Results 11,181-11,200 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: If and when the Deputy introduces legislation, it will get fair consideration from the Government and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, will respond to it. This is a sector that is regulated by the Central Bank. Loans that are transferred from one lender to another maintain the protections for borrowers that the Central Bank imposes through its codes and rules.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: We are anxious to get on with this infrastructural project, which will be the largest ever investment in the maternity area in Ireland. The Minister for Health is very anxious to progress it as quickly as possible. A team of people is working on that right now across the relevant hospitals as well as in the Department. I will ask the Minister to send a note to the Deputy providing an update.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am well aware of some of these issues. Like many others, we were shocked and remain very concerned about the murder of a journalist, which was clearly planned and organised clinically. That murder took place in the embassy of a third country. We, like many other EU countries, continue to ask searching questions about that murder which are not going to go away.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: I acknowledge the work that Deputy Gino Kenny has done on this issue although he and I have had arguments and disagreements on it in this House. What those of us on this side of the House want is a system that is as seamless as possible and that allows parents to access appropriate health care treatment for their children. However, this must be done under the supervision of a medical...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: Instead, we need to work to try to help families to get the medical treatments that they need.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: Significant increases in funding have been made to support carers and to increase respite hours but I accept that there is still more work to be done.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy has asked many good questions. The White Paper is more or less complete. I am reading drafts of it this week with a view to finalising a new Irish Aid development strategy, which will contain much new thinking as well as build on many of the good things the Irish Aid programme has been doing for decades. We are also planning for a significant monetary increase to support our...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: The aid programme is all about action. The Deputy knows a considerable amount about the Irish Aid programme because she takes an interest in it. Anybody who takes the time to visit some of our programmes, particularly in Africa, but also now increasingly in the Middle East, will know it is all about action and getting to the people who need it most. That is why we can more than justify a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy does not want to listen to the RTB.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: Let me quote the RTB. I am being accused of misleading the House.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: The RTB states very clearly that the results indicate that rent pressure zones are slowing the pace of increase.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy asked a lot of questions. His party understands the housing challenges that we face very well. Housing was a Labour Party brief up until the middle of 2016. We are talking about challenges that have emerged because of a recession. Housebuilding essentially stopped in Ireland with the exception of one-off developments across the countryside. We went from building 90,000 housing...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: The rental challenge that we face is directly linked to that supply challenge.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: That is why this Government introduced rent pressure zones, which have proved to be effective in terms of slowing down rental increases for existing rental tenancies. There is clearly an issue in respect of new rental tenancies that are coming in. There is a distinction now in the numbers that the RTB has published between the two, which is useful. There is a need to continue to build on...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: That is a balance. Undoubtedly, our priority has been to protect tenants at a time when rental prices have been increasing too rapidly. However, we have to be cognisant of the fact that we have a very unusual rental market in Ireland in which the vast majority of landlords only own one property and are effectively not professional landlords. That is why we need a strong RTB and it is why...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: As the Deputy will know, because he was involved in some of the decisions, over the past seven years there have been four minimum wage increases. We continue to look to the future in terms of further increases. We now have a pay commission that makes recommendations independently with unions and employers giving input into that process. When we get recommendations for increases in the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: We have been doing that with the people. I have been to Brexpo events in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Letterkenny, Monaghan and Dublin and, with respect, I did not see too many Fianna Fáil faces there.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: So we have been-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: That is not true Mattie-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: We did not-----