Results 39,701-39,720 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: Clearly.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: We have, along with the decisions of recent months, made a decision to increase the number of social housing acquisitions by 1,500 this year and supply an additional 1,000 homes through targeted leasing initiatives this year and next. We have amended the capital advance leasing facility used by approved housing bodies so they can provide more homes faster. There is a long list after that. ...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: We believe in both.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: We believe people who want to buy their own homes need a leg up from the State to do that. The Deputy does not believe that. We believe in affordable housing, cost rental and social housing. We added over 10,000 properties to the social housing stock last year, unlike Sinn Féin’s performance in Northern Ireland.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: The first thing I want to address is the Deputy’s statement that multinationals do not believe us any more. The relationship between this Government and companies providing foreign direct investment in Ireland has never been stronger. That is why we are seeing the kind of corporation tax revenue streams we see this year and which are predicted for next year and the year after....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: These projects are getting under way and being accelerated. Through a combination of social housing, affordable housing, affordable rental, cost rental, supported rental accommodation and private housing delivery, we need to get to between 40,000 and 50,000 housing units per year. We know that. We need to be above 10,000 social houses per year and there needs to be a significant mix of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: Businesses are voting with their feet on Ireland and are coming here in bigger numbers than ever before. What is the Deputy talking about?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: Of course they are concerned about housing and so are we.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: No. I am saying they have faith in this Government, and the proof of that is in the numbers. Of course they have a concern around housing. So do we and so does the Deputy. The question is how we respond to that. The Deputy casually forgets where my party came into government and where the country was at that point: under IMF control in terms of finances. We had a completely broken...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: -----and social housing. Deputies selectively quote targets that are not being reached but what about the target of close to 30,000 houses, which is significantly above the target that was set of just over 24,000 for last year, which was the expectation? On the biggest target of all, namely the overall delivery of housing, we are way ahead of schedule and we need to be. Let us look at this...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: I agree with an awful lot of what Deputy Naughten has said although I think a cheap shot at Deputy Ryan is beneath the Deputy. I have huge time for the Deputy as he knows. The ambition this country has for offshore renewable is in large part due to Deputy Eamon Ryan's relentless pursuit of this agenda for a long time in politics and long before this Government, and his vision in this regard...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: In terms of onshore wind this country's record is not bad. We are one of the best performing countries in Europe. We provide approximately 30% of our electricity needs from onshore renewable wind farms currently and we will do a lot more. Now we are moving into solar also. I take some of the criticism but I also want to put on the record the delivery we have seen in recent years in terms...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: First of all, I have huge sympathy for the O’Donovan family and businesspeople who find themselves in the kind of financial pressure they are clearly feeling at the moment. Every bank in Ireland has an obligation, in my view, to behave fairly towards their clients. When we hear slogans like "We're backing brave" and all the rest of them coming from advertisements for banking in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: I am the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I have responsibility to try to ensure that businesses are treated fairly, and that enterprise has an opportunity to thrive and grow. That includes the relationship, obviously, with the banking sector. I will be happy to get more detail. I do not recall getting the details of this. Maybe that correspondence came into my constituency...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: If Deputy Gould could give me the details on that I will follow up. Emergency accommodation-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: -----is there for that particular reason. If people have nowhere to go, regardless of their income, and they require State emergency accommodation, that should be made available to them.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: As the Deputy knows, we have had a number of announcements from technology companies in Ireland about global redundancies. This has had an impact on Ireland but, in most cases, the percentage impact here has been considerably less than the percentage global reduction because Ireland continues to be a favoured location for many technology companies. In the cases of the redundancies that have...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: We had a discussion on this at Cabinet yesterday and my understanding is that the census figure for vacant properties is 167,000 but the actual real, likely figure for vacancies, given the fact that a lot of people are simply away from their property when the census form comes in or do not fill it out-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: I ask the Deputy to hear me out. My understanding, and the figure we were given by the Department of Finance, is that approximately 57,000 is the real figure in terms of habitable vacant properties right now. However, when looking at the different exemptions that are in place for the tax, for example, works going on, the property being up for sale or stuck in probate, and a whole range of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Apr 2023)

Simon Coveney: Having been in the Department of Foreign Affairs, I know how complex and difficult some consular cases can be. I will raise this issue with the Department and remind officials of the urgency of the case the Deputy has raised.