Results 12,321-12,340 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Northern Ireland (19 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: Over the course of many months, the Irish and British Governments, as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, have worked tirelessly to support and facilitate the parties in their efforts to form an Executive. The devolved, power-sharing institutions are at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement and are the best means for achieving accountable, representative decision-making for all...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Issues (19 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The maintenance of the Common Travel Area (CTA) is one of the Government’s priorities in the context of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. The CTA is a long-standing arrangement between the UK and Ireland which means Irish citizens can move freely to live, work, study, and access social benefits in the UK on the same basis as UK citizens and vice versa. The CTA is an...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Advertising Expenditure (19 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: Commercial advertising is undertaken by my Department in relation to important information with a significant public interest dimension which requires communication to national, regional or local audiences. Typical examples include notices about existing and new services to citizens, employment opportunities and certain public policy initiatives or announcements. Any such advertising occurs...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Public Consultation Process (19 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: In accordance with “Reaching Out - Guidelines on Consultation for Public Sector Bodies”, and its 2016 successor, “Consultation Principles and Guidance”, my Department undertakes consultation, where appropriate, with citizens in a meaningful and timely manner. The ultimate objective is to ensure better outcomes and understanding by all of a particular policy or...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (19 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am aware of the difficult situation which currently pertains for human rights defenders in Guatemala and elsewhere in Latin America. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade remains committed to supporting the advancement of human rights in the region, and I condemn unreservedly any act of intimidation or violence perpetrated against those seeking to defend their rights. Guatemala has...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (19 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: Rather than unilateral actions by any Member State, the migration crisis requires solutions at European level and, though recent discussions, particularly on the reform of the Dublin Regulation, have been very difficult, efforts to reach agreement on a revised common approach to refugees and asylum seekers must continue. This will be an important subject at the European Council next week. ...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (19 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 119 and 120 together. The UN General Assembly voted on 22 June 2017 on a Resolution put forward by Mauritius to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965, prior to Mauritian independence from the UK. The vote on the resolution was 95 in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Programme for Government (19 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Programme for Partnership Government states that the Government “will honour our commitment to recognise the State of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict.”Successive Irish Governments have looked forward to being able to recognize a fully sovereign State of Palestine, and have seen this coming about as part of a lasting settlement. In recognition of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (19 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Passport Service has a dedicated Communication Unit to respond to queries from passport applicants. This Communication Unit handles all queries for Passport Offices in Dublin, Cork and London. This Unit can be contacted by telephone, email or by web chat. I recognize that there are individuals with pressing needs who face difficulties in contacting the Passport Service. This results in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Colombian Peace Process (19 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 129 together. In October 2012, the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) began formal peace negotiations, which continued over a period of almost four years and concluded in August 2016. Following a plebiscite in October 2016, elements of the accord were renegotiated and a revised agreement was approved by...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Human Rights (19 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: Since the most recent escalation of violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar, in August 2017, approximately 700,000 members of the Rohingya community have fled across the border to Bangladesh where they now reside in precarious conditions in refugee camps. Conditions are likely to deteriorate over the coming months as the monsoon season progresses. The exodus of refugees has been accompanied by...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Freedom of Information Data (14 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: A breakdown of the Freedom of Information (FOI) requests received by my Department since January 2018 is set out in the table below. Search and retrieval fees were not charged for any of these requests. To date four requests for internal reviews of decisions have been sought and review fees of €90, as prescribed by the legislation, were applied to reviews of requests of a non-personal...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (14 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am aware of the report in question, which my Department has examined. A key priority of the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy is to combat domestic or international criticism of, or pressure on, Israel, and in particular to combat support for boycott campaigns. Material produced by the Ministry should be evaluated against that background. The report makes...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Military Aircraft Landings (14 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: A US military aircraft made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport on Sunday 3 June 2018. Prior notification was received from the US Embassy and the Embassy confirmed with my Department that the aircraft carried no arms, ammunition or explosives and was not involved in any intelligence gathering, military operations or exercises at the time of the flight. The aircraft in question’s...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (14 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Passport Service offers a range of convenient channels for submission of passport applications by Irish citizens. An online passport application service was launched in March 2017 and offers the convenience of an online application system 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for Irish citizens anywhere in the world, without the need for application forms, printed photos or witnesses. At...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (14 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Staff permanently employed by my Department and assigned to the Passport Service’s Cork office at the end of May 2018 was 85.9. The number of FTE Staff permanently employed by my Department and assigned to the Passport Service’s offices Mount Street, Dublin and Balbriggan, Co. Dublin office at the end of May 2018 was 266.9 In addition...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Budgets (14 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: My Department is responsible for two Votes, Vote 27 – International Co-operation and Vote 28 – Foreign Affairs and Trade. The net Estimate for Vote 27 in 2018 is €498,956,000 and the net Estimate for Vote 28 is €192,898,000. A full breakdown of the 2018 allocations to the two Votes can be found in the Revised Estimates for the Public Services 2018, which were...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications Data (14 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Passport Service is currently in its peak season for passport demand with the vast majority of applications being received between February and August each year. The number of applications received from January to May this year is up by over 5% on the same period last year The Passport Service is currently processing over 80,000 passport applications. These applications are going through...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications Administration (14 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: As part of an ongoing Passport Reform Programme, an online passport application service was launched on 30 March 2017. To date over 200,000 adults have renewed their passport using the online facility, with an average processing time of less than 10 working days. At present, the online passport application service accommodates adult passport renewal applications and passport card...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Applications Administration (14 Jun 2018)

Simon Coveney: Passport application forms are distributed to members of the public through public offices such as post offices, garda stations and libraries. The same application form is applicable irrespective of whether the applicant is a renewal or a first time applicant. The notes accompanying the application form have recently been updated to include information on the Online Passport Application...