Results 11,081-11,100 of 12,604 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Departmental Staff. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The military authorities advise that the staff strength of the military archives is three, comprising a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer and a private. Two further commissioned officers serving at the military archives retired recently and approval has been granted for their replacement. The military authorities advise me that a strength of five, including suitably qualified...

Departmental Staff. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I will have a bigger job then.

Departmental Staff. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I am very happy, but one can always do more.

Departmental Staff. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The supplementary question asked by the Deputy about relocation is the subject of Question No. 65, which we will deal with later. I agree that a staff of three is inadequate. The view of the Chief of Staff, who is responsible for the section, is that a staff of five is necessary. Two people retired last October and I have given the authority the go-ahead to have them replaced. Sometimes if...

Overseas Missions. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I undertook during Priority Questions on Thursday, 23 February 2006 to ask the military authorities to revisit this matter in light of the questions raised on that date. The Chief of Staff has appointed a senior officer to examine all aspects of the Niemba ambush in the Congo in November 1960. So far contact has been made with both survivors. One has been interviewed and the other is...

Overseas Missions. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I welcome Deputy Costello to this portfolio. I worked with him when I was a Minister of State in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and he was spokesperson on justice for the Labour Party. He did an excellent job in that portfolio and was a very effective spokesperson on justice. I am aware of the Deputy's long-standing interest in this matter. The question raised on 23...

Overseas Missions. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The 30-year rule applies to some of the material retained by the military. I will check the files to which that rule applies. I do not know whether it applies to all of the data concerned, but I will check it out.

Overseas Missions. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I will have to check it out first.

Defence Forces Property. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The Irish Aviation Authority, under the aegis of the Department of Transport, is responsible for the safety regulation of Irish airspace. The IAA is responsible for regulating all matters relating to Irish civil airspace, operators, aerodromes, airports, pilots and air traffic services therein. An airspace change proposal was submitted to the IAA by Weston Limited in 2005 that includes the...

Defence Forces Property. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Formal discussions between my Department and Weston Limited have taken place over the past two years but it was not until last October that a formal group was established to consider this specific proposal and the Air Corps have only participated in the process since January. As regards the proposals currently before the Irish Aviation Authority, the authority will make the ultimate decision...

Overseas Missions. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Ireland has participated in UNMIL since December 2003, following a decision of the Government on 24 June 2003 and the subsequent approval by Dáil Éireann of the necessary enabling motion. Since then, the UN Security Council has authorised the continuation of UNMIL for successive periods and the Government has approved continued Irish participation. Ireland, together with an infantry company...

Overseas Missions. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The current quick reaction force comprises Irish and Swedish troops. The Liberian authorities and the UN have asked us to continue our involvement for a further six months to enable the UN to develop an alternative quick reaction force. The Swedish Government has declined but we are disposed to accept the request, although I have not yet recommended such a course to the Government. I...

Overseas Missions. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Deputy Timmins will be interested to know that today the Cabinet accepted my recommendation to commit ten personnel to Congo to assist MONAC to oversee the election in July. While we have no requests to deploy troops in May 2007, unfortunately with the state of the world there will be no shortage of such requests and we will consider them as sympathetically as possible, taking account of the...

Overseas Missions. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: If the Sudanese Government requests UN assistance, the Security Council passes a resolution that troops should be deployed to Sudan and a request comes to the Irish Government, we will examine it in the same way as we would examine any other request.

Commemorative Events. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I take this opportunity to congratulate the Defence Forces on their magnificent display at the Easter parade. There was great public approval and support for the commemorations of the Easter Rising. I have received a lot of positive feedback, written and oral, from members of the public who were delighted to see the modern Defence Forces given an opportunity to parade through our capital...

Commemorative Events. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I assure Deputy Gormley and the House that there was no hidden agenda. As Fianna Fáil, not Sinn Féin, is the republican party, we had no need to reclaim nationalism from Sinn Féin and there was no such intention. While many commentators related the commemoration to recent opinion poll gains, I do not take much account of opinion polls. The poll that matters to me is the result on the day....

Defence Forces Property. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The military authorities advise that the staff strength of the military archive is three, comprising a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer and a private. As I told Deputy Timmins earlier, two further commissioned officers serving at the military archive retired recently and approval has been granted for their replacement. The requirement for a more suitable home for the military...

Defence Forces Property. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I referred to the museum at Collins Barracks.

Defence Forces Property. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Yes.

Defence Forces Property. (9 May 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I said when the interdepartmental committee was set up in 2003 that the primary focus was on the National Museum of Ireland facility at the former military barracks, Collins Barracks, Dublin. It was asked to determine whether the military archives could be taken out of Cathal Brugha Barracks and relocated at Collins Barracks — this was the extent of its brief. Difficulties have arisen....