Results 37,561-37,580 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Staff (26 Apr 2022)

Simon Coveney: There is one person currently employed in my Department who has been seconded in from the public sector. The monies for the person's salary are recouped by the public sector organisation concerned on a quarterly basis. There are currently no staff seconded out of my Department to the public sector.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Energy Usage (26 Apr 2022)

Simon Coveney: In 2009 the government set a national target to improve energy efficiency by 20% by 2020. It set the public sector the more challenging target of improving its own energy efficiency by 33%. The Department of Defence met this target through several energy saving initiatives such as changing all lights inside and outside our buildings from halogen to light emitting diode (LED), installing...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Funding (26 Apr 2022)

Simon Coveney: Vote 36 Defence is managed through a single programme with all operational outputs delivered from a single set of forces encompassing the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service. Expenditure by my Department is mainly on pay and allowances, operational costs and capital investment across the Defence Forces. My Department does not provide funding on a geographic basis, with the limited...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (26 Apr 2022)

Simon Coveney: The 65th Infantry Group, comprising approximately 138 personnel, deployed to the United Nations Disengagement Observer  Force (UNDOF) on the Golan Heights earlier this month for a six month tour of duty. The Group is based in Camp Faouar on the Syrian side of the area of separation. As a result of an increase in the cost of fuel and energy consumption in the UNDOF...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (26 Apr 2022)

Simon Coveney: Ireland's defence policy is set out in the White Paper on Defence (2015) and the White Paper Update (2019).  Both the White Paper and the White Paper Update were based on security environment assessments carried out by interdepartmental groups.    The White Paper set out an ambitious programme of capital investment for the Naval Service, including the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Staff (26 Apr 2022)

Simon Coveney: My Department has not seconded in any staff in the period from January 2019 to date on the basis that it was not the intention of the staff member to return to their position within my Department. 

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (26 Apr 2022)

Simon Coveney: My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service is maintained and developed. This is to enable the Defence Forces to carry out the roles assigned by Government, as set out in the White Paper on Defence.  Equipment priorities for the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service are being considered in the context of the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Commemorative Medals (26 Apr 2022)

Simon Coveney: Military medals are awarded to members of the Defence Forces in line with Defence Force Regulation (DFR) A9, which sets out the qualifying criteria, delineates the procedures required for the awarding of Defence Forces Medals and sets out the various types of medal awards. Óglaigh na hÉireann hold that its origins lie in the Irish Volunteers founded in November 1913,...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Data Protection (26 Apr 2022)

Simon Coveney: The Department of Defence is responsible for the security of the premises it occupies in Newbridge, Roscrea and Oranmore in Galway.  I can confirm that the CCTV systems in operation and used in these premises does not include the use of facial recognition technology. The Department only uses CCTV images for the purposes of security and/or personal safety and in accordance with...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Citizenship Applications (4 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: With regard to the specific case about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service will contact the person directly in order to advise them on their query. 

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Birth Registration (4 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: My Department is responsible for citizenship by descent through the Foreign Births Register under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. The processing of Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) has resumed and will be gradually scaling up in line with the recruitment of additional resources. Due to the complex nature of the FBR process, the large increase in applications...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (4 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has contacted the applicant's parent to provide an update on the status of the passport application.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (4 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 224, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 233, 236, 241, 244 and 245 together. With regard to the specific applications about which the Deputies have enquired, the Passport Service has issued passports to the applicants.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (4 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, this application is currently being reviewed by the Passport Service. The Passport Service is in direct contact with the applicant in relation to the application.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (4 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The Passport Service of my Department is a unified service composed of three constituent offices located in Lower Mount Street and Balbriggan in Dublin and South Mall in Cork, respectively. Passport applications from all citizens - whether at home or abroad - are distributed for processing across the three Passport Offices, on the basis of the type of application rather than county or...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (4 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service regrets the delay in processing this application. The Passport Service is prioritising the application to ensure no further delay is experienced.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (4 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has issued a refund to the applicant.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (4 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: There are certain passport applications for applicants resident in Ireland that require forms to be witnessed by a member of An Garda Síochána. These applications include: - All Passport Express applications - Section 9 Certificate of Identity - First time adult online applications - Identity Verification Form - First time child online applications - Child Passport Identity and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (4 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The online Passport Tracker tool provides applicants with an indication of how their application is progressing through the system and gives an estimated issue date based on the current average application processing time. The date displayed on the tracker is an estimate, and is based on the current average processing time for that type of application. For a small number of applications...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (4 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: Officials from my Department have been in contact with Conradh na Gaeilge to offer a meeting to hear Conradh’s perspectives and concerns with respect to this important issue. The Department also met with Conradh on 8 April 2021 to discuss the implementation of the language and identity provisions of the New Decade, New Approach Agreement. The  New Decade, New Approach...