Results 3,161-3,180 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Ukraine War (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The European Peace Facility allows the EU to support the capabilities and resilience of the Ukrainian armed forces. In February, March and again in April of 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted assistance measures under the European Peace Facility (EPF). To date, a €1.5 billion package has been approved that will allow the EU to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces in...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government and the Government decision in December 2020 which also agreed its terms of reference and membership. The report was published on the 9th February 2022. The Commission undertook a significant body of work encompassing their wide-ranging terms of reference. The report contains...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 219, 221, 228 and 231 together. My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service, is maintained to the greatest extent possible so as to enable the Defence Forces to carry out their roles as assigned by Government, including overseas deployments. In this context, the principal aim...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 220, 222, 223 and 230 together. As the Deputy is aware the Permanent Defence Force is currently under strength by just over 1000 personnel. The report of the Commission on the Defence Forces has made it clear that the level of ambition (LOA) for the Defence Forces must be elevated beyond that at which it is operating at the moment. The report...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The 2015 White Paper on Defence frames the delivery of training and education in the Defence Forces as one of the most important outputs of the organisation. Training and Education remain central to capability development and are key elements of the five pillars of the Defence Capability Framework. Through the provision of military capability, the Defence Forces achieves its mission to defend...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The primary function of training and education in both the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) and the Reserve Defence Force (RDF) is to develop and maintain capabilities necessary to enable personnel to fulfil the roles laid down by Government. The principal role of the Reserve is to augment the PDF in crisis situations. As such, the RDF undertakes training in preparation to assist the PDF when...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure the operational capacity 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 lifetime of the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Air Corps (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Defence Forces, including the Air Corps, is maintained to the greatest extent possible to enable them to carry out their roles as assigned by Government. The Equipment Development Plan (EDP) published in June 2020, completed through extensive joint civil-military work, provides a comprehensive list of...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: In accordance with the Framework for Major Emergency Management, primary responsibility for responding to emergencies, including security events, rests with the three designated principal response agencies, namely, the relevant Local Authority, An Garda Síochána, and the Health Service Executive. The Defence Forces provide the fullest possible assistance to the appropriate Lead...

Seanad: Northern Ireland: Motion (11 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Sinn Féin Senators for tabling a motion on the British Government's new Nationality and Borders Act. The Act's provisions for an ETA scheme raise a number of serious concerns and merit further political consideration in the Seanad. The Government will not oppose this motion as it raises concerns that we share, but it does not reflect a number of important developments since...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (11 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 134, 139, 152 and 153 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 (11 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: In response to the high volume of applications being submitted to the Passport Service, a temporary phone line was established in October 2021 to respond to Oireachtas Members' queries on urgent passport cases. In each case raised by an Oireachtas Member, the Passport Service reviews the application in question. However, applications can only be expedited in cases of genuine emergency such as...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (11 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 136, 140, 142 and 154 together. With regard to the specific applications about which the Deputies have enquired, the Passport Service has provided an update on the status of the passport applications to the applicants.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (11 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: As a small island, Ireland recognises the challenges that many island nations face. Like Ireland, the Solomon Islands, as one of the Small Island Developing States and as a member of the Pacific islands Forum, are strong supporters of the rules-based international order, with the United Nations at its core. The Department of Foreign Affairs is aware that China has signed a minimum...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (11 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service is working with the Deputy's office to clarify the information supplied for the application. Once clarification is received the Passport Service will review the application.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Defence Forces (11 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The processing of U.S. visas is solely a matter for the U.S. authorities and my advice to those seeking to apply for a U.S. visa is to get information from the website of the US Embassy in Dublin and to engage with them directly on their application. On the broader question of Irish Defence Forces personnel who may have difficulties travelling to the US because of travel overseas as part...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (11 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The Passport Service 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 country of residence of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (11 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The Passport Service is proactively managing the current demand for passports and has put in place resources and structures to address the estimated significant increase in demand for passports in 2022 in this essential citizen service. The Passport Service has recently reduced the turnaround time for first time applications from 40 working days to 30 working days. This is a direct result of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (11 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The Government’s Global Ireland programme, launched in 2018, envisages an expanded and strengthened diplomatic presence across the world, with a target of opening of 26 new Missions in the period to 2025. Fourteen missions have opened to date, and, over the course of 2022 and 2023, a further five will open in Dakar, Lyon, Miami, Tehran and Toronto. The opening of new Missions has...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Issues (11 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland was designed and agreed by the UK and EU to mitigate against the inevitable disruptions arising from Brexit on the island of Ireland and to protect the Good Friday Agreement in all its dimensions. EU-UK engagement on resolving outstanding issues under the Protocol is an ongoing process. The EU-UK Joint Committee met on 21 February and the...