Results 12,281-12,300 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Government is doing a range of things to address waiting lists, from funding operations outside of the State to recruitment campaigns. I suggest the Deputy table a specific question to the Minister for Health on the issues at Tallaght Hospital and the need to recruit a dermatologist.

Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I do not have information on new legislation in that area but I will certainly ask the Minister to get back to the Deputy with some detail.

Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: There has been a very dramatic increase in spending in this area. In fact, we have changed the regulations to allow the Minister to instruct a school to put an ASD unit in place. That was not previously the case. I am very familiar with the stresses parents face, as I suspect are many others, where they are trying and failing to get the supports they need in terms of ASD units in schools....

Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: Parents and children can access medicinal cannabis in Ireland today. Vera Twomey's case is very familiar to me and I know her very well. I have intervened in that case to try to help her, as have others in the House. That access has been very beneficial for her child. As far as I am aware, the Minister for Health has not refused to licence the importation of medicinal cannabis in any case...

Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: What is not true?

Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: Can I clarify?

Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I have not misled the House. I said that parents and children can currently access medicinal cannabis but they must have a licence from the Minister for Health who, as far as I am aware, has not refused a single case as long as there has been a consultant doctor's recommendation.

Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: What I said was that Deputy Kenny was looking for something different, which he should see as a compliment. He is looking for a Bill to deal with this in a more comprehensive way but the legislation he presented is not fit for purpose. This is an issue that the Minister, Deputy Harris, has under review and the Government will deal with it in a way that is in the interests of children.

Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I will ask the Minister of State or his office to come back to the Deputy. I cannot comment on an individual case.

Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: There was a criminal justice Act dealing with bail law last year. I will certainly ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to get back to the Deputy on the question he asks.

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: It worked in South Africa but this is a very different case, if one looks at the politics of the Middle East right now. We are using the information, the judgment and the advice we have, as a Government, to prioritise this issue and to try to bring about political solutions. I do not believe advocating for a boycott will help in that effort.

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I do not disagree with the Deputy on those calls, although we sometimes disagree on policy. I know she has raised social housing concerns in Galway over and over again, understandably so, given there are huge pressures in that regard in Galway city. There are currently ten local authority construction schemes in the pipeline which will deliver 365 units when completed - I can name them if...

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I believe Galway does need some new roads. There is a ring road system around Galway city that needs to be completed to provide the kind of free-flowing traffic movements that are necessary. Traffic congestion in Galway city is a significant issue and a significant problem in terms of future growth and investment. That being said, I believe we will see a much bigger emphasis in urban...

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I welcome the fact that the President of the United States signed an order last night to ensure there would no longer be separation of children from their parents on the border with Mexico. Approximately 2,300 children are still separated from their parents in holding centres and I hope the debate that is taking place in Congress today can deal...

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: Sometimes when I hear the Deputy speak, he seems to suggest that he is coming from a higher moral ground than the Government on these issues. He is not. We care about this issue. That is why I am engaging as much as I am on it. I have probably spent more time on the Middle East peace process than on anything else other than Brexit and our relationships in Europe and Washington. That is...

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I certainly hope everybody in this House shares the view that we need to be dealing robustly with white-collar crime. We need to learn lessons from a banking crisis that has caused so much difficulty for so many families and businesses across the country. The conviction of David Drumm and his sentencing yesterday were, on one level, a recognition of the seriousness of the crimes that have...

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy called for a suite of measures; that is exactly what is happening. Last year, the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, introduced a suite of measures in November and he has added to it since then. There is a whole series of legislative responses which I have spoken about. The Deputy, like everybody else, will have an opportunity to raise specific issues he would like to see addressed...

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I thank Deputy Dara Calleary for raising this issue. The Minister for Health and his Government colleagues are aware that it is serious. Timely access to care is essential as part of good health provision, particularly in CAMHS. The Government has shown its commitment to achieving this by increasing funding for mental health services by over €200 million since 2012, as well as the...

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, met HSE officials and CAMHS HSE local representatives this week to discuss the specific actions that needed to be taken in the south east where I know there are specific pressures, as the decisions taken by consultants certainly confirm. Their frustration has led to resignations. The response from the Government needs to be the delivery of services....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Military Aircraft Landings (21 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: An extremely urgent request for landing facilities was granted on 3 June 2018 for a US military aircraft, a on the basis that this was purely an emergency situation. The aircraft concerned was not in Irish sovereign airspace when the emergency was declared nor was it scheduled to enter Irish sovereign airspace under its original flight plan. The US Embassy subsequently confirmed to my...