Results 4,201-4,220 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: -----and we have been careful to ensure that is not the case.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Coveney: The honest answer to that question is that I do not know. The deletion of the tweet certainly did not arise from an instruction from me or anybody on my team. Having looked at the tweet afterwards because of the public interest in it, it looks to me that somebody raised the issue with Mr. Burgess on social media and pointed out that the people in the photograph were bunched tightly together...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Coveney: In response to Senator O'Reilly's comments, while it is of course the responsibility of the Secretary General to deal with staffing issues and so on, I do not want to suggest that I do not have some responsibility in this regard. I do. This is a political issue as well as a momentary failing in the form of a breach of guidelines. That is why I felt it was important to have this report and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Coveney: This was not a social gathering, and the report is quite clear on that. These were people at work in their workplace who then breached guidelines for about a minute because they posed for a photograph celebrating a big event in the Department that evening. It is important to make the distinction between a social gathering and a workplace incident. The answer to the Senator's question is...

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 a question for the person who was Secretary General at the time. From reading the report and the evidence given that resulted in the conclusions of the report, my understanding is that the bottles of wine involved were purchased privately and were used privately.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Coveney: All I can say is that I have not deleted any texts and I have complied with the rules under FOI.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Coveney: I have not deleted any texts. My understanding is that I have complied fully with my obligations under FOI in relation to this issue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Coveney: I cannot remember the exact time I saw it but it was after I had gone back to my office when we were planning for the following day. That, along with a whole range of other things, was mentioned to me. The following morning, I was told that it had been taken down and the mistake had been acknowledged.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Review of Workplace Arrangements: Department of Foreign Affairs (8 Feb 2022)

Simon Coveney: There was no cover-up here. The Deputy has a detailed report with a lot of documentation to back up its conclusions. Everybody who was involved in the incident concerned was interviewed and we are here to answer questions on it. There was absolutely no cover-up. This was a very public mistake. Thousands of people follow the former Secretary General on Twitter. This was a very public...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Northern Ireland (3 Feb 2022)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue which offers the opportunity to discuss important developments in Northern Ireland. The Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland is an integral part of an international agreement, the EU-UK withdrawal agreement, which was negotiated, agreed and ratified by the British Government and the EU. The protocol was jointly designed by the UK...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Northern Ireland (3 Feb 2022)

Simon Coveney: The message I have from the British Government today is that it is taking legal advice about the options available. I understand that the senior officials who are maintaining checks at ports in Northern Ireland today are also getting legal advice about their obligations. Ireland's position on the implementation of the protocol has been consistent. We will continue to work with Vice...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2022)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. As I said in the Seanad last night, the Irish Government's position on this is very clear. The British Government has signed an international agreement, which includes the protocol on Northern Ireland, as part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement. That is now international law and the British Government has an obligation to act in a way that is...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2022)

Simon Coveney: I am very anxious to get this work out into the public so I hope we can have a very comprehensive debate on the back of more than 12 months of work from a commission on the future of the Defence Forces that has an extraordinary amount of experience and knowledge to contribute to the debate. I hope to be in a position to publish the report and recommendations on the Commission on the Defence...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Defence Forces (3 Feb 2022)

Simon Coveney: I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this matter. I am mindful of the significant media attention this matter has attracted over the past week and the impact such coverage has had on the personnel and their families who serve in Cathal Brugha Barracks. In that context, I want to make it very clear that no decision has been taken by the Government on the relocation of Defence Forces...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Defence Forces (3 Feb 2022)

Simon Coveney: Regarding comments about the Minister, Deputy Ryan, I do not believe this was disingenuous. I believe that when he made the statement on social media, it was on the basis of a case he has been making for many years, namely, that this is a very strategic site that could be used for housing. I do not believe anything was meant by that. He also recognised the Defence Forces need to be...