Results 5,181-5,200 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (25 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: ODF €40,750

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (25 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: 1 This includes the Civil Defence Board and the Army Pensions Board as the Department provides IT services to both .

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (25 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: 2 This does not include staff costs for the Defence Forces as it was not possible to collate the relevant staff costs within the timeframe required. This information will be provided to the Deputy in writing once it has been collated.

Order of Business (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: Fianna Fáil could not save Ireland never mind Europe.

Army Barracks (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. As of now, no decision has been made by Government on the future of any military installation. However, the closure of barracks will shortly be considered by Government as part of the comprehensive review of expenditure. Various commissions, reports and studies dating back to the 1990s identified barrack closures as a fundamental...

Army Barracks (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: Later Questions deal with the President's visit to our troops in Lebanon. I accompanied the President on her visit to Lebanon. It was a worthwhile and informative visit. I do not want to take up the time allocated to this question to address that issue other than to say it was a great pleasure to accompany the President and Senator McAleese on that visit and to see at firsthand the...

Army Barracks (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: My primary obligation as Minister for Defence, while remaining aware of the impact of barracks in local communities, is to ensure that we use the resources provided to the Defence Forces to the best extent possible. Bearing that in mind, I must make decisions based on the importance of retaining men and women, the number of which has now fallen below 9,500, or buildings in the Defence...

Army Barracks (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: I thank the Deputy for his question and for his courtesy when we met the delegation from Clonmel. I am acutely conscious that the closure of barracks is disruptive both for the men and women based in a particular barracks and for family members. I am under no illusion in that regard. It is disruptive and creates inconvenience and difficulty and I am conscious of that. I am also conscious...

Army Barracks (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: To take Deputy Calleary's question, I cannot recall advice given by the military authorities to the Minister for Defence being published in the manner in which he states. There are clear security issues involved in that type of matter and it would be inappropriate and a dangerous precedent to publish that type of advice. I believe the Deputy knows that. Every barracks in the country has...

Defence Forces Personnel (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: As Deputy Calleary knows, the defence organisation has a proud record of reform and modernisation and the number of Defence Forces' personnel, civilian employees and civil servants within the Department of Defence has reduced while capabilities and services have improved. This is in contrast to the broader public sector where overall numbers increased during the past decade. This afternoon,...

Defence Forces Personnel (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: For the same reasons given yesterday when we discussed the estimate in respect of the Department of Justice and Equality, I do not know the exact numbers. People retire in various circumstances, but the figure that I provided the Deputy the last time we dealt with numbers within the Defence Forces was just in excess of 9,500. As the Deputy will see, we have now dipped below that number. I...

Overseas Missions (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: No requirements or obligations are placed upon the Department of Defence or the Defence Forces in respect of Ireland's involvement in either the European Union or the European Defence Agency, EDA. All participation in these areas is of a voluntary nature. In no way can any requirements be placed on a member state in terms of participation in any particular training, projects or material and...

Overseas Missions (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: I can give the Deputy the figure. The costs incurred by Ireland in respect of our participation in the EDA over the three-year period has been €1.185 million in total, comprising €585,000 in 2009, €316,000 in 2010 and €284,000 to date in 2011. The Deputy might note that the 2009 figure includes a contribution of €240,000 to a joint investment programme on force protection. On 27...

Army Barracks (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: The Department is engaged in an ongoing capital building programme designed to modernise and enhance the training, operational and accommodation facilities available to members of the Defence Forces. Under this programme, there has been considerable capital investment in Custume Barracks. Recent major projects include the provision of additional living-in accommodation, construction of a...

Army Barracks (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: As the Deputy may have heard me remark, no final decisions have been made on the further consolidation of barracks as part of the comprehensive review programme being undertaken. During November, the Government will make decisions applicable to all Departments on how to affect not merely savings, but also efficiencies. If there were barrack closures that had implications for Custume...

Army Barracks (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: It is of crucial importance, to the Deputy and all Deputies, that if there is further barrack consolidation which requires the movement of troops from one barracks to another, all necessary steps will be taken to ensure proper facilities are available and should that require some capital investment, that would have to be undertaken but it would have to be within the constraints that exist on...

Army Barracks (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 18 together. As of now, as I said, no decision has been made by the Government on the future of any military installation. However, the issue of the closure of barracks will be considered shortly as part of the comprehensive review of expenditure. Various commissions, reports and studies back to the 1990s identified barrack closures as a fundamental...

Army Barracks (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: I welcome the Deputy's support for our Defence Forces and I know he would agree with me that they perform a very important function both in serving the civil power domestically within this State and in the work they have undertaken under the auspices of the UN in a variety of peacekeeping missions across the world. My concern is to ensure we continue to retain within the Defence Forces the...

Army Barracks (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: I note with interest some of the questions raised by the Deputy. He asked was my approach to this being dictated by military personnel. Of course, military personnel do not dictate to the Minister for Defence, but they have the expertise to give advice to the Minister for Defence as to what are the strategic necessities when it comes to barracks location and how to best maximise the...

Army Barracks (26 Oct 2011)

Alan Shatter: I thought Deputy Boyd Barrett's view would be that we should not have a defence force at all and I am taken by his concerns for the Defence Forces. In the context of Deputy Boyd Barrett's comment about costs, the cost of providing services, be they through the Defences Forces or through any other arm of Government, do not seem to be a concern to him. He seems to be flaithiúlach with the...