Results 36,321-36,340 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Defence: State Properties (16 Dec 2021)

Simon Coveney: Officials from my Department are currently liaising with the Chief State's Solicitors Office on the necessary legal matters with regard to finalising contracts and the intention is to conclude the transfer as soon as possible, subject to the normal exigencies of the conveyancing process. I understand that this matter is now at an advanced stage.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Military Honours (16 Dec 2021)

Simon Coveney: The siege of Jadotville was a prominent event that occurred during Ireland's peacekeeping mission in the Congo in September 1961 where "A" Company, 35th Infantry Battalion, came under attack. From the 13th to the 17th September the men of “A” Company endured almost continuous attack. At the end of the Siege, the men were taken into captivity until finally released on the 25th...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (16 Dec 2021)

Simon Coveney: A range of actions have been taken to address recruitment and retention issues in the Permanent Defence Force and bridge the shortfall between the current strength figures and those of the establishment. The strength of the PDF at the end of October 2021 was 8,572 personnel. Ongoing recruitment initiatives have resulted in a total of 574 personnel being inducted to date in 2021. The...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Update on Withdrawal Agreement, Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Minister for Foreign Affairs (24 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to return to the Seanad special committee. I thank members for their work and the excellent interim report they have produced. I look forward to the publication of the final report later this year. I thank the various witnesses who have shared their perspectives with the committee. The committee provides an important platform for voices from...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Update on Withdrawal Agreement, Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Minister for Foreign Affairs (24 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: Chair, do you want me to deal with those questions first?

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Update on Withdrawal Agreement, Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Minister for Foreign Affairs (24 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: Let me start in reverse. First of all, it is welcome that the Northern Ireland planned healthcare scheme and transition cross-Border directive arrangements have been successfully in operation since 1 January. Both these measures continue to ensure that patients have access to healthcare in Northern Ireland and, in limited circumstances, the UK. While the scheme has been operating on an...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Update on Withdrawal Agreement, Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Minister for Foreign Affairs (24 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: There is a systems failure here. Could Senator Gallagher go out and then come back in Microsoft Teams again maybe?

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Update on Withdrawal Agreement, Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Minister for Foreign Affairs (24 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: I apologise to the Senator.

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Update on Withdrawal Agreement, Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Minister for Foreign Affairs (24 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: No, Senator McDowell asked a good question.

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Update on Withdrawal Agreement, Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Minister for Foreign Affairs (24 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: First of all, the problem in Northern Ireland is not as feared. Certainly, there is a fear that certain drugs may not be able to get into Northern Ireland because they are certified in Great Britain and that certification would not be recognised by the EU, and therefore that product coming into the EU Single Market for goods would be problematic because it is not certified by the EU....

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Update on Withdrawal Agreement, Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Minister for Foreign Affairs (24 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: I met the pharmaceutical industry on multiple occasions during the endless Brexit negotiations, and many companies have spent much money restructuring their footprints in Ireland and the UK. If you take my constituency, for example, which probably has the second largest cluster of pharmaceuticals in the EU, all the big brands are there and nearly all of those companies have a big footprint...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Update on Withdrawal Agreement, Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Minister for Foreign Affairs (24 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: At the start of the year breakfast cereals were coming in that were produced in Spain and that then went to a redistribution centre I think in Liverpool in the UK. That redistribution centre covered the UK and Ireland. They were not even re-boxed; they were just redistributed from the UK. They then became stateless in terms of origin because they came from the UK into Ireland.

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Update on Withdrawal Agreement, Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Minister for Foreign Affairs (24 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: Correct. They could not be treated as UK product because they originated in EU. Those redistribution centres have had to change their systems quite fundamentally. Many retailers in Ireland now access directly through hubs in France, the Netherlands, Germany and so on. However, it is not as easy to do that for medicines. It is not like a box of corn flakes.

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Update on Withdrawal Agreement, Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Minister for Foreign Affairs (24 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: Yes, the labelling has to be English.

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Update on Withdrawal Agreement, Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and Trade and Co-operation Agreement: Minister for Foreign Affairs (24 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: So it should be, because we are much better off with the protocol than without it. There are many more upsides than downsides to the protocol. All of the political focus has been on the negative, in terms of the number of checks required, the limitations and the chilled meat issue, which became sort of an identity issue of British sausages coming into Northern Ireland. More and more people...