Results 9,981-10,000 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: First, I thank Deputy Howlin for the way in which he raised this question because it is easy to be emotive when one is talking about children who are homeless for understandable reasons. I was the Minister who made a decision to invest heavily in family hubs out of necessity at the time. We had, and still have, far too many children and families in hotels and bed and breakfast...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: I have not been to all the hubs but I have been to some of them. I understand that the children's Ombudsman did not visit all of them. I think he visited eight and interviewed 80 children, which is quite comprehensive. We are guided by the NGOs which provide the services, through local authorities, in these individual family hubs. In some of them, the families themselves determine the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: I will-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: I will come back to that question-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: -----if Deputy Coppinger is allowed to ask it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: I cannot discuss the cases of individual companies and letters that are being sent out without having seen them. The Central Bank rules that apply to our pillar banks also apply to other institutions that acquire loan books from the latter. The Central Bank has an important role to play in ensuring that there is a regulatory model that balances broader societal priorities with a financial...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy just had an opportunity to raise these matters with the Minister for Finance when he was in the House

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: The Minister just took questions before Leader's Questions. If the Deputy has particular cases to raise, I suggest that he raise them directly with the Minister for Finance.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy stated that the same rules apply to the pillar banks as apply to funds that take over loan books. The issue is not separate from one to the other, the issue is the rules and the law in this area. The Central Bank, as far as I am aware, has not asked the Government to look at changing that law. It is obviously something that requires ongoing discussion between the Department of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue again. He is mixing up a number of policies and reports but let me respond on the broader issue.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: The Government is absolutely committed to increasing the supply of all types of homes, including social, affordable and private housing. We believe in homeownership and want everybody to have the opportunity to own his or her own home. Institutional investment in the private rental sector is just one aspect of increasing supply. Although such investment is growing, institutional landlords...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: Of course it is.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: It is difficult for me to listen to Fianna Fáil talking about this not being a time to re-engineer the housing market. We have a fundamentally broken rental market and we have had it for decades.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: It does not function well and we are changing it. We are increasing security of tenure for tenants. We have effectively introduced rental caps in areas where there is real pressure. We are introducing institutional landlords that manage much larger portfolios so we can achieve consistency in standards in our rental markets. We must increase the supply of affordable housing, social housing...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: It is. That is why we built-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: We have not.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: If the Deputy examines the statistics-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: -----he will see that the percentage of homes purchased last year and the year before, since the introduction of increased supports for first-time buyers, has risen dramatically. Therefore, builders are building homes for first-time buyers again. They were not two years ago. It was part of the broken housing market that we are fixing piece by piece.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Bodies Data (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: There are no State agencies or bodies under the remit of my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications (18 Apr 2019)

Simon Coveney: All passport applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act 2008. The Act provides, among other things, that a person must be an Irish citizen before a passport can be issued to him/her. In order to meet this requirement, each person must demonstrate an entitlement to Irish citizenship by providing acceptable documentary evidence of this entitlement. Entitlement to Irish...