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Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: I have texts back and forth with the Tánaiste all the time. He was meeting Katherine Zappone and was looking for an update from me about whether there was anything he should know. I texted him back to say we had been working on a concept of a special envoy role and that was it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: Please do not read-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: I am just giving the Deputy the facts as I have them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Tánaiste had no hand, act or part in the process of appointment of Katherine Zappone. That was my decision on the back of the work my Department had done on it. The Tánaiste had no hand, act or part in it. He was simply inquiring. He had no hand, act or part in it right into the Cabinet meeting because the Taoiseach did not even know about it. If the Tánaiste had been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: That was work we were doing. The Tánaiste had nothing to do with it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: I did not relay anything to Katherine Zappone because I did not speak to her when she was in Dublin.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: I told the Tánaiste, not the Taoiseach, when he asked me if there was anything he should know, since he was meeting Katherine Zappone the next weekend. I said we were working on a special envoy role I thought she would be suitable for. I cannot remember the exact text of what I said.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: I have no idea. Katherine Zappone herself would have known much more detail about this than the Tánaiste because she-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: I am in the Chair's hands, so whatever he prefers. I am happy to answer any questions of the Opposition.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: First of all, the comments of Deputy Stanton really sum up why we thought this role was useful and would add value to the work of the Department. It was my judgment that Katherine Zappone was someone who was very suitable for this role. That is the way special envoys are appointed. If there is a role the Department or the Minister thinks needs a new focus or added value, then you pick...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: I would like to come back to the committee to try to get an agreed process that recognises the special envoy selection process. To clarify for Deputy Lawless, I believe 12 special envoys were deployed to advance Ireland's regional and bilateral engagement as we tried to get support in the build-up to the vote on the Security Council. Nine months in advance of that vote, the Government...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: On Senator Ardagh's question, to be honest I do not have the exact date for when I got that text but I remember seeing it after the event because of the furore around it. I did not take any notice of it at the time I got it and I did not answer it. I did not go and I was not there. So, I just do not have that date, I am afraid. Deputy Gannon suggested that democratic values are under...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: I do not know. I do not really see the relevance either way but I am not sure which came first, to be honest. I was not aware of the event. I largely ignore these. A lot of people get texts with branded images, photographs or whatever. I was not even in the country so I was not focused on the event one way or the other. As it happens, I did not make the connection between the event and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: No, there were not.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys and Update on Afghanistan: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (31 Aug 2021)

Simon Coveney: I am happy to answer the question on timelines. I have provided a number of timelines in the context of the first conversation I had with my Secretary General on 24 February. A food-for-thought paper was then prepared in the context of the Department's responsibilities and the implementation of the national LGBTI+ inclusion strategy. That food-for-thought paper, which followed the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (27 Jul 2021)

Simon Coveney: The role of the Implementation Group for the National Plan on Business and Human Rights is to focus on the implementation of the commitments made in the National Plan. These include a series of commitments in relation to human rights due diligence. Implementation of the National Plan is ongoing. Recent achievements include the publication of new guidance on business and human rights for...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Covid-19 Pandemic (27 Jul 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 802 and 821 together. Our response to the COVID pandemic in Africa, as elsewhere, is informed by Ireland’s commitment to reach the furthest behind first, set out in the international development policy, ‘A Better World’ and reiterated in the Africa Strategy. Building on Ireland’s strong track record over many years of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (27 Jul 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 803, 807, 808, 811, 813, 814, 817, 818, 819, 822, 823, 824, 827, 828, 829, 830, 831, 832, 838, 841, 842, 855, 856, 865, 871, 877 and 878 together. With regard to the specific applications about which the Deputies have enquired, the Passport Service was in contact with the customers to provide an update on the status of the passport applications. The...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (27 Jul 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 804, 806, 815, 835, 836, 846, 847, 848, 849, 850, 852, 857 and 876 together. The Passport Service commenced the scaling up of operations on 4 May 2021 in line with the phased easing of restrictions set out in “COVID-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 – The Plan Ahead”. The Service has been focused since then on four priority areas. - Clearing...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Hydraulic Fracturing (27 Jul 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Programme for Government makes clear that the Government does not support the importation of fracked gas. Following upon a commitment in the Programme for Government, the Government published a Policy Statement on May 2021 which outlines both constraints and opportunities for Government action in this area, including in the context of Ireland's obligations as a Member State of the...