Results 13,841-13,860 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Leaders' Questions (7 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: We have an input into a negotiation which is formally continuing. Most people in the House will understand the sensitivities of that and the reasons why I should be somewhat cautious about what I say and how I say it. In that regard, let me reassure the Deputy that the statements we have made this week as a Government still stand and we will continue to act in the interests of the country...

Leaders' Questions (7 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for raising these issues. He will appreciate that I will not be able to give detailed answers to all of his questions, but I will ensure the line Minister will contact him about them. I am familiar with the Succeed in Ireland initiative and have been involved in a number of promotional events with ConnectIreland at different times. Undoubtedly, ConnectIreland has...

Leaders' Questions (7 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: I will raise the issue with the new Minister in the Department, but it is important to point out that ConnectIreland's original business model did not provide a viable return for the operator and subsequently needed to be altered. A contracting arrangement was put in place and financial support provided. We need to assess what happened with the business model, whether it was returning what...

Leaders' Questions (7 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Government has acted in a way that has been consistent for months and we do not intend to move away from that position. We regard the responsibility of the Government in the Brexit negotiations as being hugely important in the context of the national interest on the island of Ireland as a whole. That is why we have tried to listen to all views from political parties in government and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Good Friday Agreement (7 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Government is determined to ensure that the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts is fully protected and respected in the context of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and this has been a headline priority since the UK referendum result. As co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the Government has a solemn responsibility to protect the Agreement in all its parts and the gains of...

Business of Dáil (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: Come off it.

Business of Dáil (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: It is not.

Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The House might be interested in noting that I made direct contact yesterday with the US embassy to express our real concern at the suggestion of the US President to formally recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. I made the point very clearly that, in our view, such a decision would be very unhelpful in trying to progress a stable peace process in the Middle East and also cause a lot...

Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: I will come back to the Deputy on that matter.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Undocumented Irish in the USA (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Government continues to avail of all opportunities to raise US immigration reform and the status of the undocumented Irish with the US administration and with contacts on Capitol Hill. Officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, working both here and in the US, are engaged on the issue on an ongoing basis and I am kept fully informed of developments.Neither I nor my...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Data (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The number of passports issued from the beginning of the year to the end of November 2017 was 742,280. During the same period, 36,955 passport cards were issued. At this stage in the year, figures for associated receipts are strictly provisional only; and receipts for November 2017 are not yet complete. On this provisional basis, passports and passport cards issued have generated total...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East Issues (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: EU High Representative Mogherini has invited Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel to meet with EU Foreign Ministers at a breakfast meeting on 11 December, taking advantage of the fact that many Foreign Ministers may have arrived for the Foreign Affairs Council which will follow later that day. The possibility of inviting both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas to Brussels for such...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The records sought by the Deputy relate to a very wide range of expenditure areas and to a very lengthy period, beginning over twenty years ago and running to almost seven years ago. In that context, the bulk of the records in question are no longer available and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost to my Department and the Exchequer.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Brexit Negotiations (6 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: The Government is determined to ensure that the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts is fully protected and respected in the context of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and this has been a headline priority since the UK referendum result. As co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the Government has a solemn responsibility to protect the Agreement, in all its parts, and the gains...

Situation in Syria: Motion [Private Members] (5 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: When I said "Syria" my smartphone heard "Siri" and responded to me. Deputies with children will know what I am talking about. The search for a peaceful resolution to the Syrian conflict remains a top foreign policy priority for the EU. EU foreign ministers discussed the situation in Syria at the April Council, at which they adopted a new EU strategy for Syria that sets out the EU's main...

Situation in Syria: Motion [Private Members] (5 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: I welcome the opportunity to address this House on the situation in Syria and I thank Members for their continued engagement on the issue. I thank Deputies Wallace and Clare Daly in particular for tabling the motion and giving us an opportunity to have this debate. I share the revulsion expressed in this House at the continuing violence in Syria and its impact on the Syrian population,...

Situation in Syria: Motion [Private Members] (5 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: We are not.

Situation in Syria: Motion [Private Members] (5 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: Do not mislead the House. We are not changing our approach.

Situation in Syria: Motion [Private Members] (5 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: Do not mislead the House, Deputy.

Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)

Simon Coveney: Come off it. Read the brief.