Results 12,741-12,760 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: I understand the system might finish today, which is good news for everybody.

Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: The education (parent and student charter) Bill went through pre-legislative scrutiny in November 2017. It is on the priority list but it is proving to be more complicated than we had thought, but it is a priority and the Government intends to bring it forward soon.

Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2018: First Stage (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: No.

Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: There is a big focus on trying to recruit more nurses into the system. They are being offered full-time contracts and other incentives to stay in Ireland and work in the health system. However, it is important to acknowledge that nurses work in many tough environments in the health system. The emergency departments in many hospitals are particularly pressurised. It is not easy for nurses...

Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: ------by implementing a reform programme and a dramatic and steady increase in funding for the health system to provide a better working environment and better working conditions.

Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, has informed me that the Department of Health is aware of what is happening in the United Kingdom in that regard and that it is being considered by it.

Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: Very tight lobbying legislation has been brought in in recent years. I think Deputy Howlin was involved in that. It is good legislation and it may well be tested in the context of some issues that have been raised in recent days. If lobbyists have acted in a way that is inconsistent with the law, then there are independent mechanisms to ensure that they are held to account. We will see...

Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: This is a serious issue. I have spoken to Deputy Harris about it on a number of occasions because we all deal with families and young people affected by scoliosis. I will hand over to the Minister of State in that Department to provide a more detailed answer.

Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: I would like more time to respond to that but I will briefly say that an enormous amount of contingency planning is under way across Government. It is my Department's job to co-ordinate that. Before the summer, we will publish a framework document on what that looks like but it will not give all of the detail because it does not make sense to publish some reports that may undermine our...

Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: I agree that early intervention and early assessment are essential for children on the autistic spectrum. We put more resources into disability all the time. That will continue. This will develop as a conversation between the Minister for Health and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: We have a lot of ambition relating to renewable energy development in Ireland. We have one of the highest contributions from wind on our electricity grid and that is growing. We have a huge funding programme under way for ocean energy research, which we want to develop into reality. I would have to see the new proposed targets and speak to the Minister involved before making a commitment...

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: His subsequent actions show that to be the case to the letter.

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. There was an almost five-year consultation process before the decision to reorganise and restructure CIS was taken. This is about reorganising governance and providing for more efficiencies, not about reducing services. There will be a smaller number of governance bodies, but the services will not change. Many organisations go through such...

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: In reply to a recent parliamentary question on the issue the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection said:The CIB have assured me that there will be no job losses, no diminution of existing services, no closure of services and no disruption to services. The rationale for the CIB's decision is to improve its governance arrangements in accordance with the Code of Practice for the...

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: When trying to rebuild trust in politics, one starts by assessing things on the basis of the truth of what happened rather than trying to create a political environment in which people are going after somebody's head, which is what is happening here. The Taoiseach, the Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten, and I have said it would have been better if this conversation had not taken place. I also...

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: -----to create an impression that the Minister was somehow giving an inside steer to a lobbyist in an inappropriate way. I do not believe that was the case. If one looks at the file, in terms of how the Minister behaved subsequently-----

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: If one examines all the reports that have been published on the Minister's website, one will see that he subsequently took action on the basis of the advice he was given, which is exactly what he said he would do. He was asked for a view and he gave a view based on information that was in the public domain, which was not secret and which was not insider information for anybody.

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: That is not a fact. The Deputy should not mislead the House.

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: Let me try to go through the sequence of comments and questions. First, Deputy Brendan Howlin is making the claim that the Minister informed a lobbyist of his intended course of action.

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2018)

Simon Coveney: What he said with certainty, which is the important issue here, is that he would act solely on the advice of his officials. That is what he said.