Results 6,341-6,360 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: 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”. Passport Online will continue to be the priority channel given the efficiencies that are in-built into the system for both the applicant and the Passport Service. The...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: 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”. Passport Online will continue to be the priority channel given the efficiencies that are in-built into the system for both the applicant and the Passport Service. The...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Cybersecurity Policy (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: My Department takes the risk of cyber attacks on its ICT network very seriously. There are no separate figures for email security costs in my Department as security is an integrated aspect of all ICT services. The figures for expenditure on ICT in my Department for the last 5 years are: 1 2016 € 11,718,240.56 2 2017 ...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Data Protection (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: My Department is compliant with obligations as a Data Controller under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and has implemented the appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk so that the processing of personal data is performed in accordance with the GDPR. My Department is also compliant with obligations under the EU...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Data Protection (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: There are no State Bodies or Semi-State Bodies under the aegis of my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: The appointment of Ambassadors by the United States is solely a matter for the US authorities. However, during their meeting on St. Patrick's Day, President Biden assured the Taoiseach thatthe matter is under active consideration by the White House. Pending the nomination of a new US Ambassador to Ireland by President Biden and the subsequent confirmation of the appointment by the US Senate,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Representation (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: The Government is working closely with President Biden and the US Administration on our bilateral agenda, including in relation to Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement. A longstanding commitment to peace on the island of Ireland continues to be felt strongly in the US. The Good Friday Agreement and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland are not simply an achievement of the Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Cybersecurity Policy (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: My Department implements a security-by-design and defence-in-depth approach to cybersecurity. My Department migrated its core IT infrastructure to the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) under the 'Build to Share Managed Desktop' shared service in 2020. The Government’s services are still actively involved in managing and remediating the recent cyberattack on...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Data Protection (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: My Department's core IT infrastructure is provided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) under the 'Build to Share Managed Desktop' shared service. The services provided by the OGCIO are compliant with GDPR. In reference to your question which points to in Article 29 of the GDPR in particular, OGCIO processes data under instruction from my Department. I have been...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Data Protection (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: The only state body under the aegis of the Department of Defence is the Army Pensions Board. The Army Pensions Board is an independent statutory body, established under the Army Pensions Act 1927. Day to day worked related to the Board is undertaken by Board's Secretary who is a full time civil servant employed in the Department of Defence. The Board does not employ any staff directly. I...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Staff (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: The number of civil service posts that were filled in my Department from open and internal panels since April 2020 to date, by county, and by month, is set out in the table below. Month Type of Competition Location Number April 2020 No Recruitment - - May 2020 No Recruitment - - ...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for the Public Services 2021
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: I welcome the opportunity to engage with the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence to consider the 2021 Revised Estimates for public services, Vote 35 - Army Pensions; and Vote 36 - Defence. In this opening statement, I will set out the overall position and update members on some of the recent developments within the defence sector. As members will know, the defence sector...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for the Public Services 2021
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: I want to flag that I will have to leave by 2.05 p.m. or 2.10 p.m. as I am speaking in the Dáil Chamber at 2.30 p.m. and I have to get over there. There is a lot of traffic because of the rain. I want to flag that at this stage rather than stopping someone speaking midstream at 2.05 p.m.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for the Public Services 2021
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: Given the number of questions I have been asked, I could keep going until 2.10 p.m. but, out of respect for Deputy Clarke, I will not do that I assure her. We must also consider Vote 35, but I think it is more straightforward. There are not anything like the same number of complications, as were in previous years, regarding shortages of fund for the pensions Vote. I think it is more...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for the Public Services 2021
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: On the actual strength of numbers, it is not true to say that we are one third down in staffing. There are some vacancies in the Communications and Information Services Corps, but there are also very strong contingents of people with a lot of expertise. We also have people on secondment in Tallinn, Estonia, which is the European research centre for cyber security response. We are very...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for the Public Services 2021
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: Which heading is the Deputy speaking about?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for the Public Services 2021
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (20 May 2021)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy. The total number of active Civil Defence volunteers as of today is 2,793. The total budget for Civil Defence from the Department in 2021 is €5.64 million. This includes €1 million from the dormant accounts fund, which is used to upgrade the Civil Defence fleet. This allocation will ensure the Civil Defence continues to perform its core function of...