Results 11,281-11,300 of 12,604 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Written Answers — Defence Forces Appointments: Defence Forces Appointments (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 20, 29, 57, 61 and 70 together. The background to the engagement of Dr. Lieberthal arises from the Defence Forces policy of providing medical care for personnel serving with large contingents overseas. In the case of missions such as Lebanon and Liberia it is the practice to send medical officers as part of the contingent. Given the arduous nature of the...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Personnel: Defence Forces Personnel (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 168 together. Ireland is currently contributing approximately 766 Defence Forces personnel to 19 different missions throughout the world. Full details of all personnel currently serving overseas are listed in the following table. The main commitments are to the United Nations Mission in Liberia, UNMIL, with 426 personnel, to the NATO-led international...

Written Answers — Medical Facilities: Medical Facilities (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 55 together. The military medical services and their facilities exist primarily to maintain the health of the Defence Forces and to support them in operational and overseas activities. The reorganisation of the medical corps, which was effected as part of the Defence Forces review implementation plan in November 1998, redirected the focus of military...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Investigations: Defence Forces Investigations (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 34, 48 and 56 together. Private Kevin Barrett died on 18 February 1999 while serving with the 84th Infantry Battalion in Lebanon. His death was the subject of a UN board of inquiry and an Irish contingent board of inquiry as well as a military police investigation. The coroner for north-west Donegal also held an inquest into the death of Private Barrett...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Recruitment: Defence Forces Recruitment (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 63 together. The minimum height requirement for entry to the Permanent Defence Force and the Reserve Defence Force is 162.5 cm, 5 ft. 4 in., for both men and women. This limit was set in April 2002 based on the professional advice of the medical corps and the actual experience of training units. The advice at that time was that, having regard to the...

Written Answers — Aerial Surveillance: Aerial Surveillance (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The total cost in respect of the provision by the Defence Forces of assistance to the Garda Síochána in protecting movements of cash for the years 2000 to 2004 — the figures for 2005 are currently being collated — was as follows: Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Total number of escorts 2,285 2,488 2,516 2,335 2,425 Cost of Escorts â'¬5.7m â'¬6.57m ...

Written Answers — Search and Rescue Service: Search and Rescue Service (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I express my condolences and sincere sympathy to the families and friends of those who died as a result of the Rising Sun fishing tragedy. I am aware of the criticism levelled by Comhairle Fo-Thuinn at Naval Service diving capabilities, which is unfounded and unwarranted. The Irish Coast Guard has overall responsibility for the provision of maritime search-and-rescue services within the Irish...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Property: Defence Forces Property (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 50 together. The Irish Aviation Authority, under the aegis of the Department of Transport, is responsible for the safety regulation of Irish airspace. An airspace change proposal submitted to the Irish Aviation Authority by Weston Airport Limited in 2005 includes the use of instrument navigation aids to assist the arrival and departure of aircraft in...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 22 and 44 together. The Government decision on decentralisation announced by the Minister for Finance in his Budget Statement on 3 December 2003 provides for the transfer of my Department's Dublin-based Civil Service staff to Newbridge, County Kildare. The number of staff to be relocated to Newbridge is 200. While the Office of Public Works has identified a...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Strength: Defence Forces Strength (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 24, 58, 169, 170 and 173 together. The White Paper on Defence of February 2000 sets out a figure of 10,500 personnel for the Permanent Defence Force, comprising 930 for the Air Corps, 1,144 for the Naval Service and 8,426 for the Army. I intend to maintain the established Government policy of ongoing recruitment to the Defence Forces. Recruitment into the...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Equipment: Defence Forces Equipment (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: In December 2005, a contract was signed with Mowag GmbH of Switzerland for the supply of 15 additional Piranha armoured vehicles to the Defence Forces. The company has already provided 65 Piranha APCs to the Defence Forces in recent years. Under the contract, Mowag GmbH will supply 15 vehicles, nine of which will be fitted with a Kongsberg remote weapon station with a 12.7 mm machine gun, and...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Strength: Defence Forces Strength (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The question of retention of personnel in the Naval Service was tackled through reforms introduced through the Defence White Paper of February 2000. Those reforms were the result of a series of earlier studies between 1990 and 1999. The reforms implemented were part of a five-year plan that has just been completed. The plan included the following: restructuring of the Naval Service...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Investigations: Defence Forces Investigations (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I understand that the military police investigation into this matter will be completed and submitted to the appropriate military authorities within the next few days. Pending completion of, and due consideration being given to the military police report, I do not consider it appropriate to comment any further on the matter.

Written Answers — Defence Forces Equipment: Defence Forces Equipment (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The Defence Forces have available to them equipment for monitoring and protecting their members in dealing with nuclear, biological or chemical, NBC, threats identified from time to time. They hold an extensive range of modern NBC equipment that meets their current requirements. That range includes approximately 9,500 NBC suits, of which 800 were delivered in January 2006.

Written Answers — Commemorative Events: Commemorative Events (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I understand that the question of an appropriate commemoration, in July next, of the Battle of the Somme is under consideration at official level in the Department of the Taoiseach.

Written Answers — Defence Forces Property: Defence Forces Property (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The military authorities advise that the military police investigation is still ongoing into the alleged larceny of diesel oil from military vehicles in Donegal. While it would be inappropriate to comment on the details of the investigation, it can be confirmed that a member of the Defence Forces has been interviewed in the course of the investigation. As the investigation is continuing and...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The office of emergency planning was established in my Department to promote the co-ordination of emergency planning functions across all Departments and other key public authorities and to oversee the emergency planning process in general. In pursuing these objectives, I chair the Government task force on emergency planning, which comprises those Ministers as well as, or instead of, those...

Written Answers — Common Foreign and Defence Policy: Common Foreign and Defence Policy (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I will attend the meeting of the European Defence Agency steering board in defence ministers' formation in Innsbruck, Austria on 7 March 2006. While the formal agenda for this meeting has not yet issued, among the issues expected to be discussed are: the setting up of the 2006 European Defence Agency's college of auditors to audit the agency's 2005 accounts; discussion of the chief...

Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The only detailed records retained by the Defence Forces on the employment of civilian personnel abroad refer to the civilian doctors supplied by Medicare Solutions Limited for service with the Irish UNMIL contingent in Liberia. Medicare Solutions Limited was the medical agency contracted by the Department of Defence for this purpose. The contract was initially for a period of three months...

Written Answers — Avian Flu: Avian Flu (23 Feb 2006)

Willie O'Dea: In the case of the spread of the existing avian flu virus to this country, my colleague the Minister for Agriculture and Food who has lead responsibility in this area, continues to reassess the level of risk and to update the contingency arrangements which are in place. Her Department will continue to keep the level of risk under assessment taking account of the most up to date veterinary...