Results 12,441-12,460 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Questions on Promised Legislation (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: I can assure the Deputy we will not allow a situation where we have to wind down a programme that saves lives.

Questions on Promised Legislation (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am told the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill is not now scheduled for next week. The Education (Admissions to School) Bill is being prioritised next week, followed by the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill. I share the Deputy's concerns. I think there is a political tactic at play at this stage and no longer any attempt at accurate scrutiny of legislation. There is a deliberate attempt...

Questions on Promised Legislation (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: There is a role for the Business Committee. We have a minority Government. We have a Business Committee that is powerful and can make decisions. If this House collectively decides that we need to progress this legislation, the Business Committee has the power to allow us to do that and, in my view, it should do it.

Questions on Promised Legislation (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Judicial Appointments Commission Bill is a separate Bill and the Ceann Comhairle has made a ruling on that.

Questions on Promised Legislation (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: For the benefit of the House, Ireland's views on Israeli settlements could not clearer. The view of the international community on settlements, comprehensively expressed in UN Security Council Resolution 2334, could not be clearer either. They are illegal, they actively undermine the prospect for a sustainably negotiated two-state solution and the relentless expansion of settlements...

Questions on Promised Legislation (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am not going to give an answer on that.

Questions on Promised Legislation (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: At the moment the Government is not supporting the Bill.

Leaders' Questions (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I was on the site with the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, when I held the housing brief. This represents a huge opportunity to develop something significant in the area. This morning, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, met the St. Michael's estate regeneration team. He also met other residents last week along with the Minister of...

Leaders' Questions (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: I assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to the cost-rental model.

Leaders' Questions (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has a pilot project in co-operation with the Housing Agency and approved housing bodies at Enniskerry Road, Dundrum. While it is relatively small scale with 50 cost-rental units, it will be a proof of concept. We are absolutely committed to affordable rental and cost rental as well as using land banks the State owns strategically today to ensure we...

Leaders' Questions (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: That is how we create the advantages of mixed-tenure communities, which in our view is a more sustainable way to develop many of these sites.

Questions on Promised Legislation (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: I assure the Deputy that there is no complacency on competitiveness within the Government. We will not repeat the mistakes made in the past. In 2011, Ireland was ranked 24th in world competitiveness. The Deputy may have been a Minister of State in the relevant Department in the build up to that period and trying to improve our competitiveness. This is obviously disappointing and we need...

Leaders' Questions (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is right. If the people decide to vote "No" tomorrow, what they are essentially saying is that we can change nothing, that Ireland is frozen in time on this issue. We heard stories such as that from Saoirse last night and many others who in an effort to change things, have told their own stories, often in very painful circumstances. We will hear more of those stories in two,...

Leaders' Questions (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: But we will simply be recognising a reality that for the past 35 years has been in the shadows whereby many women have to keep their stories secret and we send them abroad to get basic healthcare needs. In terms of confidence in both screening systems and vaccinations, it is important to say that if one looks at CervicalCheck and BreastCheck, by international standards we have very high...

Leaders' Questions (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: The truth is that this is already underway. If the Deputy talks to the Minister for Health about this issue, he will learn that there is effectively already a campaign advocating the use of vaccines like the HPV vaccine. We have seen a significant increase in the uptake from girls. Indeed we have been looking at ways in which we can extend that and add to and reinforce that message. In...

Leaders' Questions (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: I want to endorse everything the Deputy said. I believe that, tomorrow, Ireland will make a decision that will have real consequences in terms of how Irish society moves forward. We have an opportunity to address the secrecy, the stigma and, in many ways, the hypocrisy of the way Ireland has dealt with the issue of abortion for most of my lifetime. We have effectively allowed a situation...

Leaders' Questions (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: I believe the vote tomorrow will be one that has been considered deeply by people and on the basis of that consideration based on facts, I believe they will vote "Yes".

Leaders' Questions (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am glad the Deputy raised the issue of hard cases because as the Taoiseach said earlier this week, it is hard law that makes these hard cases. It is the fact that we refused to face up to the vulnerability, trauma and appeals for help that many women have asked for and who were sent abroad to deal with that those of us in this House have been thinking about how we can respond to that...

Leaders' Questions (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: In terms of anybody doubting the issues we need to face up to, was that a hard case in the category of the "No" side? Was that a case to which this State does not need to respond in a more comprehensive way than we did?

Leaders' Questions (24 May 2018)

Simon Coveney: It is these cases which have crystallised the views of most people in Ireland who want to face up to this issue with more honesty and more compassion in the future. Hopefully, it will allow many of us, a majority, to vote "Yes" tomorrow to allow this House take on our responsibilities to introduce appropriate legislation that can care for women and also take on our responsibilities towards...