Results 13,481-13,500 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Other Questions: Trade Missions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: I certainly hope not and I also expect not. In fact, I asked him a direct question on that issue and I expect that we will not see the closure of the embassy. He said he did not intend to take the Israeli Embassy out of Dublin. To be fair, after that conversation, which was at the very end of our discussion, when I asked him to please not pull the embassy out of Dublin because we need to...

Other Questions: Good Friday Agreement (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 17 together. I thank the Deputy for these questions. A programme of events at home and abroad is being developed to highlight the important anniversary and to mark the achievement of the agreement, which continues to be the cornerstone of our commitment to peace and reconciliation on this island. My Department is engaging with other Departments on...

Other Questions: Good Friday Agreement (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: I know how personally committed Deputy Smith is to the peace process and its maintenance. We are still in a design phase in terms of what the commemorations will look like, although others are engaged in planning. Queen's University will hold a big event and an event also is planned in New York. We will obviously contribute and support those events. We will also host some of our own...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Middle East Peace Process (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: Before the announcement in Jerusalem, there actually was quite a lot of hope. The European Union was waiting for a new US initiative. When I was at the UN General Assembly in New York, I met Dr. Riyad al-Maliki, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Palestine. There was a sense of positivity that they were waiting for a new initiative that the Palestinians would be able to...

Other Questions: Trade Missions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: To try to answer the question the Deputy tabled, proposals for trade missions are developed by Enterprise Ireland in consultation with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation on the basis of priority markets and specific interests of Enterprise Ireland client companies. Proposals for 2018 are currently being finalised and, once approved, the schedule of planned trade missions...

Other Questions: Trade Missions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: The straight answer to that is "Yes". When I visited the Middle East a couple of weeks ago, I was in Cairo on the first day of a four-day visit and we had a really good meeting. I met for nearly three hours with my counterpart, the Minister for Foreign Affairs there. We did raise human rights issues. However, we did so in the context of a discussion on a range of matters. From my...

Other Questions: Trade Missions (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: We are not selling weapons to anybody.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Negotiations (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: The Department will address any further questions in the meantime.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Negotiations (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: At recently as this morning, we had a Brexit stakeholder meeting for an hour and a half or so at which all these interests were represented. We are trying to prepare small and medium-sized businesses as well as larger businesses throughout the country for the potential impact of Brexit. All the State agencies are geared up to do that. People will see us do it in a far more visible way in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Middle East Peace Process (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: It is a fair question. Deputy Eamon Ryan will receive a copy of my written answer but I wish to take this opportunity to respond to him directly. I have spent a good deal of time on this issue since moving into this brief. It is something I am personally interested in. I have been to Israel and Palestine twice in the space of less than six months. I have met the Israeli Prime Minister...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Middle East Peace Process (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: We have had that debate. I wish to state clearly that in our judgment a two-state solution is the best outcome. That is our position, the position of the Palestinian leadership and the position of the US Government as well, as outlined by the US Vice President this week. There is a view that a one-state solution would not inspire the kind of hope that many Palestinian communities want and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Good Friday Agreement (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: This is a challenging process. The EU generally negotiates on the basis of precedent, laws and regulations and treaties because it is a collection of countries. That is the sensible way to proceed. We have made the case that Ireland is uniquely exposed in a whole series of ways to Brexit. I refer to the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement, and also a protection, trading and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Good Friday Agreement (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: -----with Britain outside of the European Union, recognising that is the commitment that they have made. That is what I advocate for too. Norway is much closer to the European Union-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Good Friday Agreement (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: -----from a trading perspective than for example Canada is. That is why a Norway-plus model, where the European Union could be generous to Britain in terms of trying to facilitate genuine concerns, and where Britain signals the intent of wanting-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Good Friday Agreement (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: -----to remain close to the European Union, Single Market and Customs Union, is where we would like the British negotiating team to go.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Negotiations (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: I do not agree with all of the comment but they are very much fair questions. First, we are focusing on the negotiations themselves, as we did before Christmas, to make sure an Irish perspective is understood and incorporated into the various different things happening. Next Monday, in the General Affairs Council, there will be a proposal in relation to transition arrangements. We want to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Negotiations (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: -----that the Taoiseach the has been advocating for today. In relation to the domestic agenda, perhaps I will come back and give the Deputy an answer later.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Negotiations (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: There is a lot there. I am not going to be able to answer all of it. I would happily answer in some detail if Deputy Donnelly wants to talk to me about it later. Our understanding, and I think anybody's understanding reading the words that were agreed and put down in black and white regarding "maintaining full alignment with the rules of the Customs Union and Single Market" is clear....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Negotiations (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: In regard to what I mean by Norway-plus, at the moment, as people will probably know, Norway is not part of an extended customs union. That means that there is a border and border checks between Norway and the EU. If Britain chose to effectively become an extension of the Single Market, we would like to see the option for it also to be in a customs union partnership. That would be a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Emigrant Support Services (25 Jan 2018)

Simon Coveney: I have no problem with doing that. It is just a question of scheduling the time to do it. On emigration, I think there is pretty much cross-party support for trying to encourage people to come home. There are job opportunities for them here across multiple sectors, which is a really good thing. The population in Ireland is growing by about 50,000 a year. Probably close to half of that is...