Simon Coveney

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Ministerial ratings: Two years after Cabinet was formed, who has outstayed their welcome and who deserves to be asked back?

THIS weekend marks two years since the ‘grand coalition’ of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party came to power. Micheál Martin’s Cabinet picks brought together a mix of very experienced ministers and rookie TDs. With a reshuffle scheduled for later this year, Political Correspondent Senan Molony assesses who is swimming and sinking.

Letters to the Editor Opinion Army of tired carers deserve better recognition and help

I’m a full-time carer for my son who is going to be 17 years old next month. He requires 24-hour care. He is a wheelchair user. He has complex medical needs, a severe/profound intellectual disability and is non-verbal.

Letters to the Editor Opinion Ukraine can learn valuable lessons from Irish history

Travelling on the Dart from Dún Laoghaire to Connolly Station on Sunday, I got into an enlightening conversation with two lovely young people from Ukraine.

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‘Bring Winkie Irvine down’: Order that went out from highest level after Simon Coveney bomb plot

UVF boss Winkie Irvine effectively signed his own arrest warrant when his ‘B’ Company gang targeted Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney in a hoax bomb alert.

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exclusive ‘Relations between us are in a bad place’ – Simon Coveney says Liz Truss is making no effort on Northern Ireland

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has accused British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss of making “no effort” to resolve the Northern Ireland P rotocol row and suggested she may be more focused on trying to succeed Boris Johnson as p rime m inister.

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Gene Kerrigan Opinion Yes, our politicians are pretty bad, but just look at the neighbours next door

The neighbours have been very noisy lately. Truth is, the neighbours are going through a bad patch. Their reigning figurehead, Elizabeth Windsor, had a big party because she’s been queen for 70 years and her subjects have been bowing and scraping even more vigorously than usual. Recreational grovelling.

Covid contact tracing staff to be diverted to Passport Office to help tackle major backlog

THE HSE is scaling back its Covid-19 contact-tracing teams and moving some staff to the Passport Office to help clear a major backlog.

Letters to the Editor Opinion Confidence vote in Johnson shows his days are numbered

I voted for Boris Johnson in the 2019 Tory leadership contest. I also voted for Brexit in 2016. However, after 148 Conservative MPs voted against Mr Johnson’s continued role as leader and prime minister, his authority is severely diminished and it is difficult to see him remaining in office.

Simon Coveney’s brother ran five-star Ritz-Carlton in Moscow remotely from Ireland following Ukraine invasion

The brother of Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney was managing the prestigious Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow remotely from Ireland, having left Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Simon Coveney blames passport delays on applicants taking ‘months’ to send in documentation

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has again blamed passport applicants amid ongoing delays, claiming they are taking “months” to send in necessary documents.

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Dáithí Ó Sé only has his belly to hide, the Love Island look is out and the rise of ‘tech neck’

Dáithí Ó Sé is back training hard before returning to the Dome stage for this year’s Rose of Tralee. “I’m going down there match fit, blades sharpened and let’s go for it,” he said this week. Even if he doesn’t lose the weight, he has a secret weapon in his arsenal: man Spanx. The host told Angela Scanlon on her RTÉ chat show that he will squeeze into the slimming undies to look svelte in front of the camera. “I’ve nothing to hide,” he said. “Only the belly.”

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Paul Williams Opinion Plans to beef up the Defence Forces are a waste of time until the current troops are cut a fair pay deal

SIMON COVENEY'S recent declaration that Ireland needs “at least 3,000 extra soldiers” and a dramatic increase in defence spending due the worsening global security situation is effectively an admission of failure by him as minister for defence, his government and his department.

UK warned it is risking US trade deal over Protocol

A nine-strong US Congressional delegation was welcomed to Ireland yesterday as it told British f oreign s ecretary Liz Truss to return to the negotiating table on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Saluting the historic handover of Dublin barracks 100 years on

‘Nice uniform, mate,” was how Irish Army officer James Dolan was greeted by his admiring British counterpart, as they prepared for the handover of what was then known as Portobello barracks in Dublin.

