Results 13,301-13,320 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Questions on Promised Legislation (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: We will ratify it; we are not just announcing it. It will create a focus on finalising the final piece of legislation required. Much of what Ireland has done in recent years with regard to disability is consistent with the convention. There is more to do and there is no question about it. Many countries ratify conventions while they are in the process of finalising the obligations that...

Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: If that comes under question, we must deal with the consequences of that, but the main thrust of our social housing delivery plan is very much on balance, which is why the Department has seen such a dramatic increase in funding. No Department has seen funding increases like those of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government over the past two or three years.

Questions on Promised Legislation (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: I will talk to the Minister about that if that would be helpful and ask him to contact the Deputy directly about the matter. However, the concept here is to recognise that we have enough silage and other grass-based fodder in the country to deal with shortages but that there is a cost to transport it to those parts of the country that need it. This is why we have focused on trying to...

Questions on Promised Legislation (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: It sounds as if the Deputy has asked the Minister for Finance this question recently. I will raise it with him again but I would be surprised if he was not informed of the detail the Deputy has been raising. It is the first time I have heard of the matter on the floor but I will raise it with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and ask him to get back to the Deputy.

Questions on Promised Legislation (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: We cannot discuss individual cases here, obviously-----

Questions on Promised Legislation (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: -----but if they are a symptom of a broader problem-----

Questions on Promised Legislation (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: -----then of course the Government needs to deal with them. This is why we need a strong Central Bank and a strong regulator, and that is what the Government needs to focus on delivering.

Questions on Promised Legislation (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: I will give the House some information on this. As the Deputy knows, about 500 households are affected, which is just over 1,000 people. The incident was caused by a mechanical failure at a chlorine dosing pump that resulted in excessive chlorine levels in the water supply. Chlorine is added to drinking water for disinfection purposes to ensure that water is safe to drink from a...

Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am afraid the Deputy's approach on this issue is coloured by ideology, and that is the problem. Some of what the Deputy is saying is true. We need to gear up local authorities to build many more social houses. That is happening, but it cannot happen overnight. There is no silver bullet that will solve the social housing in the immediate term.

Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: What we are doing is dramatically increasing the number of social housing projects that local authorities are delivering and we are funding them. We have seen a dramatic increase in public funding for social housing through local authorities. We are also funding projects that approved housing bodies are delivering and we are putting substantial funds into acquisition programmes. We are...

Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: Money has not been an obstacle for the past 18 months in terms of social housing projects.

Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: We are working directly, with management and with local authorities, to ensure that we are providing the financial resources to deliver an extra 50,000 social houses over the lifetime of the Rebuilding Ireland plan. This is a dramatic increase of almost one third in the social housing stock in Ireland. That is what we are doing. We will deliver that across multiple different plans which is...

Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: -----a 50% increase in commencements and a dramatic increase in the delivery of social housing on sites right across the country.

Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: That is what we are doing. I have this conversation with the Deputy regularly across this floor. We are doing what the Deputy is calling for and we are gearing up the local authorities. We are not limiting the funding that is available to them.

Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: The local authorities are at capacity in terms of delivering. In fact, we are putting pressure on management in virtually every local authority, certainly, in urban Ireland, to deliver more than they are currently able to deliver. Finance is not the obstacle in terms of delivery in most of those projects, rather it is capacity. We are using all our capacity, whether it is through approved...

Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: -----acquisitions, vacant property initiatives etc. In terms of what is on and off-balance sheet, we are not relying on off-balance sheet investment. It is true that there are elements of the plan that look to try to deliver housing off-balance sheet.

Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for asking this question as it gives me the opportunity to clarify a number of matters. First, I certainly do not speak for the British Government so I cannot give the Deputy an answer in terms of the British Government's position, that is something it must decide for itself. I and many others have called for clarity from the British Government as soon as possible as that...

Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: It is important to understand the process. We are moving from a political commitment that was made before Christmas to a legal document that will be a draft withdrawal agreement. The EU is looking to draft this before the end of the month. It has been made clear, and the discussions are focusing on ensuring that the political commitments made by Britain in the context of citizens' rights,...

Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is making judgments based on what he is reading and on what individual Ministers are saying. That is not the British Government position which has been finalised yet.

Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2018)

Simon Coveney: The European Union has made it clear that it will be finalising its negotiating guidelines by the end of March but that these can be altered, amended and changed up to that point. That, essentially, is the window that is available to the British Government to decide and clarify exactly what it is looking for beyond the kind of language that we have heard to date which is general in nature.