Results 3,201-3,220 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Human Rights (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I am aware of reports of the scale of administrative detention currently in operation by the Israeli authorities. I have called on the Israeli authorities to end this practice completely. Ireland’s position on these issues is, and will continue to be, based on international law. Detainees must have the right to be informed of the charges underlying any detention, have access to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: International Sanctions (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: My focus is to do everything we can as a country and as a member of the European Union to bring this war to an end and to promote democracy in Belarus to ensure that the people there get the government and the president they elect, as opposed to skewed election results. The only tools we have available to us for doing that for now are sanctions. Belarus is so reliant on Russia now for its...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Northern Ireland (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for his question. As part of the Government’s commitment to supporting the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement and maintaining strong relationships, I remain in regular contact with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and with the parties. I met virtually with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 5 May, the day of the Assembly elections,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Northern Ireland (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: Generally, the security co-operation discussion revolves around the co-operation between the Police Service of Northern Ireland, PSNI, and An Garda Síochána. If there are cases, and the Deputy has mentioned some to me in the past, of individuals in prison or awaiting trial that he would like me to raise with the Secretary of State to get an answer, I am happy to do that for him....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Northern Ireland (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: To be honest, the focus of the conversations has been on trying to get stability and a return to a functioning Executive and Assembly as soon as possible after the election. This has been a divisive election, and that is not a criticism of the parties. At present, there is significant work to do to get the Assembly to elect a Speaker and to function and, importantly, to get an Executive up...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: International Sanctions (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy. It is important that this House focuses on Belarus's role in this war as well as Russia's because Belarus has been complicit in much of what has happened. The EU has condemned Belarus's involvement in Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military invasion of Ukraine. In response to the invasion, since late February, the EU has adopted a wide range of sanctions...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: International Sanctions (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: There are many in this House who have a knowledge and connection with Belarus - I suspect Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan is probably one of them - as have I. Since the fraudulent presidential elections, the European Union has focused on trying to support and facilitate democracy in Belarus. Certainly, the facilitation by the Belarusian authorities of a Russian military build-up in Belarus...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: So far this year the Department has issued 400,000 passports, approaching 500,000. We are trying to put the most efficient system in place. We have a system whereby 4,000 to 5,000 passports a day are going out to people. If half those people were to collect their passports at the desk in the Passport Office, it would slow the system down considerably. We have a system that works with An...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: Yes, so we are trying to get the system running by itself as efficiently as we can.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ukraine War (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: That is all the people of Ukraine ask and that is the approach we take. When I was in Kyiv, I spent at least an hour talking to two of the most senior negotiators for the Ukrainian President, who have negotiated and continue to negotiate with their Russian counterparts to explore those opportunities.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ukraine War (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: First, it is important for us not be naive in terms of our own potential influence. However, we will continue to offer Ireland as a country that wants to explore compromise and solutions. We will continue to keep talking, as is happening at Security Council level and elsewhere. I plan to reopen our embassy in Kyiv. It is a step-by-step process because we have to manage the security...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for his suggestions, which are very helpful. His question indicates he is primarily concerned with first-time passports, which is the process that is taking longer at the moment. Since March of this year, the passport service has reduced the processing time for first-time applications from 40 working days to 30. This 25% reduction in processing times is a direct result...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: My Department deals with tens of thousands of telephone calls. So far this year, the figure is some 90,000. I may stand corrected on this but, from memory, that is the approximate number. We have also set up an Oireachtas helpline for Members, which has dealt with thousands of calls. However, I take the Deputy's point. There is an issue with people applying for a first-time passport for...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The public desks are open.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: United Nations (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: No. I did not give that figure.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: United Nations (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I assure the Deputy that we do not have a policy of outsourcing at all. We are probably the most vocal small country on the planet when it comes to foreign policy. I challenge the Deputy to name a small country that is more vocal than Ireland is on many of the key issues at the moment. We are about to take over the chair of the Council of Europe for the next six months. We are on the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ukraine War (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: Ireland has been a staunch and unwavering supporter of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. We are not, and should not be, neutral in this war. That does not mean that we are undermining traditional Irish neutrality. We are not doing so. We remain militarily non-aligned, but that does not mean Ireland does not take sides when a country is blatantly breaking international law and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ukraine War (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: We should not be neutral on that issue. On 19 April, I promised the Mayor of Bucha, Mr. Anatoliy Fedoruk, and the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dmytro Kuleba, that I would brief the UN Security Council on my visit to Ukraine. I was the first foreign minister of any country to visit Kiev. A number of prime ministers were there before me. I committed to highlighting...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Ukraine War (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I agree with the tenor of the question. Of course, ultimately, this is about bringing the war to an end. Like every other country, we have to find ways of doing that. While that is proving impossible at the moment because the Kremlin does not want the war to end yet and, therefore, there is no basis for a possible ceasefire right now, that does not mean we should not keep trying. In the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (10 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: Regarding turnaround times, the processing time for first-time applications reduced from 40 days to 30 days this year, a 25% reduction in processing times. That is the position as of 19 April. A new system for managing additional documentation is also in place, because the Deputy asked for it in the House. The clock does not start again when people correct their paperwork when there is a...