Results 11,781-11,800 of 12,604 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

National Emergency Plan. (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: Perhaps The Irish Times does not like me. I do not know why. There were a number of inaccuracies in the article. I have a draft of the article I was to write in reply and I might let Deputy Gormley have a copy. The article suggested that, in the event of an emergency, a committee of Ministers would meet but would not include the Minister for Defence.

National Emergency Plan. (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: It is incorrect. I wanted to correct this inaccuracy in the interest of public knowledge. I am on the committee. There has been much talk about co-ordination. In some countries, the office of emergency planning is located in the office of the Prime Minister. In Ireland it is located in the Department of Defence. This is because our approach is different. The lead role is taken by each...

National Emergency Plan. (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has a major plan for such.

National Emergency Plan. (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: Yes, and the Department of Health and Children has taken a number of steps. I will talk to this Department about incidents such as that mentioned by the Deputy. It is on the agenda for the next task force planning meeting. I will tell the Deputy more about the Department's preparations after that meeting but its officials assured me they are well prepared to meet public health concerns in the...

National Emergency Plan. (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: I accept what Deputy Gerard Murphy says. A plethora of agencies are involved in each individual case, whether in a train derailment, a bus crash or a chemical fall-out. Ultimately, three key agencies are involved, however. Departments here operate differently from those in other countries. One can debate endlessly what is the right approach, but here the lead Departments take their individual...

Defence Forces Reserve. (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 56 together. On 26 July 2004 my predecessor, Deputy Michael Smith, officially launched the reserve Defence Force review implementation plan which was the start of a process that will radically change the structure and configuration of the reserve while preserving its traditional strengths. These include such matters as the spirit of voluntary...

Written Answers — Military Escorts: Military Escorts (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 58 together. As I have outlined in replies to previous questions an annual contribution of €2.86 million has been paid by the banks to my Department in respect of the provision of cash escorts. This figure was set by the Department of Finance in the 1995 budget and had not been altered since. The contribution from the banks was designed to part cover...

Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 59 together. Ireland is currently contributing approximately 740 Defence Forces personnel to 19 different missions throughout the world. The main commitments are to the United Nations mission in Liberia, UNMIL, with 410 personnel; the NATO led international security presence, KFOR, in Kosovo, with 205 personnel; and EUFOR, the EU led operation in Bosnia...

Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 64 together. The case to which the Deputies refer relates to the killing of Private Thomas Barrett and Private Derek Smallhorne while serving with the United Nations interim force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, in 1980. The question of the measures open to the Irish authorities to bring the alleged perpetrator of this crime to justice is currently being examined...

Written Answers — EU Battle Groups: EU Battle Groups (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 16, 20, 31, 33, 43, 53, 154, 155 and 156 together. The background to the rapid response elements concept, commonly referred to as battle groups, is that at the European Council in Helsinki in 1999, member states set themselves a headline goal that "by the year 2003, co-operating together and voluntarily, they will be able to deploy rapidly and then sustain...

Written Answers — Employee Protection Legislation: Employee Protection Legislation (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: Over the years PDFORRA has canvassed the idea that a soldier's conditions of employment should largely replicate conditions in the civilian world. However, in a professional military organisation, this approach is simply not practical and this is widely recognised internationally. It is an inherent and over-riding principle of military service that personnel are at all times subject to...

Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: As soon as the scale of the disaster in South East Asia became clear, the Department of Foreign Affairs deployed a high level technical assessment team, which included a member of the Defence Forces, to examine the situation on the ground and identify what assistance Ireland should offer to the affected region. Arising from its initial assessment, the team advised the Department of Foreign...

Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: The Defence Forces participate in two main types of overseas armed missions, namely, traditional UN led "Blue Hat" missions and UN authorised missions. The first type is where the mission is established under the authority of the UN Security Council or the General Assembly of the UN. UNIFIL in Lebanon and UNMIL in Liberia are examples of such missions. The second type are missions authorised...

Written Answers — Hearing Impairment Claims: Hearing Impairment Claims (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: As of 30 April 2005, a total of 16,736 claims had been received in my Department from current and former members of the Defence Forces in respect of loss of hearing allegedly caused during their military service. A total of 339 claims have been determined in court and 15,151 claims have been disposed of out of court, mainly through settlement, leaving a total of 1,246 claims outstanding at...

Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: I have received and examined the Jadotville report. The report fully exonerates the actions of A Company. At the time they surrendered, nothing would have been served by fighting on, except further and unnecessary bloodshed. It is clear from the report that the company and its commanding officer acted appropriately given all the circumstances. The report recommended that the events at...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Training: Defence Forces Training (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: At this stage, I do not envisage any requirement to change the provisions of the relevant Defence Force regulations with specific regard to the period within which a recruit must reach the appropriate standard for final approval. These provisions were outlined in my reply to Question No. 78 of 1 March 2005. The central issue here, raised on 1 March 2005, has been examined by my officials to...

Written Answers — Naval Service Vessels: Naval Service Vessels (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 27 and 51 together. In the White Paper on defence, the Government decided that the Naval Service will be developed around the provision of an eight ship flotilla. In recent years, two new ships have been delivered to the Naval Service and the service is operating with the recommended eight ships. The total cost of the two ships was €50 million. Both ships...

Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 28, 47 and 66 together. The United Nations department of peacekeeping operations, UNDPKO, has invited Ireland to contribute a small number of Defence Forces personnel to act as UN military observers, UNMOs, with the recently established United Nations mission in the Sudan. The request to participate in the peacekeeping operation in Sudan is being given careful...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Reserve: Defence Forces Reserve (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: The military authorities have advised that the strength of the Reserve Defence Force, including an Slua Muirí, is 12,287. Reserve Defence Force personnel engage in a variety of training related to the particular military unit in which they serve. Training consists of nightly parades, field days, weekend training, annual training periods and courses. In July 2004, my predecessor, Deputy...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Training: Defence Forces Training (26 May 2005)

Willie O'Dea: The military authorities advise that chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear, CBRN, training is conducted at induction level for all cadets and recruits in the Defence Forces. During the conduct of this training, students are trained and tested in personal nuclear decontamination techniques. In each brigade and the Defence Forces training centre, a CBRN platoon is fully trained in all...