Results 10,801-10,820 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: It is the UK that is speaking about alternative arrangements to the backstop and not us.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: No, I do not think so. The pressure is not on Ireland, it is on London.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: Border infrastructure North-South or east-west was never to be dealt with in the Bill.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: Apart from the very last section-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: -----that essentially allows the UK to be considered a member state through a transition period if there is agreement on the withdrawal. All the rest of the Bill is for a no-deal Brexit.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: In response to Deputy Cullinane, we had set the date of 22 February in early January. I am comfortable that we can do this in time. If we introduce emergency legislation, it needs to be reasonably close to the emergency. If we had been doing this in November or December, it would have taken up a huge amount of parliamentary time. Many people might have predicted at that stage that we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: I would have to see the context in which he said it, but this is an EU competence and EU directive. Ireland cannot-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: Yes. We cannot do our own thing. We have spoken to the Commission about it because the European Union could put in place a reciprocal arrangement with the United Kingdom, as it has done on a temporary basis for hauliers, for example, in the event that there is a no-deal Brexit. However, from a contingency point of view, the insurance industry is doing the right thing just in case to ensure...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: First, nobody can give a figure today for what Brexit will cost. We simply do not know. The Bill is primarily about the maintenance of the status quoin being able to continue to give grants to students, facilitate travel, healthcare and so forth. In fact, the absence of this legislation would involve an increased cost too, for example, if we could not use Altnagelvin Area Hospital. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: With respect, I do not believe this was Sinn Féin's thinking.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: My apologies, Chairman, but I did not answer Senator Richmond's question about the 19 legislative proposals coming from the Commission. Most will either take direct effect or we will cater for them in the statutory instruments we are introducing. There is no issue of delay. Most are changing EU law or making an exception to EU law on a temporary basis. Most of the contingency solutions...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Miscellaneous Provisions (Withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 29 March 2019) Bill 2019: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (14 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: What will happen on 29 March? We will have done everything we can by then and enacted legislation in time in order that, at 11 p.m. on 29 March, currently the time and date at and on which the United Kingdom will formally leave the European Union, this law will take effect. Students will be able to continue as previously. It may mean that cars travelling back and forth across the Border...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: I agree with the Deputy that CE schemes are very valuable and that the people who work on them make a significant contribution in their own communities across the country. However, it is important to acknowledge that those employed in CE schemes are not employees of the State and, therefore, the pension arrangements that would apply to employees of the State do not apply in the case of CE...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: We are aware of this story and are following it closely with some concern. I will meet Karen Bradley later this week and I will raise the issue with her. We need more details on it. I take on board the concern of both colleagues.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Consultancy Contracts Data (13 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 72 and 73 together. My Department has not engaged the named consultancy firms to perform work in 2018 and no fees have been incurred during this period.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Use of Chemical Weapons (13 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: I am concerned by recent reports of escalating violence and tensions in West Papua, Indonesia in late 2018. I am also aware of an unverified news report in December 2018 indicating that the Indonesian armed forces deployed weapons suspected to be white phosphorus in Nduga, West Papua in late 2018. The Government of Indonesia has denied these allegations. Incendiary weapons, including...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Ministerial Meetings (13 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: I travelled to New York and Washington DC last week, from 5 - 7 February, and had a range of meetings with the US Administration and with Congressional leaders. Northern Ireland, and the importance of protecting the gains of the Good Friday Agreement in the current Brexit context, were to the fore in all of my discussions, including with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Acting White...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (12 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 125 to 127, inclusive, together. The human rights situation in Bahrain is deteriorating, and is a matter of growing concerns. Despite the Bahraini Government stating its commitment to improving its human rights record, citizens in Bahrain are living in an increasingly restrictive society. In recent years there has been further erosion of fundamental...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (12 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: Since military security operations in Rakhine State escalated in August 2017, approximately 720,000 refugees, mostly Rohingya, have fled to Bangladesh. There have been reports of further violence emerging from Rakhine State in recent weeks. In response, Ireland has sought to deploy political pressure with the aim of easing the crisis. We have done this through bilateral contacts in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Trade Promotion (12 Feb 2019)

Simon Coveney: In launching 'Global Ireland 2025', the Government committed to the most ambitious renewal and expansion of Ireland’s international presence ever undertaken. We have committed to a range of measures to advance our strategic international objectives. This includes deepening our network by strengthening our presence in key existing locations, and opening new offices. This will...