Results 2,461-2,480 of 11,290 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: The Tánaiste has started addressing my next point, which is on PDF allowances. There is a reduction of €2.2 million in that budget, which is attributed to the withdrawal from UNDOF. Would that not be supplanted by allowances relating to the battle group? Is it the correct to say that there will be no such allowances in 2024 because participation will only begin in 2025?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: Just being on the battle group will be enough to secure it, regardless of whether they are actually deployed.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: How many members of the Defence Forces are expected to be assigned to the battle group?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: How many have volunteered to date?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: At this stage, how many have volunteered for the battle group? There are media reports that it is undersubscribed.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: It may be met by mandatory deployments. Is that correct?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: Does anyone have an idea? Have we met more than half of the requirement yet?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: Okay. I have seen the mandatory deployment. Let us say that UNDOF or UNIFIL-----

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: I am not making a judgment at this stage. I am only asking about people volunteering for it and whether there will be a need for mandatory deployments. Regardless of allowances, overseas missions are much more disruptive of people’s lives, notwithstanding the great opportunities they provide members. Will we ever have to deploy people mandatorily on overseas UN peacekeeping missions?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: The Reserve Defence Force is a matter of great frustration for this committee. We have met its representative group. I do not know about the Tánaiste, but I am not aware of whether there is another reserve army in Europe whose numbers are a fraction of the permanent army’s. In most cases, they are usually multiples. What is the current strength of our reserves and is there a...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: I can confirm that that is not our party policy.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: Is the Tánaiste referring to the defence Bill we are dealing with in pre-legislative scrutiny at the moment?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: Are there plans for that to happen this year?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: Turning to capability development, I was interested in the language used by the Minister for public expenditure during the Budget Statement. He referred to "an additional €34 million in capital expenditure, compared to the original plan, to further progress the priority recommendations of the Commission on the Defence Forces and the independent review group, as well as funding the...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: We are still far short, however, of the €246 million that was set out by the commission in the second level of ambition requirements, but the actual-----

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: I am just dealing with the actual allocations, so-----

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: The provisional outturn for 2023, as it is cited, is €207 million, which is short of the target, but this year there is an allocation of €176 million.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: I am beginning to wonder what the point of the budget is. In the case of pay, we are saying the figure does not really matter and that if we recruit more people than are budgeted for, we will be able to get that. As for capital, likewise, if we are able to spend more money, we will get that. It is a good position for a Minister to be in. I do not think many Ministers are in that position...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: On the issue of primary radar, I received a very lengthy response from the Tánaiste to a parliamentary question last week. Nobody is suggesting these matters are simple but there is a lot of frustration with the apparent delays. There is also frustration, I would imagine, on the part of a number of Members of the House that when we ask questions, there may be lengthy responses but the...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Matt Carthy: Someone, therefore, is just making it up.