Results 13,441-13,460 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am not saying that is enough, but-----

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: -----I am saying we are making progress in this area. Planning permission is up by almost 50%, commencements are up by almost 50% and mortgage approvals are up significantly. The property market is moving in the right direction although there are still significant pressures to deal with when it comes to public policy. The Deputy seems to be suggesting that the schemes we have announced,...

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: Let us not, for the sake of politics, undermine good schemes that can help many young families around the country to get on the housing ladder.

Questions on Promised Legislation (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy English, is the political expert on this issue and worked with me on it when I was in that Department. I will ask him to contact the Deputy directly. He is a very pragmatic person on this issue, and if there is a case to be made he will certainly listen with an open mind.

Questions on Promised Legislation (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Government is committed to uncovering the truth of what happened in this case. We remain absolutely committed to establishing a commission of investigation into the circumstances surrounding the horrific crimes committed by Bill Kenneally. This has always been the case. When the Government decided in May of last year to announce the intention...

Questions on Promised Legislation (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: My understanding is the Government wants to bring forward its own Bill in this area. It is on the priority list, which means we are will try to bring it forward this term. I will ask the Minister to confirm that directly with the Deputy but that is my understanding at the moment.

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Government shares the Deputy's concern in this area. I share it as a politician but also as a father of three girls who know how to use my mobile phone as well as I do, despite the fact that the oldest is aged just eight. This results in a conversation in virtually every family in the country about how we get the balance right between allowing our children access to technology and...

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: I accept that it is time for action but it is not as simple as some people might suggest.

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: I am not suggesting we ignore the Law Reform Commission recommendations. This is an international, as well as a national, problem and a lot of the imagery to which children and adults are exposed online does not actually come from Ireland but from further afield. We need to look at the responsibility of those who are responsible for online platforms to see how we can screen and remove...

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Government is not pretending that any one initiative will solve the housing problem. It will be a combination of a whole series of things. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, announced three new initiatives in the past week: an affordable rental scheme; an affordable housing scheme; and a Rebuilding Ireland home loan mortgage system. All of...

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Committee of Public Accounts is doing good work. It is asking hard questions and exposing issues when appropriate, and we need to respond to the concerns raised through the committee. This is a good thing and it is how democracy works. Sometimes it is uncomfortable for people but it is a good thing. On Stepaside Garda station, it is an executive function of the Government to set...

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Government needs to respond to official reviews and reports that are sent to us by a Garda Commissioner for us to make decisions on the back of them, which is what we did. On the Deputy's generalisations that no one is held to account in Ireland, that is rubbish. The reason we set up tribunals is to hold people to account.

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: What is happening right now in the tribunal is the holding of people linked to account.

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: It is linked to policing and many of the politically sensitive issues that have been raised by brave whistleblowers. We are getting to the bottom of these things and Ministers and former Ministers are being held to account in that tribunal.

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: That is the kind of holding to account that we democratically stand over. Perhaps Deputy Cullinane could outline what he is talking about-----

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: -----in terms of holding people to account. What we want in government is transparency and to ensure that people who have questions to answer are allowed to do it in a fair, robust and appropriate way through investigations, inquiries, tribunals, Oireachtas committees or the court system. That is how democracy functions. We are examining new ways to add to that all the time.

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: That is what this House should be focusing on rather than giving the generalisations we have just heard.

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: Over the past months the Minister, Deputy Doherty, has been considering how and when to address the issue of the 42,000 people who were affected by the pension rate band changes in 2012. We listened and we worked on a solution. This week, the Government formally approved a positive change in the pension system. The announcement means that a new total contributions approach will be...

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: This issue of pensions does not solely relate to the 2012 changes. This goes back 20 years when people took time out from the workforce, or in some cases women were forced out of the workforce.

Leaders' Questions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: It is not as straightforward an issue as some would suggest.