Results 9,781-9,800 of 17,012 for speaker:Paul Kehoe

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I await the report.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: Yes. Once the report is presented to me, I will place it in the public domain.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: Yes. I will come back to the Deputy about the matter. Off the top of my head, I have not got that information. The officials-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I have not got the information here, but I will contact the Deputy. I want a process that will deal with the issue instead of trying to tackle a backlog which leaves people frustrated. I understand where the Deputy is coming from. Members of the Defence Forces and people from the representative associations have approached me and informed me that they are frustrated by the fact that there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I hope that Mr. Gerard Barry will submit his report to me by the end of June or in July. I do not mind giving extra time as long as there is full agreement on all sides. I know that officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform are part of the conciliation and arbitration review group.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I will address the Deputy's last comment first. It is a matter for the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I will not enter onto his ground. As Deputy Barrett knows, one can get one's wings clipped very quickly if one encroaches on another Minister's area. I agree 100% with Deputy Barrett that the role of the Defence Forces is changing rapidly. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I was going to suggest that the committee consider inviting the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to talk about Brexit. The policy side of Brexit is a matter for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of the Taoiseach. I understand what Deputy Barrett is saying. Absolutely, there might be Border issues, and we are very aware of that. It is the reason a senior official in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: It is probably up to the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to give an address to the committee on Brexit. That is up to the Chairman and the members of the committee. On Ireland and the role of the peacekeepers, I have addressed this in replying to the other contributors who asked questions on the same issue. As a former Minister, Deputy Barrett was honoured and privileged to see our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: The Taoiseach has raised this previously.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has also raised it. We have not raised it in isolation. Our European counterparts have raised the issue as well and it has been raised at European Council level. I will continue to raise the Deputy's concerns. On her other concerns, I will refer back to the Deputy after my visit to the headquarters of Operation Sophia and give her a full update....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I believe I have covered the questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: There is. This is one of the things I want to find out when I visit. I have been informed that there has been a reduction because there are not as many people leaving the Libyan coastguard as there were previously. They are also better trained and so forth. We are destroying some of the illegal boats that were bringing migrants from the Libyan coastline. That is all part and parcel of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I wish to mention an issue Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan raised with me. She spoke about the Defence Forces working with humanitarian organisations. The Defence Forces had a mission exercise last week in Athlone, Exercise Viking, in which it worked with seven or eight different humanitarian organisations, aid agencies and so forth and it worked very well. I hope we can further explore the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: Any policy position we take in the European Union - I am very strong in all of the contributions I make - and every contribution I make reflects national policy. Commissioner Federica Mogherini is a very forceful lady who might have personal views on the direction she wants to take, but members can be absolutely assured that I reflect Irish policy and that any decision I make are reflective...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I take Deputy Seán Barrett's views on board. He must get very annoyed on a Saturday and Sunday morning when he listens to the political programmes, on which observers tell us what is happening in each political party and what we should be doing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: Yes. I will now respond to the questions about the Reserve Defence Force and the changes to R5 and F7. Work is ongoing on both. I understand my officials sought to meet the representatives of Reserve Defence Force, but they were not available in the past few weeks. However, I know that a meeting is planned. On the eye sight standards required to be met by recruits to the Naval...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I know that officers have their own private health insurance cover.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I will revert to the Deputy on that issue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: If the Deputy gives me the direct query, I will look into it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I will have my office communicate directly with the Deputy on that issue.