Results 4,621-4,640 of 12,637 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Ministerial Transport. (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The ministerial air transport service, MATS, provides the Government and the President with an independent flexible and effective air transport service to assist in meeting national and international obligations. The service is primarily provided by the Gulfstream IV and Learjet 45 aircraft, which were specifically acquired for that purpose. The Gulfstream IV was acquired in December 1991...

Ministerial Transport. (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The Deputy said that I occasionally lecture the House on matters of finance. My lecturing days are long behind me. I do not lecture now, I inform. The jets would be called wasting assets for the purpose of capital gains tax. Deputy O'Shea pointed out the undesirability of selling fixed property due to the bad market conditions. I do not imagine there is a good market for a Government...

Ministerial Transport. (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: We continue to consider all options. The Government jets are not used only for ministerial transport. They are also used in air ambulance missions, for example, the latest figures available to me for 2008 show that the Air Corps completed six search and rescue missions and 87 air ambulance missions, which is significant. The initial figures I have received for 2009 show that those figures...

Ministerial Transport. (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: To my knowledge that has not been considered.

Ministerial Transport. (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: Maybe now that the Deputy has mentioned it.

Defence Forces Deployment. (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The concern felt by the nation at the news of the capture of Ms Sharon Commins and her colleague Hilda Kawuki by rebels in Sudan in July of this year was mirrored in equal amounts by the joy felt on their release in October. My colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, when considering the range of options open to him to bring this matter to a safe conclusion, requested the assistance of...

Defence Forces Deployment. (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The Defence Forces played a crucial role in this matter and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and his Department have communicated their appreciation of that. We are always available to assist in any way we can when called upon to do so.

Defence Forces Deployment. (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: An article appeared in the Irish Mail on Sunday on 27 September 2009 stating members of the Army Ranger Wing were on the ground in Sudan as part of the Government's efforts to free Ms Commins. On 25 September in response to queries received from a journalist on the previous day, 24 September, representing that newspaper, the journalist was advised specifically, unambiguously and...

Army Barracks. (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The Government decided on 1 July 2003 that the former Magee Barracks in Kildare town would be among the State lands released to Kildare County Council for inclusion in the sustaining progress affordable housing initiative. My Department has been involved in the process of transferring ownership to Kildare County Council with the final contract of sale being sent to the solicitors for Kildare...

Army Barracks. (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The difficulty is that the Department was meant to hand this site over to Kildare County Council, which would be responsible for it. It has decided - or is on the point of doing so - not to proceed to take legal delivery of the site and to hand it back to the Department. I have already given an instruction to my Department to take the appropriate measures to cleaning up the site and securing...

Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: Ireland has participated in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan since 5 July 2002, following the Government Decision of 2 July 2002, authorising the provision of seven (7) members of the Permanent Defence Force for service with the force. Since then, the Government has reviewed and approved, on an annual basis, the continued participation by seven (7) members of...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Discipline: Defence Forces Discipline (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The Irish Defence Forces policy on drug and substance abuse or misuse is based on the premise that unlawful possession, supply or use of a controlled drug is incompatible with membership of the Defence Forces. Any member who tests positive is liable to be removed from the Defence Forces. A Compulsory Random Drug Testing (CRDT) programme aimed at deterrence was introduced in October 2002....

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The allocation for my Department for 2010 will be decided by the Government in the context of the on-going Estimates and Budgetary process.

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The Defence Forces have improved in every respect since 2000 through the implementation of the White Paper. This represents a significant public service success story and has been acknowledged by both the Taoiseach and myself. Arising from the White Paper on Defence, we have created a modern well-equipped Defence Forces capable of meeting the needs of Government and the public and ensuring...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Strength: Defence Forces Strength (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17, 35, 36, 42, 46, 141, 142 and 143 together. The White Paper on Defence of February 2000 sets out a figure of 10,500 personnel for the Permanent Defence Force comprising 930 for the Air Corps, 1,144 for the Naval Service and 8,426 for the Army. The recent Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes recommended that the...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The level of expenditure on Defence in any particular country is influenced by a variety of factors, including that country's political and security environment, its history, demography and economy. The most recent available statistics on Defence expenditure in the EU indicate that in 2007 Defence spending in Ireland, as a percentage of GDP, was the lowest in the E.U. at 0.53%. In 2008...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Reserve: Defence Forces Reserve (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table. Unit No. of PDF Cadre No. in Receipt of an RDF Allowance 1 Southern Brigade RDF HQ 9 8* 31 Res Artillery Regiment 12 12 31 Res Cavalry Squadron 3 3 Sp Coy 32 Res Infantry Battalion 5 5 * Of the 9 PDF Cadre servicing 1 S Bde RDF HQ, 1 Private is attached long term to HQ and, as such, is not in receipt of an...

Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: Over my term of Office as Minister for Defence, I have visited all the major overseas operations where contingents of the Defence Forces are serving. In 2008, I conducted four visits to our overseas missions in Kosovo (2 visits), Chad and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In February this year, I again visited the mission in Chad, our largest overseas operation. My objective in visiting the missions...

Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I am aware of the Irish Times article relating to a report by Amnesty International on violence against refugee women in eastern Chad; I have not received nor am I aware of any other reports in this matter. I understand that Amnesty International Ireland has contacted my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in regard to the above-mentioned report. The Government shares the concern of...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (19 Nov 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The Government decision of December 2003 in relation to decentralisation provides for the transfer of the Department of Defence and of Defence Force Headquarters (DFHQ) to Newbridge, Co. Kildare and the Curragh, Co Kildare, respectively. My Department's Dublin-based civil servants, together with about 55 military personnel, will relocate to Newbridge. DFHQ will relocate to the Curragh....