Results 2,001-2,020 of 12,630 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Retirement of Army Officer. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I do not accept that the High Court decision of 2005 opens the door to another inquiry or in any way indicates that an injustice has been done to Mr. de Róiste. We must remember that two decisions were made, one by the High Court and the other by the Supreme Court, which all witnesses were entitled to attend and where Mr. de Róiste was entitled to present his full case. On the substantive...

Defence Forces Strength. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The White Paper on Defence was published in February 2000. It provided for a strength of 10,500 for the Permanent Defence Force, PDF, comprised of 930 for the Air Corps, 1,144 for the Naval Service and 8,426 for the Army. At the time of publication the strength of the Permanent Defence Force stood at approximately 11,500. This was reduced to 10,500 by the end of 2001. The White Paper also...

Defence Forces Strength. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: In regard to today's Estimates, I am delighted that for the first time in the history of the State the defence budget has exceeded €1 million. It has always been a small budget compared to the budgets for the Departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Education and Science, Health and Children etc. On the matter of the exact terms of that 2001 commitment, my understanding is that the...

Defence Forces Strength. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The civilian section of the Department of Defence is small in terms of numbers compared to the Army. In 2001 we reduced the strength from 11,500 to 10,500 but as a quid pro quo we invested a great deal of money in equipment, training, facilities etc. We now have a professionally organised and successful Army which is admired all over the world.

Defence Forces Strength. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I will request the figures for the Deputy.

Overseas Missions. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: As the Deputy is aware, 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 appointed Colonel Tom Behan to examine all aspects of the Niemba ambush. Due to the breadth of this investigation, this process has taken some time. I have now had a chance to...

Overseas Missions. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I will now concentrate on the conclusions of the report. On 8 November 1960, an 11-man patrol, commanded by Lieutenant Kevin Gleeson was attacked by a large number of Baluba tribesmen while on patrol from their base at Niemba and were quickly overwhelmed. There are two principal areas of controversy in regard to the record of this ambush, both of which concern Trooper Browne and Private...

Overseas Missions. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The second area of controversy in regard to the record of the Niemba ambush is what did Trooper Browne do to contribute to the survival of Private Kenny. The report clearly concludes that prior to his escape from the ambush site, Trooper Browne fired his weapon at the Balubas who were intent on beating Private Kenny to death, thereby distracting them and saving his life. The Medal Board...

Overseas Missions. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I will deal with why this matter has taken until now. This issue was one of the first raised with me after I became Minister of Defence. I commissioned a report to properly research the matter. The question was initially asked by Deputies Gregory and Finian McGrath and I was delighted to respond to their concerns.

Overseas Missions. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Now that we have fuller information, I am required to officially correct the record and I have no difficulty with doing so. I also have no difficulty with making an apology to the two men if the original record at my Department got the facts wrong. I apologise for any trauma or grief caused by the fact that the record was incorrect. It is not within my power to grant a medal. That is a...

Overseas Missions. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 25, 39 and 42 together. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, was originally established on 19 March 1978 under United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, following the then invasion of Lebanon by Israel. In response to the crisis of July and August 2006, under UN Security Council Resolution 1701 the UN decided to extend the...

Overseas Missions. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: A detailed threat assessment was carried out jointly with the Finns during a reconnaissance mission to Lebanon in September. We also consulted closely with UNIFIL and some of the other nations involved. The threat assessment was "low but within a volatile situation". In other words, while the threat is low at the moment, a number of issues could trigger a conflict again. That assessment...

Overseas Missions. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I agree with Deputy Gormley on the latter point. I have had ongoing discussions with the Minister for Foreign Affairs about the matter. The two to three-year timescale can be a bit misleading. The last time we went into Lebanon we intended to spend a few years there but finished up spending 23 years in the country. The Government has made it clear that the maximum deployment to Lebanon...

Overseas Missions. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The triple-lock mechanism, involving Government and Dáil approval together with a UN resolution, applies in all cases where troops are deployed, under arms, on overseas peacekeeping missions. Under the provisions of the Defence Act, Dáil approval is not required if the number going overseas is fewer than 12. On the criteria that apply, we must first decide how usefully Ireland can...

Overseas Missions. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I do not know what is the practice as regards the third issue raised by the Deputy, or whether we do that after six months. I will inquire and if there is no problem with it I will be happy to discuss the matter after six months. As regards the deployment of troops, they will be in the general area of Blatt beside the village of Belasaki in the eastern sector, south of the Litani river....

Overseas Missions. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I will certainly pass on Senator Brian Hayes's felicitations when I am in Lebanon. I have had no request for additional troops there. We still have 320 troops in Liberia but they will be finished next summer and will be available to go elsewhere. There are several places that could request our services. Overseas allowances must go through the conciliation and arbitration process but I said...

Overseas Missions. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The priorities of the troops are set by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, force commander. One of the duties envisaged for the Lebanese Army when it enters southern Lebanon is not only the protection of civilians, but allowing them access to humanitarian assistance and Irish troops will play a part in this regard. Ireland is working hard at the United Nations, through the...

State Property. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The Government decided on 1 July 2003 that lands at Gormanstown, County Meath, would be among the State lands released for inclusion in the Sustaining Progress affordable housing initiative. How land at this location might play a role in the delivery of affordable units is a matter in the first instance for the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, which is the lead...

State Property. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: That is an obvious consideration that we have taken into account and the deal will be constructed so that there is no interference with Air Corps activities. We are still negotiating that point, among others, with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The transfer is taking some time and it will take another year. The news is better regarding other lands that are...

State Property. (16 Nov 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The lands in question are around 261 acres in size and about 57 acres are used for the Army camp. Some 25 acres is cut off from the main body of land by a roadway. The matter of how much will be handed over has not yet been finalised, although I would guess it will be about half of the 261 acre total. My Department's brief is to hand the lands over to Department of the Environment,...