Results 11,241-11,260 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: Deputy Michael Healy-Rae raised the issues in County Kerry which are the subject of a report published this week. The report raised very serious questions to which we need to respond comprehensively, and that is now being done. Deputy Neville put forward a proposal to address a concern relating to a local post office in west County Limerick. I will ensure that the Minister, Deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: We are seeing a dramatic increase in the building of new homes across all levels, from the purchase market to social and affordable housing. If the Deputy cares to take the time to look at the numbers, he will see that.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, is travelling next week. It is Ireland's intention to support the UN in introducing a new compact on migration. The idea is to try to build consensus across the UN structures to strike a balance between treating migrants in a way that is consistent with international law and recognising that countries have a right to manage their...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am familiar with the Bill but I do not have the information on timing the Deputy is looking for. I will certainly raise it with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am saying that I am advised that there are no specific plans at present because the appraisal process has not concluded yet. We have not made a commitment in advance of that appraisal being finalised. That is the context in which the Department of Health will make further commitments for Galway. I hear the points the Deputy has made and they are not unreasonable. There are successful...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Ceann Comhairle warned me to respond within a minute.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: There are between 40,000 and 50,000 policyholders here whose insurance policies are underwritten by Qudos operating under the name Patrona Underwriting limited. On its website today, the company makes clear that people who have insurance with it should contact their brokers. The insurance industry has been in contact with brokers to ensure that people can transfer, free of charge, their...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: I share the Deputy's concern that some people are effectively being ripped off with extraordinarily high interest repayment rates to access money. We have to make sure that people are protected in that context. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, is looking at this issue and I am sure he will respond to the Deputy's Bill accordingly. I cannot commit him to a course of action, but we...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: I will ask the Minister for Health to revert to the Deputy directly on that. I do not have an exact date but I do not see why this should not move forward quickly. If there is a blockage, we will find out what is causing it.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: This is a significant issue. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, has responded in some detail to the issues which have already been raised about the transfer of mortgages from Permanent TSB to another service provider. However, the Central Bank rules will continue to apply. We are also committed to introducing new legislation. The Minister of State, Deputy Boxer Moran, has been...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: I put it to the Deputy that these issues need to be resolved in a way that prioritises the healthcare of the children. By and large, it is children we are talking about. Only 12 applications for import licences have been made and they have all been granted. The Minister has shown a willingness to try to ensure that when a doctor seeks an importation licence for a patient in his or her...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: I thank Deputy Grealish for raising this issue. Approval was given in May 2017 to the Saolta University Health Care Group, which oversees the hospital system in the west and north west of the country, to conduct an options appraisal for future acute hospital needs in Galway. As the Deputy in aware, the Galway University Hospitals operate over two sites, including the model 4 hospital and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: I hear what Deputy Grealish is saying. A full appraisal is going on right now - it has almost concluded - to ensure that the necessary health infrastructure in both sites of the Galway University Hospitals is factored in as part of capital investment in the future. There is a commitment by the Government to build a new emergency department in Galway. That will be followed through....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: The family to which Deputy Pearse Doherty refers is clearly going through a very traumatic time. I assure him that the State, through the HSE, Kerry University Hospital and the Department of Health, will do everything it can to ensure the individual concerned gets the maximum care possible to manage what sounds like a case of terminal illness. My understanding is that three legal...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am not familiar with the individual case to which the Deputy refers but I am familiar with the issue and I have been personally involved with other families affected by it. The cannabis for medicinal use access programme the Government is to implement aims to facilitate access to cannabis-based products or preparations that are of a standardised quality, and which meet an acceptable level...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: That was not in relation to drug treatment. What we are trying to do here is ensure that medical practitioners - consultant doctors - can work with families, like the family mentioned by Deputy Barry, to ensure that children are getting appropriate treatment and that we can import where appropriate treatments that are not available in Ireland. The Minister has shown more than willingness to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: The report was only published in the past 48 hours. It contains 16 recommendations and my understanding is they are being implemented. Tragically, four people have passed away since the review began. I do not know the circumstances of each individual case. Therefore, in the circumstances we should be careful about what we say in apportioning blame. Families who still have questions to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Ceann Comhairle. The Deputy has a lot of questions there. First, I wish to express my heartfelt sympathies to the patients and families involved in the recent case and the report that was published this week. I acknowledge that this was a time of real uncertainty for many patients and their families. I appeal for confidentiality to be respected for the families concerned. ...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: I do not disagree with anything the Deputy has said. We need action and action is taking place. The whole point of this look-back review was patient-centred. It was to expose failings if they were there and how they happened to ensure that they would not happen in the future. There are 16 recommendations and they are already being implemented in some cases, and they all will be...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Conflicts (6 Dec 2018)

Simon Coveney: The recent events between Russia and Ukraine are a matter for grave concern and we are working closely with our EU partners to monitor developments and respond appropriately. I fully support the declaration on the matter by HR/VP Mogherini of 28 November on behalf of EU Member States. The declaration expresses the EU's utmost concern at the dangerous increase of tensions in the Azov Sea and...