Results 2,401-2,420 of 49,960 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (9 Sep 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Defence Forces operate a fleet of vehicles across the air, land and maritime domains. The day to day maintenance and servicing of the fleet is delegated to the military authorities and as such my Department does not have a direct role in same. I am advised for operational reasons the Defence Forces does not provide detailed information on the status or disposition of the fleet.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (9 Sep 2024)

Micheál Martin: As Minister, I am deeply committed to the transformation of the Defence Forces into a modern fit for purpose organisation to defend the State and meet the challenges of today and the future. The Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government, and its report was published on the 9th of February 2022. There were 69 main recommendations...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (9 Sep 2024)

Micheál Martin: Given the granular nature and long timescale of the information sought by the Deputy, it is not readily available in the timeframe requested. My officials will collate same and I will arrange to have this data provided directly to the Deputy in due course.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (9 Sep 2024)

Micheál Martin: The detailed information sought by the Deputy is not readily available from the Department's financial management systems within the time frame sought. Officials from my Department will arrange to have this information forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (9 Sep 2024)

Micheál Martin: My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service is maintained and developed. This is to enable the Defence Forces to carry out the roles assigned by Government. The acquisition, modernisation and upgrade of Defence Forces equipment are considered in the context of the established capability development and Equipment...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (9 Sep 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Defence Forces Infrastructure Development Plan (IDP) sets out a programme of project delivery for the years 2023 to 2027. The Programme reflects the complex environment in which the Defence Forces operate and the corresponding need for appropriate infrastructure to provide for accommodation and training of personnel, as well as maintenance and storage of equipment for land, sea and...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service (9 Sep 2024)

Micheál Martin: My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service is maintained and developed. This is to enable the Defence Forces to carry out the roles assigned by Government. Equipment priorities for the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service are considered in the context of the established capability development and Equipment Development...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service (9 Sep 2024)

Micheál Martin: The strength of the Naval Service, as at 31 July 2024, stood at 728 personnel. As the Deputy is aware, as one of the recommendations from the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, Government approved a move, over a six-year period, to a level of Permanent Defence Force capability equivalent to Level of Ambition 2. This will require an additional 2,000 personnel by 2028, including a...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service (9 Sep 2024)

Micheál Martin: I have previously acknowledged the particular difficulties in attracting and retaining certain specialties in the Naval Service, in the current buoyant employment market . To address such challenges, a number of recruitment initiatives have been introduced including an increase in recruitment age to 39 years for those roles that had recruitment age below that, and to 50 years for Direct Entry...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Ministerial Responsibilities (9 Sep 2024)

Micheál Martin: I wish to advise the Deputy, that the appointment of Ministers is a matter for the Taoiseach, and the Taoiseach alone. There is a Constitutional limit of fifteen on the number of ministers that can be appointed; there are currently eighteen government departments, which means that it is not constitutionally possible to have one standalone Minister for each Department. It is necessary, in a...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (9 Sep 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government and the Government decision in December 2020 which also agreed its terms of reference and membership. The report was published on the 9th February 2022. The Commission undertook a significant body of work, encompassing wide-ranging terms of reference. It recommended significant changes...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (23 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 23 and 40 together. With regard to the specific applications about which the Deputies have enquired, the Passport Service has issued passports to the applicants.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (23 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: At its forthcoming 79th session in the autumn of 2024, the UN Sixth Committee (Legal Affairs) will further examine the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity. The Sixth Committee will consider once again the ILC’s 2019 recommendation to elaborate an international convention on the basis of the Draft Articles, and is...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Birth Registration (23 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: My Department is responsible for processing Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications for people who are born abroad and claim Irish citizenship through a grandparent born in Ireland or through a parent who has claimed citizenship also through FBR, Naturalisation or Post Nuptial Citizenship. Foreign Birth Registration, by its nature, is a detailed and complex process, often involving...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Birth Registration (23 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: My Department is responsible for processing Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications for people who are born abroad and claim Irish citizenship through a grandparent born in Ireland or through a parent who has claimed citizenship also through FBR, Naturalisation or Post Nuptial Citizenship. Foreign Birth Registration, by its nature, is a detailed and complex process, often involving...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (23 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: All passport applications are subject to the provisions of the Passports Act 2008, as amended ("the 2008 Act"). The 2008 Act provides, among other things, that a person must be an Irish citizen before a passport can be issued to that person. In order to meet this requirement, each passport applicant must demonstrate an entitlement to Irish citizenship by providing acceptable documentary...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (23 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: Ireland was not represented at the NATO Summit or any of the meetings organised around the Summit in Washington DC in July. In my capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs, I received invitations to attend a number of events en marge of the NATO Summit, including a dinner on 10 July, hosted by US Secretary of State Blinken, for Foreign Ministers of both NATO countries and countries who, like...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Birth Registration (23 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: My Department is responsible for processing Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications for people who are born abroad and claim Irish citizenship through a grandparent born in Ireland or through a parent who has claimed citizenship also through FBR, Naturalisation or Post Nuptial Citizenship. Foreign Birth Registration, by its nature, is a detailed and complex process, often involving...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Policy (23 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: Ireland, along with our EU partners, remains deeply concerned about the credible reports regarding the treatment of ethnic Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang, including restrictions on freedom of religion and belief, arbitrary detention, widespread surveillance, forced labour, and forced sterilisations and birth control. Human rights is a core pillar of Ireland’s foreign policy...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Legal Cases (23 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Department of Foreign Affairs has not taken any legal cases as described by the Deputy in the past five years.