Results 43,761-43,780 of 46,575 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for allowing me to give consideration to this issue. I saw the report from the Department of Finance. I have also had a series of meetings with the banks this week at which I discussed the issue of development financing and how, when anyone reads the Housing Commission report, which is often misrepresented by people in this House for their own political ideology, it is...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue, which is concerning to me. I have a number of concerns related to University Hospital Limerick and so too does the Government. That is why we have asked the former Chief Justice Frank Clarke to look at a number of issues. Let me specifically talk with the Minister for Health - I an conscious the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is sitting behind...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I will personally look into it and come back to him on the matter. As he will know better than most, a lot of work was put in post Brexit to ensure that cross-Border healthcare could continue. We believe in it. We believe in being able to access healthcare right across the island of Ireland. I will make specific inquiries and come back to the Deputy.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Harkin for raising this matter. I can hear her palpable frustration on behalf of her constituents. I want to assure her first of our commitment to the development. The note I have in front of me says that a feasibility study is currently under way - as the Deputy knows - in relation to a new four-bay renal dialysis unit. A capital submission will be made in quarter 3 or...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Cannon and acknowledge that he has been a very strong advocate for road safety for long years. I thank him for that. I join with him in wishing the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, very well in his new role. I absolutely will sit down with him. In the 12 weeks I have been Taoiseach, I have chaired two ministerial meetings on the issue of road safety with the Road Safety...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together. As colleagues will know, I attended an informal European Council meeting on Monday, 17 June in Brussels that largely took place over a working dinner. At this meeting European leaders took stock of the outcome of the elections for the European Parliament, and we began discussions on the key positions in the European Union...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I am pleased that Deputy Smith, the Cathaoirleach Gníómhach and others met the delegation from the Ukrainian Parliament yesterday. I had the opportunity to meet President Zelenskyy in Brussels last week and, two weeks previously, at the peace summit for Ukraine in Switzerland. I have also had the opportunity to speak to him by telephone twice since becoming Taoiseach. In...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: The Spanish Prime Minister is clearly a socialist.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: Let us not have a debate on the meaning of socialism. We can have that discussion another time. I am pointing out that across the political spectrum represented at the European Council, there was backing for President von der Leyen. There is an important democratic point to consider in regard to the lead candidate system. Ursula von der Leyen was the lead candidate for the European...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I will do my best to be quick. It is fair to say at this stage that the conversations that are happening at a European level on security and defence are in the provisional and preliminary space. By that I mean we are yet to see proposals tabled. There are a lot of views, particularly from countries in eastern Europe, which are much closer to the front line in terms of Russian aggression,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 13, inclusive, together. I had a telephone conversation with President Biden on the evening of Monday, 17 June. He congratulated me on my recent appointment as Taoiseach and I thanked him for his enduring friendship to our country. We spoke of the deep and growing co-operation between our two countries, built on deep historical and ancestral ties,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank my colleagues, who raised a range of issues. On Deputy Haughey's comments on Northern Ireland, the role played by special envoy Joe Kennedy is very helpful. That President Biden appointed him as envoy to Northern Ireland but also as economic envoy to Northern Ireland is significant in and of itself for the reasons the Deputy outlined. We can be proud of the peace process on this...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 to 20, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on the economy and investment was re-established by the Government on 10 April and most recently met on Monday, 1 July. The next meeting of that Cabinet committee has not yet been scheduled. Membership of the committee comprises me, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: About water?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: These all dominate the Cabinet committee on the economy but, these are all, nonetheless, serious issues and I do not doubt that. I am just still getting used to where the questions start and where the issues go but I will do my best on these issues. First, in reply to Deputy Barry, and my now weekly exchange in what is a genuinely serious issue, I am nearly as invested in the issue as he...

Tackling All Forms of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: Statements (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important matter today and I thank the Dáil for allocating time. Over the past four years since this Dáil was elected, we have worked collectively, and I hope across party lines, to address the epidemic of sexual and gender-based violence in Ireland. That is what it is: an epidemic. Through the leadership of my colleague, the Minister...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cross-Border Co-operation (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 25 and 26 together. The Government continues to prioritise and progress the Shared Island initiative, working with all communities and political traditions for a shared future, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement. Shared Island investment commitments are taken forward by Ministers, working with their Northern Ireland Executive and British Government...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ukraine War (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I attended the Summit on Peace in Ukraine hosted by Switzerland on 15/16 June, together with over 50 other world leaders and over 100 countries and international organisations. The Summit agreed a joint Communiqué, signed by most countries participating, which makes clear that any just and lasting peace must be based on the principles of the UN Charter, respecting Ukraine’s...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Data (3 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: From 2020 to 2024, there has been an increase of 39% in Voted allocation for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The below table details the net Annual Funding provided for Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions 2020–2024: Year Estimate Provision €’000s 2020 43,968 2021 44,704 ...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2024)

Simon Harris: I welcome the opportunity to again discuss the important issue of housing and affordable housing in this House. Dublin City Council is perfectly entitled to seek a meeting with the Minister. I am sure he will be responding to that. In general, it is a good thing for local and national government personnel to have opportunities to meet and engage. As the Deputy points out, councillors from...