Results 6,081-6,100 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Aid (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Gender equality is one of the policy priorities of A Better World, Ireland's policy for International Development. Ireland is proud to be among the top OECD DAC donors in targeting gender equality. In 2019, 76% of our ODA contributed to gender equality and we expect this figure to be similar for 2020 and 2021.  The Irish Aid annual report for 2019, published last autumn, had a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Membership (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: The EU faces significant challenges concerning Hungary and respect for Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union foundational values. These challenges involve particularly rule of law but also more recently LGBTQI+ rights. Ireland is a firm supporter of the values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. As I said earlier, I am particularly concerned about recent...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 105, 108 and 152 together. Israel’s new coalition Government took office on 13 June. I have written to Israel’s new Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid and I look forward to having the chance to speak with him in due course on a range of issues.  The EU’s High Representative has spoken to Foreign Minister Lapid. I participated in a...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Covid-19 Pandemic (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: The repeal of the Presidential Order under section 212 F of the US Immigration and Nationality Act 1952 is solely a matter for US authorities. However, as I have stated before, ease of travel is vital to our economic relationships and for building connections across the Atlantic. We continue our work to ensure that the restrictions will not have any long-term impact on existing channels of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Relations (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Ireland has strongly condemned the coup carried out by the Myanmar military and violence against civilians. The coup is a reversal of the progress made towards democracy and rule of law in Myanmar that has taken years to establish, and does nothing to tackle the public health, security or economic issues faced by the people of Myanmar. I have called upon the Myanmar military to demonstrate...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Sanctions (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Ireland’s position on the US embargo on Cuba is long-standing and clear. Fundamentally, Ireland believes that the embargo serves no constructive purpose and that its lifting would facilitate an opening of Cuba’s economy to the benefit of its people. Ireland, along with our EU partners, has been a consistent supporter of the annual Resolution put forward by Cuba at the UN General...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 113 and 121 together. Ireland has been fully engaged on the situation in the Middle East at the UN Security Council. The Security Council met five times on the escalation of the conflict in the month of May. On 16 May I addressed the Council and called for the cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians and humanitarian access, and emphasised the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Membership (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Serbia and Montenegro are both currently negotiating Chapters of the Acquis with the EU. Serbia has opened negotiations on 18 Chapters, with two provisionally closed. Montenegro has opened all Chapters and provisionally closed three. The European Commission published its latest Annual Enlargement Package and country reports in October 2020. The country reports for 2020 assessed both...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Ireland strongly supports full accountability for the terrible crimes committed against the Yazidi community and other groups in Iraq.  Ireland fully supports the work of the UN Investigative Team for Accountability of Da’esh (UNITAD), which was established by UNSC Resolution 2379 in 2017. UNITAD supports efforts in Iraq to hold ISIS accountable by collecting, preserving, and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Anti-Racism Measures (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Ireland strongly condemns all manifestations of racism, xenophobia, and related intolerance. Ireland is strongly committed to the promotion and protection of tolerance, non-discrimination, freedom of expression and freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief. This commitment is reaffirmed in the Global Island: Ireland’s Foreign Policy for a Changing World. Ireland ratified the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Issues (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 119, 136, 151 and 154 together. The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland is an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement. It was jointly negotiated, and jointly agreed, by the EU and the UK – the result of a painstaking process which took more than four years, during which a whole host of options were explored. Ultimately, the Protocol was - and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Good Friday Agreement (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: The full implementation and safeguarding of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent Agreements in a crucial priority for the Government. The Good Friday Agreement consists of two elements; the Multi-Party Agreement reached between the Northern Ireland political parties and the two Governments, and an Agreement between the Irish and British Governments to which the Multi-Party Agreement...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Programmes (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Programme for Government commits to increasing the presence of Irish people in the EU Institutions. The new Strategy to implement this, ‘A Career for EU’, was approved by Government at the beginning of May and subsequently launched by the Minister for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, TD on 6 May 2021. As the Deputy is aware, Ireland faces a ‘demographic cliff’...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: EU Programmes (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Ireland supports engagement by non-EU Member States in Horizon Europe by way of association.  With respect to Israel, I refer the Deputy to my response to Parliamentary Question 667 of 15 June 2021 and Parliamentary Question Nos. 277, 278, 279, 280 and 281 of 3 June 2021.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: I note with concern reports regarding outbreaks of Covid-19 in Jau prison in Bahrain. Ireland urges all States to safeguard the human rights of prisoners and detainees, including provision of healthcare services, as set out in the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Mandela Rules. At the most recent EU-Bahrain Human Rights Dialogue in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Yemen is the world's worst humanitarian crisis, driven by seven years of conflict, economic collapse and the breakdown of public institutions and services which has left over 24 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Ireland and the European Union fully support the efforts of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, to bring about a political resolution to the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Government is committed to the full implementation of the Stormont House Agreement, which was collectively agreed by the two Governments and the political parties in Northern Ireland after extensive talks.  The framework of the Stormont House Agreement provided for a set of institutions to deal comprehensively and fairly with the legacy of the Troubles, and this framework...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 127, 128, 143, 144 and 153 together. The Passport Service scaled up to more normal operational levels 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 the COVID-19 backlog of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Relations (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Ireland and the EU attach considerable importance to the management of our complex relationship with Russia and to developments within that country. It is discussed regularly at EU level including at the Foreign Affairs Council on 21 June. Relations with Russia will also form part of the discussions at the European Council taking place on 24/25 June, where An Taoiseach and his counterparts...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: International Relations (24 Jun 2021)

Simon Coveney: Repression in Belarus has intensified since the fraudulent election last year and there has been a further deterioration in the human rights situation in the country with massive crackdowns against political dissidents, human rights defenders, civil society organisations and minorities (including the Polish community). Ireland believes a strong, coordinated international response is...