Results 5,281-5,300 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: The first thing I want to do is to work with the women we have met, and who we will meet again, to try to finalise the terms of this review. I hope we will get the agreement and confidence of everybody that the people who are going to lead it are fit to do so. I would like to have international expertise as well as some very credible and strong Irish leadership. We have said that we are...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I will answer Deputy Gannon's question directly when I come back in.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I will answer it when I come back in.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: It is important to say that significant efforts have been made to try to address this issue in the Defence Forces but they have not worked. Dr. Eileen Doyle, for example, did fantastic work on some of the independent monitoring group reports that she was involved in and her efforts are ongoing. Many people in the Defence Forces have also been advocating for change in this space. A women's...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I do not want to give an answer on my feet on that issue but I will look at it seriously. I am sure the Deputy understands how the chain of command works in the Defence Forces. It is a different environment from that which operates in the workplace for virtually any other person. That chain of command is necessary in terms of a functioning military but it also needs to be managed to ensure...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: What was the Deputy's question?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I will give the Deputy the information I have, according to my notes on the actual numbers. I have heard the figure of 700 as well but I am advised by military management that as of 1 May 2021 the number of personnel enlisted post 1994, in terms of privates and corporals, in receipt of tech pay group 2 or less and who will have served 21 years or more by the end of 2022 is 195. There may be...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: That is the intention. I have spoken to some of the serving personnel in this category and have asked them to be honest with me about their concerns. I have told them I will do everything I can to provide as much certainty for them as early as I can. I have effectively set myself the date for doing this as the end of the year. We will do it earlier if we can, as I said in the Seanad. If...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 85 and 86 together. I wish to reassure the House that this issue is a big priority for me. The meetings I had this week with the Women of Honour group and with serving women from the Defence Forces were deeply impactful, not only on me but on my Secretary General and indeed the incoming Chief of Staff. This is an issue we are going to get a handle on....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Passport Services (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: For the people who have them in on time, we need to have a system that delivers on time and is predictable, and that people can track. We are working on the delivery of that system.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: As the Deputy will be aware, the Defence Forces are currently excluded from the provisions of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 which transposed the EU working time directive into Irish law. The Government is committed to amending this Act and to bringing the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána within the scope of its provisions, where appropriate. ...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: As I have already indicated, significant work has been undertaken to examine the nature of the duties of the Defence Forces and how provisions of the working time directive can be applied to its members. This review determined that a high percentage of activities are already compliant with the directive. It is important to recognise that. On foot of engagement with the representative...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: It is a safety issue and a workplace relations issue. That is why we will be implementing the working time directive. We will provide in Irish law that the exclusion from the legislation of the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána is addressed. We are committed to doing that. I am happy to speak to RACO and-or PDFORRA in regard to that issue. I am meeting them in a few weeks...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: Military life places unique demands on individuals and it is necessary that Defence Forces personnel are prepared to meet the challenges of all military operations. To this end, it is vital that the age and health profile of personnel be such to ensure operational capability and effectiveness are not compromised in any way. For this reason, compulsory retirement ages for ranks in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Human Rights (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: The EU is using its relatively new human rights laws to introduce targeted sanctions formally against individuals it believes are responsible for undermining democracy or compromising human rights in the context of international human rights law. The EU has already acted on that. It will remain under consideration as to whether we will extend those targeted sanctions to more individuals....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Human Rights (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: This is something that the EU has been following and continues to follow. It is not something that has got much media coverage in Ireland. Unfortunately, it is a part of the world that does not get the spotlight often enough. However, the EU will closely monitor how these elections are run and maintain a focus on its restrictive measures or targeted sanctions to try to be as persuasive as...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Passport Services (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: I know that people are frustrated because, in the absence of international travel for nearly 18 months, many are now checking and realising that their passports are out of date, but they want to plan their holidays. We understand what is contributing to the dramatic increase in demand, which will continue right the way through next year. We are taking on more people, but access to more...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Passport Services (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: An awful lot of people were accommodated at the last minute as well. I know, because we have been working night and day trying to deal with emergency passports for people throughout the summer. For some of the summer months, we issued up to 100,000 passports per month. The people who do not get resolved through the system go to Deputies' offices and, therefore, many Deputies hear about...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Passport Services (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: If I could finish the point because I had a lot of questions and I am entitled to answer them, surely.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Passport Services (30 Sep 2021)

Simon Coveney: You cannot give me two minutes to answer a dozen Members.