Results 4,181-4,200 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: I did not speak to him.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: Not about this issue, no. The reason for that was that literally the following day this issue was seen as a careless mistake and the agenda moved on. Nobody raised this issue with me in the Department. Nobody raised it with me outside of the Department until about-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: That is not what I said.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: Like I said, having read a report and looked at public concern and anger with regard to that image and what it represented, of course now, 19 months later, with the benefit of hindsight, it would have been appropriate for me to have raised it directly with the Secretary General to understand the background to it and how it happened. I had the kind of relationship with my Secretary General in...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: No.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: I am to deal with it.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: Chair, I am happy to answer that question.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: I believe that we have acted appropriately. I believe the appropriate person to undertake this review was the Accounting Officer of the Department, who is responsible for the staff of the Department and workplace issues. Having the Secretary General and the HR team undertake this report, completely independent of me, was the appropriate course of action. The issue to which the Deputy...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: There are no double standards.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: I thank members for this opportunity to speak with them. I know a lot is happening today. On 17 June 2020, Ireland was elected to a seat on the UN Security Council. This was a massive achievement. It was the successful culmination of a 15-year effort and an intense two-year global campaign by Ministers and Irish officials, showcasing Ireland's values of empathy, partnership and...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: My understanding is that there was an interaction on social media. The mistake was raised with the Secretary General. He acknowledged that the Department had let its guard down and that it should not have happened in terms of the crowding together. He subsequently took it down. I think it was after midnight.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: The Secretary General has dealt with the matter.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: My understanding, from reading the report, is that these bottles were purchased privately and were for private use. There was not any suggestion they were being given as official gifts to anybody.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: I did not say that.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: I assume the Senator's comment was in response to the golfgate issue, when I was trying to explain that no one is above the law. That is the context in which I made those comments. This report says very clearly that there was no breach of the law or regulations, or certainly no evidence to suggest that. There was a breach of social distancing guidelines which was not acceptable, should not...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: With respect, that is not a fair reflection on what was achieved. We were competing for two places in a group of three countries. The other two countries against which we were competing were Norway and Canada, two of the most popular countries in the UN. Certainly, Ireland getting through on the first round, just, was not expected by most people. It is true we have been on the Security...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: To be helpful to the committee on that issue, I will be more than happy to come back and deal with that but there are many issues on which I hope to be able to deal with this committee in the context of the reform of the Defence Forces and the defence sector as a whole. Tomorrow, we will publish probably the most significant document relating to defence that has been published for 50 years...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: I will be happy to deal as well with any individual incidents, of course, that are subject to review. I caution the Senator that judicial proceedings are also under way-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: ----- on an issue and a potential court martial and people need to be careful in that regard.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)
Simon Coveney: That is not true-----