Results 9,841-9,860 of 12,604 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Overseas Missions. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I assure Deputy Collins that military personnel have travelled to Chad on reconnaissance work. They have studied the environment to ascertain what is required in terms of equipment, transport and communications. These are people of the highest expertise who have organised previous foreign missions. They know what is required and will ensure it is supplied. One cannot offer absolute...

Overseas Missions. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: We got €37 million extra for the Chad mission and supplied €20 million from within our own resources. If there was no question of us going to Chad we would undoubtedly have found other ways to spend that €20 million. Perhaps we would have got €20 million less from the Department of Finance. I reassure the Deputy that the amount of money we will spend in upgrading equipment this...

Overseas Missions. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I will answer the specific points raised by Deputy Deenihan in the first instance. I assure the Deputy that although Lieutenant General Nash's formal retirement date is in May, he is to be appointed for the duration of Ireland's participation in the mission. The initial deployment is for a year but it may be extended. That will be a decision for Government when we come to the end of that...

Defence Forces Reserve. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The Reserve Defence Force review implementation plan provides for a phased approach to enhancing the capabilities of the Reserve Defence Force, RDF, over the period to the end of 2009. The introduction of new organisational structures, the development of new training syllabi and improvements in equipment and clothing have been successfully delivered as part of phase 1 of the plan. Phase 2...

Defence Forces Reserve. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I will deal shortly with the question on the fall-off in numbers joining the RDF. To answer Deputy Deenihan's initial point, I agree there is a vast reservoir of potential talent that should be utilised. This was the view of the Reserve Defence Force Review Implementation Board. The Deputy will recall that the implementation plan for the RDF was to be delivered in two phases. Phase 1,...

Defence Forces Reserve. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I agree that the FLR has a vital role to play in attracting people back into the RDF. That is the view of the implementation board. This is one of the uses to which it will be put in our programme. I hope to expand on this in later questions.

Overseas Missions. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: On 20 November 2007, the Government authorised the despatch of a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force for service with the UN-mandated EU operation in the Republic of Chad and the Central African Republic. Dáil Éireann approved the necessary enabling motion on 28 November 2007. It was initially expected that a Defence Forces initial entry force, comprising an advance party of...

Overseas Missions. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: To answer the Deputy's last question first, I do not recall receiving anything from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Something may have come to my Department but I certainly have not seen it personally. The recent declaration by the rebel forces is obviously a cause for worry. That cannot be gainsaid. However, this is not the first time that one or other of the militias there have...

Overseas Missions. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I do not want to get into numbers. In the Abéché area where the Irish troops will likely be based, we would need at least three med-evac helicopters and one fixed wing med-evac aircraft. More will be needed in other parts of Chad. We are making progress, the signs are hopeful and the operation commander, an Irish general — Lieutenant General Pat Nash — will not deploy the force until...

Overseas Missions. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The proposed deployment of a Defence Forces contingent to the UN-mandated EU operation in the Republic of Chad and the Central African Republic will be the most expensive operation on which the Defence Forces have ever been deployed. As the House will be aware, Chad is landlocked and nearly 2,000 km from the nearest port facility. There are few if any roads or infrastructure over which to...

Overseas Missions. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The cost of the type of aircraft necessary to transfer troops and equipment like Mowags to a destination such as Chad is in the order of €75 million. I am also told that the equipment is expensive to maintain and use. I realise that €20 million for transportation — I can give the Deputy a breakdown — is a great deal of money. This is the most expensive mission in which we have...

Overseas Missions. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I have told the House again and again that the force commander and the EU Military Committee will not deploy the force, including Irish troops, until they are fully satisfied——

Overseas Missions. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: ——beyond a shadow of a doubt that all necessary logistical supports are in place.

Overseas Missions. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: We cannot send our helicopters because they do not have the range. It is a vast country that contains the Sahara Desert and is as large as France, Spain and Germany put together, if not larger. Our helicopters do not have the range to do the job of air transport in such a huge interior.

Overseas Missions. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: Deputy Deenihan asked a question that I forgot to answer, namely, for what are the helicopters used. They are used for training purposes, search and rescue missions, as Garda backup and as Navy backup in fisheries protection. Regarding their use for foreign aid, that is certainly something that——

Overseas Missions. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I appreciate that. It is worth considering and I will discuss it with my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Defence Forces Reserve. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The White Paper on Defence 2000 outlines the blueprint for the Reserve Defence Force, RDF. The Reserve Defence Force review implementation plan provides for the phased enhancement of Reserve capabilities over the period to the end of 2009. The plan provided for a non-integrated Army Reserve with an establishment of 9,292 personnel and a Naval Service Reserve with an establishment of 400...

Defence Forces Reserve. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I would not agree with Deputy O'Shea that there has been a fall-off of 40% in strict numbers terms. I have some figures in that regard. It may be 40% but the recent emphasis on taking non-active people, those who do not turn up for training on a regular basis, off the rolls has played a major part. Efforts were made to find out the reason people left. The Reserve Defence Force...

Defence Forces Reserve. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: It is not a case of taking a "one size fits all" approach. The geography is important, as I pointed out. The Deputy will find that in the report and also in the recommendations. On the numbers, the target in the White Paper between the integrated element of the Reserve and the ordinary element is approximately 11,800. The standing amount was approximately 8,939 on 31 October, almost 9,000,...

Defence Forces Training. (12 Dec 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The role of the Defence Forces is laid out in the White Paper on Defence. It commits the Defence Forces to being actively involved in providing a broad range of services at home and challenging deployments overseas. I have previously outlined the position on the forthcoming mission to Chad and the House will be familiar with the other overseas missions with which the Defence Forces are...