Results 33,201-33,220 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Search and Rescue Service Provision (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: First, it has not been finalised yet. I assure Deputy Brady that any assessment of companies tendering to provide this service will be very robust. The process will be independent. The State will go through an appropriate process. I think the Deputy indicated earlier that we will be committing hundreds of millions of euro in this regard. Over the lifetime of the next contract the State...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Search and Rescue Service Provision (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: First, we are ploughing money into the Air Corps. The Air Corps operates a fleet of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft which provide military support to the Army and Naval Service, together with support for non-military air services such as Garda air support, air ambulance, fisheries protection and, at times, ministerial air travel. Priorities for the Defence Forces, including the Air...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Search and Rescue Service Provision (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: A contract for the supply of two C-295 maritime patrol aircraft was entered into with Airbus Defence and Space in December 2019.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Search and Rescue Service Provision (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: That is a contract that is worth approximately €221 million. The aircraft should be delivered in 2023. It takes time. The idea that we are not ploughing money into the Air Corps and that its future is in any way threatened just does not stack up. We are doing the opposite: we are building capacity.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 46, 50, 73, 78 and 83 together. As outlined already in my earlier response on the commission, the position is that establishment of an independent commission on the Defence Forces is an important commitment made in the programme for Government. The programme for Government states that the commission will be tasked with undertaking a comprehensive...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The commission will follow through on the commitments we have made in the programme for Government. I believe the people we are approaching to be on the commission are first class. I am very confident they will be able to do a very good job, but we need to get them approved by Government first and so on. That process is under way. I take Deputy Costello's point that we need to plan...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Naval Service (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 49, 57 and 424 together. From my previous time in the Department of Defence when the Deputy held the purse strings, I was not alone in caring about the Naval Service as he was extremely supportive at the time. I recognise that. Coming from a coastal county, he understands why that is so important as do I. I am frustrated and concerned that we do not have...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Representative Organisations (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 51, 60, 65, 420 and 431 together. Under the Defence Acts, 1954-2015, the Permanent Defence Force Representative Associations are prohibited from being associated with or affiliated with any trade unions or any other body without the consent of the Minister.  It is a matter for each State to determine how their armed forces may...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Overseas Missions (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: EUNAVFOR MED Operation IRINI, the UN mandated EU Naval mission in the eastern Mediterranean, was launched on the 31st of March 2020 with an initial mandate running until the 31st of March 2021. The Operation's core task is the implementation of the UN arms embargo through the use of aerial, satellite and maritime assets in accordance with UNSCR 1970 (2011) and...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Expenditure (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The European Peace Facility was proposed by High Representative and Vice President of the Commission, Federica Mogherini, in June 2018 with the aim of providing the EU with a single off-budget financing mechanism of up to €5 billion for the period of the next MFF - 2021 to 2027 and would finance a range of Common Security Defence Policy (CSDP) actions having military or defence...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Recruitment (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: Direct Entry recruitment for specialists into the Defence Forces is not a new measure and has been used to recruit medical doctors and engineers along with instrumentalists and conductors for the Defence Force School of Music for some years. Many Defence Force specialities are developed in-house but in some cases this can have a long lead in time of up to 5 years. Opportunities to fill...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The Government has acknowledged that there are retention difficulties in the Defence Forces. This is a feature of the highly competitive jobs market that has existed and the demand for personnel, particularly those with specialist skills sets. This is not confined to Ireland and also impacted other military forces internationally. A range of factors influence an...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: White Papers (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The White Paper on Defence sets the defence policy agenda over a ten year planning horizon and covers all aspects of defence within overall security policy. The White Paper on Defence – Update 2019, which was published in December 2019 following Government approval, is the first in a new fixed cycle of defence reviews which the Government decided to introduce when it...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 84 together. As of 04 November 2020, Ireland is contributing 569 Defence Forces personnel to 10 different missions throughout the world and also to a range of international organisations and National representations. The main overseas missions in which the Defence Forces personnel are currently deployed are the United Nations Interim Force in...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: I can assure the Deputy that neither I, nor my Department, have put pressure on the Naval service to deploy vessels in a situation where the Naval Service has safety concerns over staffing shortages. The Naval Service is the State's principal sea-going agency tasked with a variety of defence and other roles.  While the main day to day role of the Naval Service is to provide...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Budget 2021 (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The total gross allocation provided to the Defence Sector in Budget 2021 is €1,072.3 million, comprising €809.7 million for Vote 36 (Defence) and €262.6 million for Vote 35 (Army Pensions). This represents an overall gross increase of over €32 million on 2020 and follows on from previous increases that have seen the Defence Vote Group funding envelope increase...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Bodies (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The 2015 White Paper on Defence included a commitment to evaluate the potential development of a new Institute for Peace Support and Leadership Training at the Defence Forces Training Centre in the Curragh.  The current Programme for Government also includes a commitment to develop this Institute. The primary objective of this initiative, should it prove feasible, is to...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The military authorities have advised that the whole time equivalent strength of the Permanent Defence Force, at 30th September 2020, was 8,529 personnel, comprised of - Army 6,878 - Air Corps 752 - Naval Service 899 personnel. I am aware that there continues to be a shortfall between the overall current strength figures and those of the establishment and I am committed...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The existence of actual or alleged sex abuse claims within a workplace is probably one of the most serious issues to be addressed by an employer. As an employer, I wish to state categorically that I do not condone in any way any such behaviour within the Defence Forces. I urge anyone who has any complaint which they think constitutes a criminal offence to report their concerns to an Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Data (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 76 together. The tables below set out the information requested by the Deputy on the number of discharges from 2017 to 2019 and to 30th September 2020.  Army Year Applications Inductions Discharges Total Discharges in Training 2017 ...