Results 16,121-16,140 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Reports (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: As I previously informed the Deputy in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 535 on 15 July 2014, the Department of Defence and Defence Forces Annual Report 2013 was published on 4 July 2014. The Report was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on the same date. The Report is available for viewing on the Department of Defence website at www.defence.ie .

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Deployment (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: Primary responsibility for the maintenance of law and order rests with An Garda Síochána. The Defence Forces, pursuant to their role of rendering Aid to the Civil Power (ATCP), assist An Garda Síochána when requested to do so. The Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Teams respond when a request is made by An Garda Síochána for assistance. The...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 252 to 255, inclusive, together. Explosive Ordnance Disposal is the military term used to refer to what is commonly called ‘bomb disposal’. Explosive Ordnance Disposal is a task assigned to the Defence Forces by Government and is provided in Aid to the Civil Power. Within the Defence Forces the Explosive Ordnance Disposal function is assigned...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Contracts (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: As I have outlined previously to the House, a claim has been received from the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association (PDFORRA) in relation to this matter and it is being dealt with under the Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme for members of the Permanent Defence Force. Discussions have been taking place with the Representative Association, with regards to their...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Strategy Statements (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: The Department is continuing to work closely with the Defence Forces to ensure that they retain the capabilities to fulfil all roles assigned by Government, both at home and overseas. In this context, and within the available resource envelope, decisions to replace equipment and ongoing recruitment to the Permanent Defence Force will prioritise the maintenance of required operational outputs....

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Ministerial Travel (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: Details of usage by Government of the Ministerial Air Transport Service (MATS) for 2011, 2012, 2013 and up to the end of November 2014 are set out in the tabular statement. The Deputy may wish to note that, in line with a commitment made in the Programme for Government, information relating to the MATS is now published on my Department’s website and is updated on a monthly basis. In...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Staff Career Breaks (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: Civil Service policy on leave without pay is decided centrally by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. There are a range of options open to staff wishing to avail of periods of unpaid leave. The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the number of staff in my Department currently on sabbatical/career breaks/Carers leave is set out in the table below. Duration ...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Expenditure (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: The total costs for photography paid by the Department in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 to date is set out in the table below: Date Company Cost 25/3/2011 Maxwell Photography €393.25 (Including VAT) 9/11/2011 Maxwell Photography €849.42 (Including VAT) 21/11/2012 Fennell Photography €116.85 (including VAT) 10/07/2013 Maxwell Photography €17.22...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Public Relations Contracts Data (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 261 and 269 together. My Department has not incurred any expenditure on external public relations since March 2011.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Consultancy Contracts Expenditure (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 262 and 263 together. The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the total amount of expenditure on external IT consultants by my Department, for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014 is set out in the table. My Department is always mindful of the costs involved in engaging consultants. External consultants are engaged only when there is a...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Appointments to State Boards (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: The State Boards under the aegis of the Department of Defence in March 2011 were the Civil Defence Board, the Board of Coiste an Asgard and the Army Pensions Board. The Civil Defence Board was identified in the Public Service Reform Plan as a body to be abolished. The then Minister for Defence appointed a 14 person interim Board as a temporary measure in 2011 and in this context none of the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Freedom of Information Requests (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the tables below: FOI Requests: Year Number of Requests * Refused Granted Part Granted 2009 62 10 30 10 2010 63 8 12 20 2011 40 5 20 7 2012 50 5 15 11 2013 40 5 7 11 2014 to date 29 2 8 9 *Please note that this figure includes requests received which were...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Reports (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: My Department has commissioned two external reports since 9 March 2011. On 19th April 2011, Mr Frank Callanan, SC, was commissioned to carry out an independent review into matters relevant to the deaths of Corporal Fintan Heneghan, Private Mannix Armstrong and Private Thomas Walsh on 21st March 1989 while serving with the 64th Infantry Battalion, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Expenditure (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: The details requested in respect of the total amount spent per annum in 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014 (15thDecember) on staff subsistence (including foreign subsistence) and taxi payments in respect of Departmental civil servants, members of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) and civilian employees, is as outlined below: Year Subsistence Payments Taxi Payments 2011 ...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Legal Costs (18 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: The Chief State Solicitor’s Office, Attorney General’s Office and the State Claims Agency deal with all legal matters on behalf of my Department. The main requirement for legal services in my Department is in the context of litigation, usually in the form of administrative law and personal injury proceedings. The Chief State Solicitor’s Office and the State Claims Agency...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Personnel (14 Jan 2015)

Simon Coveney: I join Deputy Ó Fearghaíl in wishing colleagues and staff a happy new year and welcoming them back for what we expect to be a busy term in the Dáil. I am advised by the military authorities that as of 9 January 2015, there are 20 doctors employed as medical officers in the Permanent Defence Force. The current establishment figure for medical officers qualified as doctors in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Personnel (14 Jan 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy quoted a number of figures. Defence Forces personnel are not like everyone else in society. They are constantly checked in terms of their mental and physical fitness, they are driven hard in the context of the training they must undergo and they are benchmarked with regard to the standards etc., which they need to set. As the Deputy knows, medical assessment of Defence Forces...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Personnel (14 Jan 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is trying to make a big issue out of something that I admit is an issue in terms of our capacity to recruit the required number of doctors suited to be in the Defence Forces. Recruiting them is a problem. We have 20 but need 28. We need to find ways of attracting medical practitioners into the Defence Forces more successfully. However, I take issue with the Deputy's suggestion...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Overseas Missions (14 Jan 2015)

Simon Coveney: In response to the rising levels of piracy and armed robbery off the Horn of Africa and in the western Indian Ocean, the European Union launched its first maritime operation, EUNAVFOR ATALANTA, on 8 December 2008. The primary aims of the operation are to contribute to the protection of vessels of the World Food Programme delivering food aid to displaced persons in Somalia, in accordance with...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Overseas Missions (14 Jan 2015)

Simon Coveney: Operation ATALANTA is specifically about counteracting and preventing piracy and providing a significant deterrent for what had become a serious problem whereby ships, some of which were carrying World Food Programme aid, were under threat of being attacked and having their cargo robbed. It has been a successful mission. The numbers of acts of piracy in that part of the world have been...