Results 81-100 of 43,497 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 May 2024)

Simon Harris: That is not accurate

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 May 2024)

Simon Harris: In Boston.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Advertising (28 May 2024)

Simon Harris: From 2019 to date in 2024, the Department of the Taoiseach incurred total expenditure of €2,769,053 for advertisements online and on digital media platforms. The bulk of the expenditure from 2020-2022, €2,738,055, related to the dissemination of information related to the COVID-19 pandemic with public information campaigns on a range of online platforms including Google, X...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ministerial Staff (28 May 2024)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 71 and 72 together. Ministerial personal staff employed on temporary contracts are entitled to severance/ex-gratia payments, including statutory redundancy, when such contracts are terminated, including following a change of Government. The severance terms are set out by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and are calculated based...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (28 May 2024)

Simon Harris: The Cabinet Committee on Northern Ireland was created on 10 April 2024 and will oversee implementation of Programme for Government commitments and ongoing developments related to Northern Ireland. It is expected to meet during the coming weeks. A previous Cabinet Committee on Brexit and Northern Ireland met four times since June 2020, on the following dates: • 29th October 2020 ...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Foreign Conflicts (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: The first thing I want to say, and I am very conscious of it on a day like today, but it is important to say this, is that what happened on 7 October was an horrific terrorist attack. It was a massacre of people at a music festival. We have seen people who were killed, assaulted, raped, taken hostage, including children, including an Irish-Israeli girl. We should never forget that, brush...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Change Policy (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: To respond to Deputy O'Rourke, yesterday the Government considered the climate action plan for 2024 which has now been published. Next year we will begin the process of the allocation of the unallocated emissions. We have given consideration, and the Minister Deputy Ryan has shared this with the House previously, to a number of ways this can be addressed, including technology. I am very...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Foreign Conflicts (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 to 17, inclusive, together. As the House will be aware, the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the situation in the Middle East is of great international concern. The phrase "ongoing conflict" does not in any way capture the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe we are now seeing in Gaza. Since my election as Taoiseach, I have had many discussions on the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: I do not intend to rerun the referendum campaign. I have no doubt that people engaged in good faith on a variety of sides.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: I was going to make a point with which the Deputy might agree. The issue of providing clarity on legal advice during a referendum campaign is important. When I was the Minister for Health, there was a referendum campaign on which the Deputy and I were on different sides. However, we had a précis paper that allowed me to share with the Dáil in some guise the legal advice that was...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: That was what I meant to say. It is what is written on my sheet of paper. I will get an update for the Deputy from the Minister of State. I share Deputy Paul Murphy's view on how appalling arson attacks are. One struggles to comprehend how, at a time of constraint in capacity, housing supply, accommodation and shelter for a whole variety of needs in our country, people who profess to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: I know the Deputy has an interest in Meath. I am conscious of the fact that particular parts of the country have experienced significant population growth. Those areas include Meath, Kildare, my own county of Wicklow and others. I am concerned about the fair distribution of Garda numbers as we grow them. I will ask the Minister for Justice to give a view from the Garda Commissioner.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Change Policy (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 13, inclusive, together. The Department of the Taoiseach prepares progress reports on the delivery of measures committed to under the climate action plan. These progress reports provide a detailed breakdown of completed and delayed actions and are published online, once considered by Government. The final progress report relating to the Climate...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 8, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on social affairs and public services, which oversees the implementation of programme for Government commitments in the areas of social policy and public services, was re-established when new Cabinet committees were put in place following the appointment of the new Government in April. The committee last...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: That is terribly defeatist, Deputy Ó Cathasaigh.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, is doing an excellent job, as, of course, is the Government on many issues and we look forward to putting that case to the people in due course. On the important point that the Deputy has made on national parks, the progress that has been made and the need to look at legislative underpinning, I will speak directly to the Minister of State,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: I cannot do so but I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I will raise it with the line Minister and get an up-to-date answer for the Deputy on the date.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: I share Deputy Carthy's view that we should have statements in this House next week with Palestinian representatives and with the flag flying. I note that the Ceann Comhairle has indicated that is his intention, and I welcome that fact. There will absolutely need to be justice and accountability in respect of the atrocities and the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding in Gaza; of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. When it was raised with me recently, I committed to reaching out to some of the doctors and oncologists concerned who have voiced views on this as I would like to hear from them directly. We have allocated significant resources for additional new medicines in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and this has seen the introduction of 61 new cancer medicines. A...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2024)

Simon Harris: I share Deputy Tully's view that the staff are excellent and I also share her view that there are not enough of them. The relatively good news is that we have just completed phase 1 of a recruitment campaign into our child disability network teams which will see more therapists, more speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. We are about to see the HSE...