Results 11,741-11,760 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: I accept that there is a need for a continuing dialogue and a discussion between the Minister for Health and GPs. The Government's focus is on shifting the emphasis towards primary care. That is why we are spending very significant capital resources on building new primary care facilities and improving facilities for GPs. That has happened in towns around the country and in the cities as...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: That discussion is under way. The Government is committed to engaging with the representatives of general practitioners on the development of a package of measures and reforms to modernise the 1999 General Medical Services, GMS, contract. Our goal is to develop a contractual framework that has a population health focus, providing in particular for health promotion, disease prevention and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: These negotiations are never easy or straightforward. They will need to conclude to ensure that we have sufficient numbers of people coming into general practice in the years ahead to fulfil the policy we are pursuing. That is what the Minister for Health is focused on.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Northern Ireland (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: The relationship between the DUP and the British Government is a matter for both parties. There is a confidence and supply arrangement and we have nothing to do with it. Nevertheless, issues relating to Brexit, all the issues in the Good Friday Agreement and any issues relating to the absence of devolved government in Northern Ireland at the moment are a matter for all the political parties...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Israeli Settlements (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: The demolition by Israel of structures belonging to inhabitants of occupied territory, including both Palestinian territory and the Golan, is in almost all cases illegal under international law, in our view. This includes structures provided by the EU or its member states as humanitarian relief in the form of emergency shelters for people or animals, schools, and structures for water and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Human Rights (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: I share the Deputy's frustration but it is a question of what to do about it. We are trying to use all the tools at our disposal, including UN bodies or the UN Human Rights Council, to exert an influence. I made it very clear that we would support a referral to the International Criminal Court. I made a direct comment on the issue to the chief prosecutor of the ICC in New York last week. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Human Rights (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: I was not expecting Yemen to enter the conversation. A straight answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes". There have been numerous debates at the Foreign Affairs Council on Yemen, and I have spoken at some. It is a bit like the international community asking itself how it allowed the conflict in Syria to happen and develop in the way it did over the past four years. We are now trying to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Northern Ireland (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: I propose to answer Questions Nos. 10, 27, 28 and 32 together. Since the assembly elections of March 2017, the Irish and British Governments, as co-guarantors of the Agreement, have worked tirelessly to support and facilitate the parties in their efforts to form a new power-sharing Executive. Unfortunately, to date it has not proved possible to reach an agreement on the formation of an...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: Meetings of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, BIIGC, are prepared through the joint British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat in Belfast, which is staffed by officials from my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality and their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Office. The role of Irish and British Government officials, including those working in the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: Conversations on maintaining and protecting the common travel area arrangements are taking place in any case. We have a team of officials specifically working on this with their counterparts in the UK. I suspect I will have to bring recommendations in this area to the Government if new legislation or statutory instruments are needed in this regard. The same goes for the UK. We have a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: The common travel area applies to Ireland and Northern Ireland and also applies east-west. Various Departments have to deal with the complexity of this with regard to social protection and other issues. The common travel area is not just about free movement. It is about Irish students who study in the UK having their tuition fees paid by the British taxpayer, just as British citizens who...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Human Rights (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: Ireland is not currently a member of the UN Security Council and is, therefore, not in a position to formally offer support on the question of referring Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. I met the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court last week and the case of the Rohingya is being assessed with regard to the potential for a prosecution. However, the findings of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Passport Applications Data (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for that. The Passport Office was put under huge pressure this year. My political office became a passport office for a large part of the year, with staff trying to get emergency passports through quickly. The system had to deal with that, which was not easy. Many other Deputies have also been pushing hard to get individual cases across the line and the Passport Office...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Issues (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 21 together. As Deputy Smyth knows, the Government is absolutely committed to protecting Border communities through Brexit. Tomorrow Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork will see the start of a very significant Brexit roadshow involving all of the relevant State agencies. Stakeholders, including small businesses and business networks, have been invited...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Issues (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: Deputy Smyth will not be surprised to hear that the pre-registration figures for the so-called Brexpo events indicate that Monaghan is already ahead of Cork, Galway and Dublin. The event in Cork takes place tomorrow and huge numbers of people will be attending. I have been to the Border region on numerous occasions, trying to provide as much clarity as I can on where the negotiations are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Issues (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: Lest there be any confusion, these big, high-profile roadshows are not the full extent of what is happening in terms of Brexit preparations. Enterprise Ireland, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Bord Bia and local enterprise offices, LEOs, have been having advisory meetings on Brexit for months. Dozens of such meetings have happened across the country, including in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Negotiations (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy has asked two very fair questions. I am not in a position to outline the position in respect of the British paper as it has not been published. It would be wrong to do so. It is the job of the British side to make a proposal. I hope it will not publish any proposal before it has been brought to the negotiating room in Brussels. The British and EU sides need to work together in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Negotiations (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: I will continue to reach out to and engage with members of the unionist community.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Negotiations (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: I assure them they have nothing to fear from me or from this Government.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Negotiations (4 Oct 2018)

Simon Coveney: No, that is not what I said.