Results 2,541-2,560 of 12,630 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Bullying in the Workplace. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I do not wish to mention timeframes which I will subsequently be asked about in the House. There are some indications the change in the height requirements is having a beneficial effect. As a result of this change, slightly more than 90% of the female population is now eligible to join the Army. That is an increase from the previous level of 65%. Based on research carried out, we will be...

Bullying in the Workplace. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The deadline has been missed by a couple of months. I am sorry but this is not a major crisis. What is important is that the recommendations of the Dáil committee are being put in place and are being implemented. I am sure the report will show that. I am satisfied the Army will inform me if difficulties arise on the training side in terms of the number of instructors or in regard to other...

Bullying in the Workplace. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I wish PDFORRA would bring these allegations to my attention. I read about this in the newspaper but even though I frequently meet individual members of PDFORRA — I will meet them at the national conference next week — nobody has brought this matter directly to my attention. I say that as a matter of certainty. I see no evidence of it. If something like that is happening, there are...

Bullying in the Workplace. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: That is absolutely correct. This has never been brought directly to my attention. I would remember if it had been. I have no evidence to sustain this allegation. The only way one could possibly test it, as it were, would be to go through the list of people against whom disciplinary action was taken and see whether an undue proportion of them are actively involved with PDFORRA. As far as I...

Commemorative Events. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: During the lifetime of the 29th Dáil, an all-party Oireachtas consultation group was established for the official preparations for the re-instatement of the traditional military parade at Easter and the commemorative programme to be put in place in coming years for the centenary of the Easter Rising. The group met in November 2006 and March 2007. I expect invitations will issue soon to all...

Commemorative Events. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I agree it should not be an exclusively or even predominantly military occasion. That was the case for the 90th anniversary but we were reviving the celebration after it had lapsed for a number of years due to events in Northern Ireland and so on. I am strongly of that view, as was the previous Oireachtas consultation group, and I am sure the same view will be reflected by the new group. We...

Commemorative Events. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I agree that the 90th anniversary commemoration was extremely successful. I appreciate the Deputy's kind remarks about the military, which I will communicate to the Chief of Staff. It is not that we are ashamed of our military; we are very proud of them. My point to Deputy O'Shea is that it will be a wide-ranging commemoration, which will commemorate far more than the fact we have an...

Commemorative Events. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I agree the consultation group should be established shortly. I will arrange for invitations to be issued to the various party leaders. My view, for what it is worth, is that we should not confine the group to members of established parties and that we should get the widest range of opinion and perhaps invite one or two non-party members. I am in the hands of the committee. Whatever it...

Naval Service Vessels. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 48 together. The Naval Service provides the maritime element of the Defence Forces and has a general responsibility to meet contingent and actual maritime defence requirements. In the 2000 White Paper on Defence, the Government decided that the Naval Service would be based on an eight-ship flotilla and committed to a modernisation and replacement...

Naval Service Vessels. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The two or possibly three offshore patrol vessels will be 80m to 90min length. The extended patrol vessel — wemay exercise an option to procure two such vessels — will be between 130m and 140m.These vessels will be able to perform the tasks to which the Deputy referred, including the provision of humanitarian relief. However, we must work out precisely what functions they will perform....

Naval Service Vessels. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The replacement vessels will be considered as part of the 2008 Estimates. In July this year, the Government authorised me to issue an invitation to tender. This decision is indicative of the Government's adherence to its promise in the White Paper to maintain an eight-ship flotilla. Policing the coastline is a difficult job and I wish we had three or four times more ships to perform this...

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I am aware of the issues raised by the Ombudsman for Children relating to the optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts. The optional protocol was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in May 2000. Ireland signed the optional protocol on 7 September 2000 and ratified the instrument on 18 November 2002....

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I do so gladly. As I indicated, the regulations prohibit members of the Defence Forces being sent abroad until after their 18th birthday. There is a low theoretical possibility that a person aged under 18 years could be involved in hostilities here. I assure the House that, having discussed this matter with the Chief of Staff when the question was submitted, I have been assured that there...

Reserve Defence Force. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 27 together. The White Paper on Defence 2000 and the Reserve Defence Force review implementation plan of 2002 set out the blueprint for the RDF with an implementation plan extending to 2009. The implementation plan is being rolled out on a phased basis and there has been significant progress in implementing its detailed recommendations, such as a new...

Reserve Defence Force. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The Deputies raised a number of issues. As recommended in the White Paper, much work has been done to substantially reorganise the reserve, which now mirrors the structure of the PDF. Extra money has been spent on clothing, training, updating equipment, etc. Now that those changes have been made, the process of integration will begin. The take-up in the pilot programme is disappointing and...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Personnel: Defence Forces Personnel (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: Significant progress has been made recently in implementing schemes to enable more commissioning from the ranks. The revised cadetship competition is now seen as the primary means of commissioning from the ranks. The cadetship competition has been revised to increase the maximum entry age to 28 and to award bonus marks to candidates with previous experience in the Permanent Defence Force...

Written Answers — White Paper on Defence: White Paper on Defence (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The current White Paper on Defence, which was published in February 2000, was the first-ever White Paper on Defence and set out the policy framework and development strategy for the period 2000-2010. The overall Government objective was to achieve affordable and sustainable Defence Forces capable of fulfilling the roles laid down by Government. A detailed review of White Paper implementation...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Equipment: Defence Forces Equipment (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 42 together. The acquisition of new equipment for the Defence Forces continues to be a key focus for me as Minister for Defence. Significant investment has taken place in recent years across all facets and elements of the Defence Forces. This investment has been assisted by pay savings arising from the reduction in the strength of the Permanent Defence...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Strength: Defence Forces Strength (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17, 21, 28, 40, 108 and 113 together. The strength of the Permanent Defence Force on 31 August 2007, the latest date for which detailed figures are available, as advised by the military authorities was 10,382. This comprises 8,497 in the Army, 846 in the Air Corps and 1,039 in the Naval Service. A detailed breakdown of the numbers in the Army, Naval Service...

Written Answers — Army Deafness Claims: Army Deafness Claims (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: A total of 16,791 claims have been received from current and former members of the Defence Forces in respect of loss of hearing allegedly caused during their military service. 15,887 claims have been disposed of to date. €284.8 million has been paid in respect of hearing loss claims including €97.7 million in plaintiffs' legal costs. The plaintiffs' legal costs include the fees of the...