Results 7,901-7,920 of 12,701 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Defence Forces Deployment. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: I thank Deputy O'Keeffe for his remarks. I assure him I will pass on what he said to the Army. The answer to Deputy Collins's question is most emphatically that there was no formal request from Limerick County Council for assistance from the Army to the CO at Slattery Barracks and if such a request had been made, help would have been forthcoming. In reply to Deputy O'Shea, I do not know why...

Defence Forces Deployment. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: Question Time is over, a Cheann Comhairle.

Defence Forces Deployment. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: In 2008 I submitted a document to Government, which is available to all Departments, which indicated a wide range of potential emergencies such as severe flooding, oil spillages and terrorist attacks. I outlined the lead Department in each case. As things stand, it is up to the lead Department to initiate a meeting of the emergency response committee. Perhaps that has to change. Lessons...

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: Resulting from the Government decision regarding the reduction in public service numbers and the reduced budgetary provision available for 2009, recruitment, promotions and acting up appointments in the Permanent Defence Forces were suspended. I made a submission to my colleague, the Minister for Finance, in June 2009 regarding the implications of the measures for the Permanent Defence...

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: The Deputy is wrong on a number of points as usual.

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: I had no conversation with the Irish Independent.

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: I have not spoken to the Irish Independent for several days.

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: I have more to be doing in my Department than ordering inquiries. I announced this two months ago.

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: There is a slight difference.

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: I am sorry the Deputy is unable to count because that was two months ago. I do not know how well aware the Deputy is of the issues but the military authorities have been reallocating and reorganising their position to take account of the moratorium.

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: The Army authorities could not allocate these posts until they knew how many posts they would have to allocate. They are now ready to do this.

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: Yes, but some must be filled immediately while others must not.

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: The remaining ten promotions will be made in the coming months. It is always the practice in such a scenario to hold back a number of people for contingencies that may arise and those affected will be appointed in the next few months.

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: If the Deputy tells me he keeps in touch with the representative organisations, I accept that but that makes it all the more surprising he gets so much wrong.

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: The number of promotions could be increased from 30. I appreciate the need to extend the acting up provisions and that is why I am in contact with the Department of Finance in this regard. I also accept that 50 promotions are not adequate but this is the first instalment and I expect further news on this shortly. With regard to the health and safety issues, the military authorities say the...

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: Promoting physical fitness and supporting the delivery of physical education in schools is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Education and Science. All physical education instructors within the Defence Forces are fully engaged in the training process. Furthermore, the robust physical fitness training programme applied to Defence Forces training is not comparable or suitable for...

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: I do not want to be disrespectful to the Deputy in my reply and he should not draw the conclusion that I am being disrespectful to him. He mentioned a strong tradition of military involvement in physical fitness but quite honestly I do not know of what he is speaking. He mentioned other countries-----

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: I have a precis of it.

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: The Deputy referred to other countries.

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: In Canada it involves the military going to a school for a few days in the year. In no country in the world does the military step in to assist in the work of PE teachers or to replace them. That is a fact.