Results 1,741-1,760 of 12,630 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I thank the Members for agreeing to debate this Bill at short notice. It is a short Bill, designed to amend and update the defence Acts regarding the despatch of members of the Permanent Defence Force on overseas duties. The despatch of members of the Defence Forces overseas is a concrete expression of Ireland's foreign policy objectives and, in particular, our support for the UN and for...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I thank all the Senators who spoke for their constructive contributions to the debate and the interest they have taken in the Bill. I look forward to a similarly constructive debate in the other House. I thank Senators also for their kind remarks regarding the work our Defence Forces undertake overseas. Wherever they are, our troops serve with professionalism, dedication, courage and...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Yes.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: No, I am not.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Senator Leyden suggested that we have some mechanism for informing this House.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Senator Quinn asked why foreign troops cannot train here. The advice of the Attorney General is that this is precluded by Article 15 of the Constitution, which prohibits the raising of foreign armies and any other type of activities on Irish soil. That constitutional article was drafted for an entirely different reason, but it has this unintended consequence, now. Ultimately, it will not...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Property: Defence Forces Property (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Castlebar Military Barracks is primarily a Reserve Defence Force facility that provides training facilities, office accommodation and storage facilities for Permanent Defence Force Cadre and Unit personnel of Units stationed in the Barracks. The estimated cost of the refurbishment works necessary to effect compliance with building, health and safety, and fire regulations in order to provide...

Written Answers — Overseas Missions: Overseas Missions (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 232 and 233 together. Between mid-1997 and January 2003, a Defence Forces military police contingent (of 50 personnel) served in the NATO-led Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR), following Dáil Éireann approval in July 1997. The Irish contingent formed part of the International Military Police Company at SFOR Headquarters in Sarajevo. The...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I did not realise that and I thank the Senator for bringing it to my attention. Since Ireland began to participate in overseas missions in the 1950s, the general authority to send troops was always assumed. For example, a number of observers were dispatched to the Middle East in 1958. No legislation was in place and they were dispatched on the basis that everybody assumed it was legal to do...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: The UN receives a request, which is then transmitted to us. If the UN decides to embark on a peacekeeping operation, Ireland is usually contacted and the Government then makes a decision. Before the Government makes a decision, an assessment, as the Senator correctly stated, is carried out. A number of factors determine whether Ireland participates in a mission. For example, the Defence...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I thank the Senator for his remarks. The Liberian mission has been very successful. The mission was due to discontinue this month but the Government decided, at the request of the UN Secretary General, to extend it for 12 months. The mission will be gradually scaled down during that time. Since 1993 overseas missions have become riskier because chapter 7 or peace enforcement missions were...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: There may be some confusion in this regard. If I am correct, Senator Ryan's amendment reads, "in page 4 to delete lines 34 to 46, and in page 5, lines 1 to 4, to delete subsections (2) and (3)". Is this the amendment to which the Senator is speaking?

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Section 4(2), which the Senator proposes to delete, provides for a saver in respect of personnel who enlisted before the enactment of the Defence (Amendment) Act 1993. The effect of the amendment would be to delete this saver. As stated, the 1993 Act extended the involvement of the Defence Forces in UN-mandated peace support operations to include peace enforcement missions. I refer to chapter...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Yes.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: They can make a request to so do.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Yes, they have that right.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: As personnel deployed abroad are deemed to be on active service, the ombudsman's remit does not cover that scenario.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: I will communicate on the rationale with the Senator.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Senator Brian Hayes referred to what I said last night about the battle groups and the figure of 3,000. I reiterate that a battle group will consist of only 1,500 troops but the ambition of the European Union, which it has now achieved, is that from next year it can have two battle groups standing by to be deployed simultaneously.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Willie O'Dea: Yes, 1,500 each. One might be deployed to Africa and the other to Asia but they will be deployed simultaneously should that be necessary. I wish to clarify another point on which there appears to be some confusion. The United Nations does not decide to deploy a battle group. The United Nations will ask the EU to intervene and the method of intervention by the EU, as a regional agency, will...