Results 11,161-11,180 of 17,012 for speaker:Paul Kehoe

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Recruitment (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: Naval vessels do not return to Haulbowline every evening and set off again the next morning. I recognise that life at sea is difficult and I want the pay commission to do likewise. I hope it recognises that these people put in long hours. I recognise that and I understand the frustration of some in the Naval Service. It is in the pay commission's hands and I hope it recognises the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cyber Security Policy (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: As outlined in the Government's White Paper on Defence 2015, the issue of cybersecurity has very significant implications for governmental administration, for industry, for economic well-being and for the security and safety of citizens. Cybersecurity is a standing item on the agenda of the Government task force on emergency planning, which I chair. The response to cyberthreats remains...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cyber Security Policy (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: Some of the Deputy's remarks are very disingenuous. He received a reply to a parliamentary question this week relating to military management that on January 2019 the established figure for technical officers in the communications and information service, CIS, corps of the Defence Forces is 22 personnel, that is, 18 Army and four Air Corps, and all posts are currently filled. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cyber Security Policy (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: The Deputy might take this up with the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Bruton. The first national cybersecurity strategy, agreed by the Government in 2015, set out a series of measures that would be taken to build the capability of the NCSC and to achieve a high level of security for computer networks and critical infrastructure of the State. These...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: UN Missions (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe:  The Army Ranger Wing, ARW, is the special operations force of the Defence Forces and is part of the capabilities available to the State to be deployed in support of our national security and overseas peace support operations.  MINUSMA, the UN mission in Mali, is authorised under Chapter VII of the UN Charter by the UN Security Council. It is a significant UN peace enforcement...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: UN Missions (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: My apologies. I am sorry, it is Article 7.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: UN Missions (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: My apologies, it is Article 7, not Article 6. I was not trying to trick the Deputy in any way. It is a reply similar to the one I gave the Deputy in January because we have not yet made a decision. We are gathering information. I am not sure whether I stated to the Deputy that on my most recent visit to Mali in January, I met the head of mission of MINUSMA, by whom I was fully briefed. I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: UN Missions (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: First, no decision has been made to deploy the Army Rangers Wing to MINUSMA. Any such decision will be based on an assessment of the requirements of the mission and, as I stated, the capacity and capability of the Defence Forces to contribute to it. The possible deployment of Defence Forces personnel has been under consideration for some time and is unconnected to the Seco campaign. It is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: Similar to other sectors of the public service, the pay of Permanent Defence Force personnel was reduced as one of the measures to assist in stabilising the national finances during the financial crisis. Pay is being restored to members of the Defence Forces and other public servants in accordance with public sector pay agreements. The focus of these increases is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: The Deputy is incorrect in saying there has been a turnover of 10%. I have often stated publicly that we have challenges in the recruitment and retention of personnel in the Defence Forces. That is why the Government prioritised the health and defence sectors within the remit of the Public Service Pay Commission. I hope to have the recommendations of the commission soon and bring them to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: In the confidence and supply agreement the Deputy's party agreed to the public service pay agreement on core pay. There are already many educational opportunities in the Defence Forces for enlisted personnel and members of the officer corps. The Defence Forces' website demonstrates the many opportunities available. I agree with the Deputy that it is important we provide opportunities to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Strength (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: The military authorities have advised that the strength of the Defence Forces, whole-time equivalents, across all services and ranks, on 28 February was 8,857, comprising 7,167 Army personnel, 716 Air Corps personnel and 974 Naval Service personnel. The Government remains committed to returning to, and maintaining, the agreed strength of the Defence Forces at 9,500 personnel as set out in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Strength (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: There is ongoing recruitment, which is important. The Minister, the Department of Defence and I came up with that initiative. When I first entered the Department, there was only one opportunity to engage in recruitment at the start of the year. We then expanded that number to two. It is important, however, that a person can go online at any stage to apply to enlist in the Air Corps, the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces Strength (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I have recently initiated a review of recruitment to the Defence Forces. We have to examine many lessons which have been learned to see what we can do better to improve recruitment, including advertising. We also have to look at the current recruitment process. We brought in an independent chairperson to look at the conciliation and arbitration scheme within the Defence Forces. I can bring...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: UN Missions (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 15 and 19 together. The recent UNDOF rotation was due to be completed on Thursday, 4 April 2019. The UN was responsible for organising the rotation flights to transport the current UNDOF contingent back to Ireland and has been organising these rotation flights for decades without incident. On 3 April, the UN advised my Department that the Lebanese...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: UN Missions (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: In response to Deputy Jack Chambers, my office announced this on social media on Thursday afternoon. Some media outlets picked up on that. I would call them very professional because they were able to pick up on that. I understand that the Deputy and his party communicate through social media. It is a very important tool that allows us to communicate-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: UN Missions (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: The Deputy might listen. He is not good at listening. We communicate through social media to inform the families. It would have taken 130 phone calls and up to very late on Thursday night to do that. I want to be able to communicate the message as quickly as possible. Many media outlets picked up on that. In response to Deputy Jack Chambers and Clare Daly, the UN was responsible for...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Permanent Structured Co-operation (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: Ireland joined Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in December 2017 following Government and Dáil approval. The establishment of PESCO represents a further development in EU Cooperation in support of international peace and security under CSDP. Under PESCO, Member States will come together in different groups to develop and make available additional capabilities and...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: In 2018, the overarching turnover of personnel in the Permanent Defence Force was just below 8.1%.  The average turnover rate since 2002 is 6.3% with a peak of 8.58% in 2012.  This level of turnover, or higher, is often seen in other military organisations. This overarching turnover rate can be further broken down. At its most basic level, this can be categorised as trained...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Brexit Preparations (11 Apr 2019)

Paul Kehoe: As part of a whole of Government approach, my Department continues to engage in forward planning with the other Departments involved in addressing all issues relevant to the UK's decision to leave the European Union. This engagement involves the identification of key strategic, operational and policy issues arising from Brexit. As I have outlined previously,...