Results 2,541-2,560 of 45,495 for speaker:Simon Harris

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Chief State Solicitor's Office (Revised) (24 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: I was not around to----

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Chief State Solicitor's Office (Revised) (24 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: I would have to look into the weather in 1955.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Chief State Solicitor's Office (Revised) (24 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: Yes, I will do that and I thank the committee for the serious points made. I just want to respond to the point made on migration, the rule of law, gardaí and the likes. It is a serious point and all political parties in this House have been standing by the law and the gardaí in relation to their job. I accept that gardaí have a very difficult job to do and I accept that they...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Chief State Solicitor's Office (Revised) (24 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: No, it is not acceptable. There are serious questions to answer as to how this was allowed to happen. I do not say that to be overly critical but the fact is it is not acceptable. There are rules that need to be followed in every circumstance, even in an emergency. We must have a rules-based migration system. We have to be able to do better than allowing the situation that has happened...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Chief State Solicitor's Office (Revised) (24 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: I do not believe I have conducted Government business through social media apps.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Chief State Solicitor's Office (Revised) (24 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: I believe I have more than five. A number of them were there with the previous Taoiseach, and are still there, who are very much policy advisers. There are also people who have worked with me in previous roles on the policy side as opposed to the press side. There is therefore a combination of skills mix.

Acknowledgement and Apology to the Families and to the Victims of the Stardust Tragedy: Statements (23 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I join with you by welcoming to the House the Stardust families who are gathered here with us in the Chamber and in the Public Gallery. I know there have been many times when you thought this day would never come, over far too many years. I know that you were forced to endure a living nightmare which began when your loved ones were so cruelly snatched from you in...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ministerial Appointments (23 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: In appointing my Team, I take a number of issues into consideration, including the key priorities to be delivered on in terms of the Programme for Government; engagement with coalition colleagues; the significant workload associated with the Office of the Taoiseach; the range of skills and advisory supports available to me to assist me in my role as Taoiseach; and the importance of promoting...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Office of Director of Public Prosecutions (23 Apr 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 ...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (23 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: The Cabinet Committee on Children and Education and Disability will oversee the implementation of Programme for Government commitments in the area of children and education, with a specific focus on child poverty and well-being, and tackling local area disadvantage. It will also oversee the implementation of Programme for Government commitments in the area of disability, with a particular...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (17 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I had a meeting with the Road Safety Authority this week. There are at least three aspects to road safety and probably more. There are killer behaviours, which we need to get on top of, including drink driving, drug driving and speed. There is enforcement. I agree that there is also the issue of the quality and safety of our roads....

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (17 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: I assure the House and the Deputy that we will get that time. To be clear, it is being referred to the justice committee for its scrutiny. It will then come back to this House for a full debate, which the Government wishes to be given plenty of time and a vote by every Member. It will then go to the other House for a full debate and a vote by every Member because while I am very much in...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (17 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. The clinical advice is not to open more emergency departments. However, there is a need and desire to make hospitals within the hospital group, including Ennis, busier with regard to the volume of work they do and the range of services they provide. I definitely believe in that. Since this Government came to office, UHL has seen its staff numbers grow by 1,183 and its...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (17 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. I will reflect on what he said. I am very much aware of the thalidomide group of survivors and of the issues they have raised. I am aware of the work that has been going on, in fairness to the Deputy's party leader and my colleague, the Tánaiste, since he became Taoiseach. I will reflect on what the Deputy said and I intend to have engagement with the group shortly.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (17 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Moynihan. The Tánaiste, the Minister for Transport and I discussed road maintenance this week because we are very conscious that it is a very genuine issue in many communities. We are also very conscious that conditions have worsened due to the weather in the past. The three of us remain committed to seeing whether we can do more in this space in the weeks ahead. We...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (17 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Durkan for raising this issue. I acknowledge that he has been raising and championing it for a very significant period and at every opportunity. As a result of his advocacy and engagement, the Minister for Justice has been working with her officials on a significant project in this area. As the Deputy has alluded to, important developments are due in this space shortly. I...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (17 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Kerrane for raising this issue and I acknowledge her work on it. I am pleased that the Minister of State, Deputy O’Donnell, was able to visit and meet the Deputy in the past couple of days. I was not at Lough Funshinagh but did meet some local residents informally and intend to visit the area and meet the Deputy and her colleagues there. As she said, the Minister of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (17 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: Very much so. We have soldiered together for too long for anything else to happen. I am really proud that we have managed to deliver a university for the south east but I am also very much aware that its success or otherwise will absolutely depend on our continued support and investment as it embeds and grows. I am really proud of the progress it has made so far but each of the issues the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (17 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Quinlivan for raising the issue. Let me try to prove him wrong. I am determined to work with him and others in the Limerick region to make progress once and for all on University Hospital Limerick. I accept that more needs to be done by way of investment but it is very concerning that, despite the investment the hospital has received relative to other hospitals in recent...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (17 Apr 2024)

Simon Harris: I am not familiar with the circumstances in which people found themselves sleeping in a Garda station. I thank the Deputy for bringing this to my attention. I will ask Kildare County Council, the local Garda station involved and the Minister for Housing for a report and write to the Deputy directly.