Results 5,821-5,840 of 17,012 for speaker:Paul Kehoe

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: European Defence Capabilities (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I reiterate that it should be remembered that the European Peace Facility is currently only a proposal and that there is a long way to go on it. A significant amount of work remains to be agreed by member states in regard to the proposal, including the budget, and it is considered unlikely that it will be concluded in its current format of which the Deputy may have read. Any agreement on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Recruitment (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: In 2017, expenditure relating to the publicity and advertising of various recruitment campaigns amounted to approximately €457,000. I presume the figure of €15 million referenced by the Deputy is a figure reported by the media as a saving that could result from retaining existing personnel rather than recruiting new personnel. This figure was provided by the military...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Recruitment (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: The Deputy asked that pay not be brought into it, but she subsequently did so and, as such, I must address the issue of pay. I have stated on numerous occasions that there are challenges. That is why the Public Service Pay Commission is looking at issues in respect of Defence Forces recruitment and retention. I hope to have this issue addressed shortly. There are retirements every...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Recruitment (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: The working time directive is being worked upon by representatives of the Department and the Defence Forces along with the representative organisations. I have previously stressed that I want this sorted out. I want my officials and the Defence Forces military management to sort it out. There is a point of truth which we must reach on this issue. I want it to be sorted out as soon as...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Recruitment (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: Naval vessels do not return to Haulbowline every evening and set off again the next morning. I recognise that life at sea is difficult and I want the pay commission to do likewise. I hope it recognises that these people put in long hours. I recognise that and I understand the frustration of some in the Naval Service. It is in the pay commission's hands and I hope it recognises the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Recruitment (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: As I have told the Deputy previously, this recommendation came from military management. I agreed with and supported management on this and will continue to do so. The Deputy will shake his head and disagree with me, but that is his job. I support this initiative. It is a good one, and I hope to see more people re-entering the organisation.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Recruitment (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I am sorry.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Recruitment (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I assure the Deputy that they are not hollow. It is interesting that, while he originally asked about enlisted personnel, he never mentioned them in any of his supplementary questions. I will mention them. They are equally as important as the officers. Without enlisted personnel, we would not have the Defence Forces. We would need to legislate to accommodate enlisted personnel who wished...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: European Defence Capabilities (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: The EPF is a proposal from the High Representative and Vice President of the Commission, Federica Mogherini, who has proposed that a financial mechanism be established for funding actions under the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, CFSP. The mechanism would, if approved, incorporate the Athena mechanism and the African Peace Facility. It would also include a mechanism for funding...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: European Defence Capabilities (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I agree with some of what the Deputy has said, but this is at the stage of initial discussions only and has not reached ministerial level. It has been dealt with by the civil side more than the political side. From speaking to my EU colleagues, there genuinely is limited, and I mean limited, support for this proposal. It has only been discussed at working group meetings so far. Contrary...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: To Deputy Ó Snodaigh I say that once we consider the recommendations of the the Public Service Pay Commission, we will move as quickly as possible. From a public expenditure point of view, there is a process to be gone through. However, the Deputy can be sure I will push as hard as I can to ensure we will have that. I am not sure whether Deputy Paul Murphy read the review of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: Absolutely, I agree, as I have stated. If I did not agree, I would not have asked officials in my Department to talk to ICTU about the issue. It has been one of the recommendations made in the review of the conciliation and arbitration scheme that I adopted in 2018. I brought in an independent chairperson who produced a set of recommendations which I accepted in full when the review of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Recruitment (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I am advised that, to date, a small number of expressions of interest in a return to the Permanent Defence Force, PDF, have come from former officers.  As I have indicated previously to the Deputy, a scheme is in place which facilitates the re-entry of former officers to the PDF. In the absence of a standard policy for dealing with requests to re-enter, each case was previously...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Recruitment (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: If the Deputy looked, he would see that there are a great many career incentive schemes already in place in the Defence Forces. I do not know from where he is getting his information, but he should go back and check. I presume he is referring to the representative association, RACO, when he says some members have reservations about the re-entry scheme. I can absolutely understand people...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 4 together. Similar to other sectors in the public service, the pay of Permanent Defence Force personnel was reduced as one of the measures to assist in stabilising national finances during the financial crisis. Improvements in the economy have provided an opportunity to progress the unwinding of the financial emergency measures in the public...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: To reply to Deputy Ó Snodaigh, it is a matter for the pay commission and I cannot speculate on when it will complete its work. The Government will give due consideration to the recommendations of the report when it is completed. What I said on the record in May last year was that I wanted the pay commission to receive all of the material. Unfortunately, there was a huge amount of back...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: Less than 1% of members of the Defence Forces are on family income supplement. Deputy Murphy is the same person who was shouting and roaring this out but he was wrong yet again. As I say, it is easy for him to do it. I am confident that we will have a set of recommendations from the Public Service Pay Commission as soon as possible. I cannot get involved as the commission is an independent...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Personnel (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I thought the Acting Chairman would be a little more lenient than the Ceann Comhairle or the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, particularly on this morning which seems as if we are in the sunny south east. The military authorities have advised that there is no issue with regard to filling command positions for a rotation of troops attached to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. The 114th...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Personnel (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: As the Deputy knows, Finnish personnel pulled out of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, at the end of 2018. Our military management proposed to me that they would fill that gap for a period of 12 months. We have increased our personnel in that force by approximately 106 or 110 for a period of 12 months from the end of 2018. I was assured by military management at the time...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Personnel (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: We have nine different overseas missions currently. If Defence Forces management tells me it is unable to fulfil any of the commitments, I will listen and take it very much into account. Any overseas mission in which we partake is with the imprimatur and agreement of military management. The Chief of Staff has responsibility to make sure we have the capability and capacity to fulfil our...