Results 4,761-4,780 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to answer Questions Nos. 81, 84, 90, 92, 98 and 107 together. Deputies will be aware that there have been three reports from the independent monitoring group, IMG, since the publication in 2002 of the report of the external advisory committee on the Defence Forces, The Challenge of the Workplace. Following extensive discussions over several months between the Secretary General...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: I will have to come back to the Deputy on the school. There is a plan to develop a school in the Curragh and that is a matter primarily for the Department of Education.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: I will certainly come back to the Deputy on where it is. With regard to accommodation, I visited the modernised, upgraded facilities at the Curragh and the new ones are excellent. We will continue to invest in upgrading and improving accommodation for everybody at the Curragh. Of course, we have to continue to do that. If there is substandard accommodation, we have to make sure that is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: I do not have the plans in front of me. With respect, I cannot respond to that. However, I will happily look at them. What I can say for sure is that there is a concerted effort to try to attract more women into the Defence Forces. We have a lot of work to do in that regard because women currently are far too small a percentage of our overall Defence Forces. That needs to be factored...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: I cannot respond on plans that I have not seen. If there are issues there, we will try and address them.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: It would be helpful, in terms of the accuracy of debate in this House, if the Deputy did not make comments like he has just made, quoting me as saying it is okay for Israel to plunder Palestinian territories.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: If the Deputy Brady wants to be taken seriously on this issue, we need to have accurate and civil debate. There is nobody in the European Union who is more vocal than I am in government in relation to concerns about the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel activities there.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy does not want to listen.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy does not want to listen because he wants to get a sound bite. That is the truth. He is using this issue for domestic political reasons rather than-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: What about the Deputy's charge?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: That is something the Deputy could not possibly allow - that maybe I would be a strong voice for the aspirations of Palestinian people to have their own state. Perhaps Sinn Féin is not comfortable with others having a strong voice in that space.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: What action has the Deputy taken?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy would isolate Ireland and make our voice far less influential than it currently is.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: Ireland has no operational military co-operation with Israel. The Defence Forces have no regular contact with the Israel Defence Forces, and Ireland does not buy any military equipment directly from the Israeli Government. The primary focus for the procurement of defence equipment by the Department of Defence is to maintain the capability of the Defence Forces to fulfil the roles as assigned...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: I said earlier that I am meeting PDFORRA next week but it is actually the veterans' organisations I am meeting next week. However, I will meet PDFORRA in the coming weeks. I want to clarify that. The issue the Deputy has raised is a legitimate one. People need certainty and I have said that I would try to give them that certainty before the end of the year. I hope we will have a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to do this because an impression is sometimes given that we are doing nothing on the Curragh Camp and nothing could be further from the truth. I wish to outline to the House the scale of investment activity being targeted at improving the Defence Forces built infrastructure as set out in the five-year plan published in January 2020. The programme...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: I visited the Curragh Camp again last week for the commissioning of 29 officers into the Reserve Defence Forces, which was a super event. It is true that when driving around the camp there is too much dereliction. I have said that to our officials and we need to address that over time. The Deputy is a former Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and he knows that projects like this...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Defence Forces are currently providing support to the HSE, as co-ordinated by the joint task force during the Covid-19 crisis, in three areas: on testing, 26 Defence Forces personnel are deployed on a daily basis to test centres throughout the country; on tracing, 20 lines are serviced by 40 personnel, with 20 in both Kilkenny and Donegal; and on tenting, 42 Defence Forces tents are...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: I understand that hospital services in Kerry are under pressure, as they are in other parts of the country too. We are living through a pandemic that is extraordinarily demanding of the health service. That is why we are planning to spend €22 billion or €23 billion on healthcare next year in terms of increasing staff numbers, capital investment and resources. Of course, the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (18 Nov 2021)

Simon Coveney: First, my commitment has been clear and consistent on this and there is no row-back today. I have said to Defence Forces personnel, who I have spoken to in person in regard to some who are impacted by this, and also to PDFORRA, that I would like to make a decision on this to provide clarity for everybody before the end of the year. I am not going to go into the conversations between my...