Boris Johnson to visit North as DUP halts Assembly return with veto on new Speaker

British prime minister Boris Johnson will visit Northern Ireland on Monday amid a deepening political emergency in which the DUP is blocking the election of a Speaker at Stormont.

Simon Coveney warns of ‘grandstanding threat’ to Northern Ireland protocol as tensions grow

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney says he does not know whether the British government wants to resolve the Northern Ireland Protocol impasse, as tensions between Dublin, Brussels and London escalate.

Editorial Opinion Sabre-rattling on protocol no way to conduct business

As has been ruefully observed, the Bible tells us to love our neighbours and our enemies – probably because they are generally the same people. On his trip to Belfast, a frazzled Simon Coveney has lamented the new low in Irish-Anglo relations.

Irish Defence Forces need at least 3,000 more troops after Ukraine war, says Simon Coveney

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said at least 3,000 extra soldiers are needed to address the security threats facing Ireland in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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Colm McCarthy Opinion Neutrality saves us money – and the neighbours are no threat

Finland and Sweden are on the verge of applying to join Nato, which would leave just four out of 27 European Union countries outside the alliance — the two small Mediterranean islands of Cyprus and Malta, plus Austria and Ireland.

Letters to the Editor Opinion Bring some of your Russian steel to the Northern Ireland protocol, Mr Martin

The Downing Street Declaration of peace signed on December 15, 1993 by then taoiseach Albert Reynolds and British prime minister John Major, was designed to remove conflict and historical disagreements between the different traditions on this island, particularly in Northern Ireland.

Editorial Opinion Minds must stay focused on making Putin see sense

The war in Ukraine is entering another dark phase with even greater potential for mass death. In his message to the UN Security Council, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney attempted to highlight the horror a nation is being forced to endure.

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Gardaí prepare to help Ukraine war crimes investigation effort

Gardaí are preparing to assist the Ukraine government’s investigation into Russian war crimes following its invasion of the country.

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John Downing Opinion Coveney’s surprise visit to Ukraine was brave and timely, but an embattled people want tangible results to follow

Simon Coveney’s surprise Kyiv visit will ultimately test whether Ireland has any real clout in advancing Ukraine’s EU membership hopes.

Obituary: Michael Tighe, siege of Jadotville veteran who fought for recognition of fellow soldiers’ courage

Army veteran Michael Tighe, who has died at the age of 83 , was one of the last of the Irish soldiers involved in the September 1961 Siege at Jadotville in the Congo, which was the subject of a widely praised Netflix film in 2016 starring Jamie Dornan as company commander, the late Pat Quinlan.

Moscow expels two Irish diplomats in retaliation after Ireland sent four Russian embassy staff home

Russia has expelled two Irish diplomats from the country.

Traumatised van driver ordered to bring bomb to peace event attended by Simon Coveney has been forced to leave his home, Belfast court hears

A traumatised workman ordered to transport a suspected bomb to a north Belfast peace event attended by the Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has been forced to move home, the High Court in Belfast heard today.

Editorial Opinion As a nation, we must act in solidarity with Ukraine

Act immediately” or “dissolve yourself altogether,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told the United Nations. His demand that Russia be expelled from the UN Security Council because of its atrocities was genuine. And those who watched the video of dead bodies – including remains of children – he played, must have wondered had Russia not already expelled itself.

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Simon Coveney Opinion I was there to acknowledge peace – what happened was a shameful echo of a darker time

On March 25, I was in Belfast for an event with the John and Pat Hume Foundation on “Building the Common Ground”.

Simon Coveney condemns bomb hoax as ‘shameful echo of a darker time’

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has condemned the bomb hoax at an event he attended in Belfast as “a shameful echo of a darker time”.

Obituary: Pierre Zakrzewski, Irish cameraman killed in Ukraine who covered overseas conflicts with great flair

Among the vast number of casualties resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the death of Pierre Zakrzewski (pronounced “Zakshefski”) at the age of 55 years had a special impact in Ireland and internationally, not least in media circles. His life came to a tragic and violent end on March 14 while he was covering the conflict as a Fox News cameraman.