Results 2,841-2,860 of 49,960 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: If I may, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS, allows for all vessels, including military vessels, to transit through the territorial waters of coastal states when conducting innocent passage, as defined by Article 19 of UNCLOS. Therefore, any vessels transiting Irish waters must do so in compliance with international law. They may be subject to sighting and...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: The specific location I do not have right now. It could be in Brussels or in any other member state or, maybe, the lead state. On that, we have 17 full-time operational military installations, including army barracks, a naval base, an aerodrome and training camps. The Defence Forces are one of the largest energy users in the public service. That illustrates the value of this. The course...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: Some €1,500 is not a whole lot in the overall scheme of things. The application of this will be to the 17 full-time operation military installations that we have in Ireland which, as I said earlier, are the naval base, Baldonnel, the barracks, training camps and so on. We want to learn new ways of developing sustainable energy in respect of all these installations. Incremental work...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: Regarding cybersecurity, there can be a number of actors, if you read any formal works on this or research undertaken by companies in the digital space. I was at the Munich security conference two years ago and last year. There was a presentation from Google which was quite informative about the criminal groups and state actors involved. Russia is a key state actor and our immediate threat...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy has eloquently articulated the situation about the evolution of standards for equipment, clothing, weaponry, trucks and so on since our first days in Congo. I visited the veterans' museum in Arbour Hill recently. It is worth a visit. It is a nice museum. They showed me the different uniforms from the beginning. Even in Lebanon in the 1970s, in a very hot environment, somebody...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: It was very thick stuff. Things progress and evolve. That is the nature of these exercises too. Remember, as I said earlier in the earlier statement on the UN, that we are working in Lebanon with Poland and Hungary in POLBATT. There are may be some Maltese too. Interoperability is key. That is why training and engaging with others through PESCO, the EDA and battle groups, for that...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Chief of Staff is examining that situation. He will come back to me with a report on how medals are awarded and so on. I will come back to the committee on that point.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: I do not have that information. It falls under the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the relevant Minister, Deputy Ryan. I would be guessing but-----

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: Numbers have increased from a very low base. There has been an effective build-up. I recall meeting with representatives of the centre at the time of the HSE attack when it was at a relatively embryonic stage of its formation. There has been a dramatic scaling up of that centre. It is an important centre and it is well led, if I may say so. The key for us is that, just as we want to...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: We have our own units and feed into-----

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: I do not have that figure. The key is that we have our own capacity within the Defence Forces. The key is that that capacity works with the National Cyber Security Centre. The position is similar with respect to the Garda.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: There has been dramatic growth in the past three or four years. We are now comparing better than we did.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: It is. Many other states are growing fast in that respect because they have to. Cyber and maritime are the new fields of threat.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: I am pleased to report to the committee on Irish Defence Forces participation in United Nations missions in 2023. This report was laid before Dáil Éireann on 3 May 2024. The following motion was placed on the Order Paper for Dáil Éireann and has been referred to this committee: That Dáil Éireann approves: ... (II) the report by the Minister for Defence...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: No, it has to come to the Government first.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: At a European level, there has been a strategic assessment of the mission. A decision will be made at European level as to the continuation of the mission. We have six members on it. They are stationed at the operational headquarters in Rome and are serving in staff officer posts. In the summer of 2023, 58 personnel were deployed as part of Operation Irini for a period of six weeks. I...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Proposed Approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's Participation in Two PESCO Projects and Two European Defence Agency Projects and the Report Regarding Service by the Defence Forces with the UN in 2023: Motion (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: My point is that what PESCO is about is improving our capabilities. The EDA is about improving our capabilities. On issues like cybersecurity and undersea cables, collaboration is the name of the game. Why? The reason is that there is a lot of expertise about the place and we have to share knowledge. When the HSE was attacked, two of the first countries that contacted us - and I was...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for his question. There is no place in the Defence Forces for an individual those attitudes. I am advised by the Military Authorities that the conditions for entry to and service in the Permanent Defence Force (PDF), including the methodologies used for assessments, are subject to continuous review and modification having regard to the needs of the organisation and...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: Since 2020, members of the Defence Forces have benefitted from a range of pay increases associated with national pay agreements. In addition to these pay increases, members of the Defence Forces have further benefitted from specific recommendations arising from recommendations in the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces (CoDF), which was established by Government in December 2020. ...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (2 Jul 2024)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 103 together. Military management has advised that 75% of the volunteers are secured with 139 EU Battlegroup appointments made to date out of the 186 personnel committed. The expectation is that the remaining posts will be fully filled in the coming months, in advance of the first EU Battlegroup 2025 training exercise in Germany in the autumn. ...