Results 42,421-42,440 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: Pensions for former members of the Defence Forces are governed by the provisions of the Defence Forces Superannuation Schemes for service pensions, and the Army Pensions Acts for disability pensions. Unfortunately, it is not possible to quantify fully the number of personnel who are in receipt of a pension and who were retired or received a medical discharge on the basis of being Below...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: My Department provides support to two recognised Veterans Associations. These Veterans Associations, which represent all former personnel, are Óglaigh Náisiúnta na hÉireann (ONE), the Organisation of National Ex-Service Personnel, and the Irish United Nations Veterans Association (IUNVA). My Department engages on an ongoing basis with these Veterans Associations and with...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: Costings for additional numbers must be subject to a detailed workforce planning exercise that needs to consider rank and organisational structure, technical qualifications, allowances, etc and align with the move to LOA2. In that context, and commensurate with the associated levels of organisational and structural change required, final, definitive costings are currently not available. ...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 255, 266 and 267 together. My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service is maintained and developed. The Naval Service is the State's principal sea-going agency and is tasked with a variety of defence and other roles. The primary day-to-day tasking of the Naval Service is to provide...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The core crew complement for the current classes of Naval Service vessels are:P50 Class – 44P60 Class – 44P70 Class – 20 Minimum crewing levels are dependent on the number of available personnel at each grade and for each specialist position that is required for a ship go to sea while meeting minimum health and safety requirements. Should any ship be below the minimum...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Budgets (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: In July 2022, the Government approved a move to Level of Ambition 2 (LOA2), as recommended by the Commission on the Defence Forces. As part of that decision, the Government committed to increasing the Defence budget from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion at 2022 prices, by 2028, as part of the annual budgetary process. This level of investment will allow for the required...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service is maintained and developed. The Defence Forces Armoured Personnel Carrier fleet consists of 80 vehicles which are in use at home and overseas. Within the fleet of 80 vehicles, there are a number of different types: Standard VariantCommand Variant Close Reconnaissance...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Naval Service Vessel Renewal and Replacement Programme is ongoing. The programme includes radar and other equipment upgrades along with the replacement of Naval Service Reserve motor launches. The programme of works for the midlife refit and upgrade of LÉ Róisín has been completed, while works are ongoing on LÉ Niamh. Marine Advisors have been appointed to support the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The development of a primary radar capability was one of the key recommendations made in last year's report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. Demonstrating the Government’s commitment to implementing this recommendation, one of the Early Actions identified in the subsequent High Level Action Plan published in response to the Commission’s report, was to commence planning...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Cybersecurity Policy (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: In terms of cybersecurity, the primary role of the Defence Forces relates to the defence and security of their own networks and systems. This important role is being developed in the context of the High Level Action Plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces and will grow in importance as threats in the cyber space increase. The recommendation by the Commission on the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: Vote 36 Defence is managed through a single programme with all operational outputs delivered from a single set of forces encompassing the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service. Accordingly, my Department does not allocate funding by domain. The principal demand drivers of Defence capital requirements are the ongoing acquisition and renewal of military equipment, along with the development and...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: I am informed by the military authorities that it was not possible to collate the required information within the timeframe available. I shall provide the information to the Deputy once it becomes available.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service is maintained and developed. Four new ships were delivered as part of the Naval Service Ship Replacement Programme, under the Samuel Beckett class, all were built by Babcock Marine in the United Kingdom. The contract with Babcock for the provision of the Samuel...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government, and its report was published on the 9th of February 2022. There were 69 main recommendations and with sub recommendations there were 130 recommendations in total. The Commission undertook a significant body of work, encompassing wide-ranging terms of reference. It recommended...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Data Protection (13 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: My Department places a high priority on information security and cyber defence. In line with best practice and guidance from Ireland’s National Cyber Security Centre, my Department has implemented a defence-in-depth cybersecurity strategy that includes people, processes and market leading technologies to mitigate the risk of cyber breach as effectively as possible. In addition,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (15 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The passport service is successfully meeting high demand for passports and has issued more than 510,000 passports to date in 2023. All turnaround times are at their target level and more than half of all online adult renewals issue within two working days. The customer service hub is responding to an average of 15,000 queries per week. I would...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (15 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate the focus of the Deputy in respect of urgent cases. The Passport Office has implemented operational and staffing plans for 2023. In general, it is meeting demand. All processing times are at their target levels. I have been told that there are no backlogs. As I said earlier, approximately half of simple adult renewals are issued within two working days. Approximately 18...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Passport Services (15 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: They are certainly not put to the back of the queue. I want to stress this. I have been speaking to officials in recent days, and I am very clear about this. As Deputy Carthy said, the issue in the case he outlined was that the Garda did not record it. There was an issue with the Garda witness verification in that specific case. I do not have the full details. Where the passport service...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Foreign Policy (15 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The international security environment has changed significantly over the past year. We have seen Russia's blatant disregard for international law and for Europe's collective security architecture, bringing war to the Continent. Ireland's commitment to a rules-based international order and our traditional policy of military neutrality do not inure...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Foreign Policy (15 Jun 2023)

Micheál Martin: That was a disgraceful presentation. The Deputy mentioned Andrew Cottey. He is holder of the Jean Monnet chair at UCC. The Deputy should not name people and try to undermine them in the way he has just done. That is shocking intolerance of the whole idea of debate. Why is the Deputy so opposed to people with different perspectives coming together in a framework to have discussions?