Emergency Services (29 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Emergency Aeromedical Support (EAS) Service is a daily, day-time service based in Custume Barracks, Athlone and which operates primarily in the West of Ireland.  Since the commencement of this service in June 2012, the Air Corps has completed over 3,300 missions, 1,805 of which were completed in the period 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2020.  The following table...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: The first thing I want to do is to work with the women we have met, and who we will meet again, to try to finalise the terms of this review. I hope we will get the agreement and confidence of everybody that the people who are going to lead it are fit to do so. I would like to have international expertise as well as some very credible and strong Irish leadership. We have said that we are...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I will answer Deputy Gannon's question directly when I come back in.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I will answer it when I come back in.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: It is important to say that significant efforts have been made to try to address this issue in the Defence Forces but they have not worked. Dr. Eileen Doyle, for example, did fantastic work on some of the independent monitoring group reports that she was involved in and her efforts are ongoing. Many people in the Defence Forces have also been advocating for change in this space. A women's...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I do not want to give an answer on my feet on that issue but I will look at it seriously. I am sure the Deputy understands how the chain of command works in the Defence Forces. It is a different environment from that which operates in the workplace for virtually any other person. That chain of command is necessary in terms of a functioning military but it also needs to be managed to ensure...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: What was the Deputy's question?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I do not have legal advice on that but I can get it.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy will be aware that WRC rulings are in the public domain and that the adjudicator, in his December 2020 ruling on two complaints brought by an individual, upheld one complaint on the grounds of gender discrimination in respect of promotion, owing to the treatment of absences in access to promotion contrary to section 8(1) of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 to 2015.  The...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: On this case, I received a recommendation from the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces, which ruled that a person was not discriminated against when it was subsequently determined by the WRC that they were discriminated against. When a Minister gets a report from an ombudsman's office and disagrees with it, he or she undermines the ombudsman's authority and credibility. I have to trust in the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy's comments on the impact that a small minority can have on large numbers of people and a potentially corrosive atmosphere within an organisation are very pertinent and is at the core of what we need to deal with.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: That is likely to be part of the review because everything has to be on the table. My experience of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces office has been positive, by and large. It has to make judgment calls all the time. Cases are regularly referred to the ombudsman. The office makes recommendations, which the Minister has to accept or reject. The role of an ombudsman in the Defence...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Naval Service (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy. I will happily meet him offline on this issue to give a fuller and more detailed briefing than I am able to give on the floor today, as things progress. As the he will be aware, the Asgard II sank in 2008 and the national sail training programme run by Coiste an Asgard was subsequently wound up. I understand a number of organisations are involved in sail training...