Results 8,561-8,580 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Army Barracks (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: There will be some additional information, although I cannot guarantee that.

Defence Forces Review (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 8 together. As the Deputy is aware, arising from the Government's comprehensive review of expenditure, the strength ceiling of the Permanent Defence Force was reduced to 9,500 personnel. In response to this reduced strength ceiling, I initiated a major re-organisation of the Defence Forces, both permanent and reserve. This re-organisation will...

Defence Forces Review (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: The interim report from the Chief of Staff and the Secretary General of the Department recommended the brigade headquarters would be based in Cork and Dublin. I was interested in the Deputy's figures. He asked if 200 members currently based in Athlone will be transferred along with their families. In the context of the reorganisation, no one will lose his job. There are no figures to...

Defence Forces Review (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy is a little confused. He cannot make up his mind about how many personnel he wants stationed in Athlone. I would have thought in the context of the town that the important issue is that approximately 1,000 personnel will be based in the barracks, which is 100 more than were there when we took office on 9 March 2011. Those members and their families contribute to the town's...

Defence Forces Review (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: I did not interrupt the Deputy and perhaps he will do me the courtesy of not interrupting me. It is a great pity the Deputy ran a grossly misleading campaign. He first told people that 600 members would be transferred out of the barracks and, second, he laboured under the illusion that 1,400 personnel were based there. I presume he did not go to the barracks to count them because if he...

Defence Forces Review (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Deputy would not have had as many people at his public meeting if he announced it was a public meeting to ensure that forever more a brigadier general would be based in Athlone. I say that with the greatest respect for the current brigadier general but there is an inordinate concern as to where he should be posted. The important thing for the town is that the future of the barracks is...

Defence Forces Review (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: The misinformation that went around the area was such that I felt the need to clarify the position with regard to the location of brigade headquarters and to give assurances that there would be no substantial reduction in personnel, as was being stated. In the context of the question Deputy Naughten asked, I will not second guess the ongoing work and I will not go around each barracks to...

Overseas Missions (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: Ireland has offered, through the United Nations Standby Arrangements System, UNSAS, to provide up to 850 military personnel for overseas service at any one time. This demonstrates Ireland's commitment to the cause of international peace. This is the maximum sustainable commitment that Ireland can make to overseas peacekeeping operations. Ireland is currently contributing 440 Defence Forces...

Overseas Missions (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: We are jointly engaged with a Finnish contingent in the Lebanon and that is envisaged to be the position for some little time. With regard to Syria, in the context of the six point plan that Kofi Annan has been engaged with arising out of UN decisions, six members of the Defence Forces are engaged as monitors in an overall contingent of 300. I had particular concerns about the safety of the...

Medicinal Products (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 15, 18, 20, 22 and 25 together. Malaria is a serious disease which can cause severe complications and death. It is estimated by the World Health Organisation that approximately 1 million people die every year from the disease in sub-Saharan Africa alone. It has long been recognised as a serious threat to any military force operating in a malarious area....

Medicinal Products (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Irish Medicines Board determines the safety or otherwise of all medicines prescribed in this State. The board is appointed by the Minister for Health and its advisory committee on human medicines has a statutory role to provide advice in cases where it is proposed to refuse a licence for medicinal products on any grounds relating to safety, quality or efficacy. Following approval for...

Medicinal Products (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: I do not know on what basis the Deputy is alleging the Defence Forces have not acted properly in regard to this matter. It is important to look at the alternatives to Lariam. There are three other anti-malaria medications available, namely, Chloroquine, Malarone and Doxycycline. However, in the case of each of these products, there are specific reasons they are not suitable for use by the...

Overseas Missions (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 19 together. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, mission is the main overseas mission in which Defence Forces personnel are currently deployed with a total of 356 personnel. The 106th infantry battalion, comprising some 332 personnel, deployed to UNIFIL in May 2012. The Irish battalion has been working alongside a contingent of 170...

Overseas Missions (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: The Defence Forces have a very important role to play in this area. I visited them and know the work they are doing is greatly appreciated by the local community. In addition to fulfilling their UN mandate, they engage with the local community and provide assistance where they can on community matters. I do not envisage that the UN's commitment to UNIFIL will finish any time soon. I intend...

Overseas Missions (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: There is constant reassessment of security issues in the area where our troops are based. Everyone is very conscious of what is happening across the border in Syria and the crimes against humanity that are being committed there. There is a great need to bring an end to the barbarity and destruction in Syria, where it appears the Government has turned on its own people in a manner that is...

Overseas Missions (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: I am satisfied that we have the required equipment. While I said to the Deputy that the area is generally calm, circumstances continue to be unpredictable in the context of the security situation in the UNIFIL area of operations in southern Lebanon, including the area in which the Irish-Finnish battalion operates. The threat level to Defence Forces personnel serving in the Irish battalion...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Deployment: Defence Forces Deployment (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: Ireland is committed to participation in the Austro-German led Battlegroup, which will be on stand-by from 1 July 2012 to 31 December 2012. In 2010, the then Government approved Ireland's participation in this Battlegroup. The other members of the Austro-German Battlegroup are Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Our contribution...

Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: The United Nations Security Council authorized the establishment, for an initial period of 90 days, of a supervision mission, known as the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS). The purpose of the mission is to monitor a cessation of armed violence "in all its forms by all parties" in Syria. The new mission is also tasked with monitoring the full implementation of the six-point...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Reserve: Defence Forces Reserve (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: Recruitment to the Reserve Defence Force (RDF) is ongoing but limited due to resource constraints. The current budgetary provision provides for approximately 30,000 paid training mandays. In 2011 and 2012, I sanctioned paid training mandays to include support for the training of new recruits to the RDF. This was sufficient to train approximately 400 recruits during 2011 and 2012. The military...

Written Answers — European Defence Agency: European Defence Agency (21 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: On 23 March 2012, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union decided to activate, for the first time, an EU Operations Centre in Brussels. The purpose of the Centre is to improve coordination and strengthen civil-military synergies between three Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions in the Horn of Africa. The EU is currently conducting two military operations in the Horn...