Results 7,401-7,420 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Data Protection (3 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: Neither my Department nor the Defence Forces has been the subject of any specific investigations by the Data Protection Commission from 2016 to date. My Department is committed to complying with our obligations under data protection legislation and to protecting the rights and privacy of data subjects.

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Chairman and all members for the opportunity to come in and, hopefully, we will have a detailed questions and answers session where we can focus on specific areas where members have concerns. I will make a general introductory statement first in terms of where we are at and the considerations we have. I am pleased to have the opportunity to come before the committee to give an...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: Does the Deputy want me to take that now?

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: I will deal first with Senator Dooley's comments on the VAT retail exports scheme. This is a scheme that allows people to claim their VAT back after they have made a purchase. It is for people from the US and other third countries outside the EU. As the UK is now becoming a third country, there will be a dramatic increase in the number of non-EU tourists who come to Ireland. Tourists from...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: I will respond to Senator Lombard first. On fishing, for members who have been following this process or have been talking to me about it, we have been flagging for 18 months that fishing was going to be the most difficult issue to resolve in regard to Brexit. The reason there was not a significant discussion of fishing as part of the withdrawal agreement was that we knew it would be very...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: In some ways we need to tone down the language on the Internal Market Bill because it is a huge distraction from the actual negotiations, which is unwelcome. We have wasted so much time talking about the Internal Market Bill and on what is the motivation for the British Government to do it, whether that is a negotiating strategy or a way to sink these negotiations if it wanted a tool to do...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: I am glad the Senator asked his question because it allows me to be very blunt and honest with people that on 1 January, everything will change. I mean that the UK will be no longer be in the customs union and the Single Market. Legally it is out and there is no legal mechanism to extend the transition period. That time has passed. At different stages there has been a lot of marching...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: I will. To go off script significantly, I have a lot of sympathy for people with British passports who have been able to live here as Irish citizens for many years. Owing to the common travel area and EU membership, they could gain access to all services. They cannot vote in referendums but they can vote in virtually every other election. For people in that category who want to get an...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: We are all expendable.

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: There are a couple of principles on which, from an Irish perspective within the EU, I have tried to be vocal. One is that whatever deal is done in respect of fish, the priority has to be access to fishing opportunities, not big compensation packages to compensate for the absence of fishing opportunities. The money in that regard will be gone in a few years' time and then we would be dealing...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: If one is to maximise the concessions that one is trying to secure, one has got to make people believe that one is willing to drive over the cliff and not agree a deal and that one can live with that. The British Prime Minister has done quite a good job of persuading people that he is willing to do that if he is not happy with the deal as a way of trying to maximise pressure to get what he...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: The number and frequency of ferries coming and going in Dover, and the turnaround times relating thereto, are many multiples of those in Dublin. We have got to get our house in order in the context of Dublin Port. We have spent a lot of time and money trying to do that. It is really a partnership between Revenue, Dublin Port and the Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine,...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: There is no problem there in continuing to work because that person is an EU citizen. If an EU national comes to Ireland, he or she can work at whatever he or she wants even if that person is resident in Northern Ireland. Such a person is an EU national resident outside the EU but, in the context of work, in the fairly extraordinary arrangement under the protocol, is frontier working in the...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: Trust me, we are pretty ambitious and pretty pushy in regard to accessing this fund because it was designed to help countries like Ireland. We are making a very strong case. I have met the line Commissioner twice to make our case and he is very receptive to that case, and very helpful to Ireland, as so many of the Commissioners have been. If ever we needed an example of what it means to be...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: We are the fifth biggest export market for the UK, not per capitabut in real terms. The UK's trade with Ireland is worth more than its trade with China and Brazil combined, which demonstrates the scale of this. We are a very important trading partner for the UK, even though we are much smaller. On the food side, we export about €5.5 billion worth of food and drink to the UK and we...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: We would like to think that Ireland has a reputation for producing really good potatoes and so on, which we do, but we import about 80,000 tonnes of potatoes from the UK. We primarily buy varieties that do not grow very well here, what are called ware potatoes, which are very good for chips because of their sugar content. We have not traditionally grown them here and we are potentially...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: I think I have answered all of the questions. It is perhaps appropriate to finish on fish and chips. If we solve the fish issue and the chips issue-----

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: The support the Government has had in navigating the very stormy waters of Brexit right the way through, for four and a half years now, has been in stark contrast to the situation in some other jurisdictions where there have been significant political divisions. In my view, it is because of the cross-party unity that we have managed to be as effective as I hope we have been to date in...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (2 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: All bets would be off. I promise Senators that it will not be for want of trying. I am glad to say that we have some very strong hands in our corner.

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Second Stage (1 Dec 2020)

Simon Coveney: The Bill is an essential part of getting Ireland ready for the changes we will face when the transition ends in less than one month's time. Last year, this House considered the 2019 Brexit omnibus Act, which made provision to address issues that would arise should the UK leave the EU with no deal. The conclusion of the withdrawal agreement meant that many provisions of the 2019 Act could...