Results 3,101-3,120 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The Defence (Amendment) Act 1990 and Defence Force Regulations S6 provided for the establishment of representative associations for members of the Permanent Defence Force. The associations that have since been established are RACO and PDFORRA. The conciliation and arbitration scheme for members of the Permanent Defence Force provides a formal mechanism for the determination of claims...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I am not sure it is fair to compare the work that customs officers do at sea with that of the Naval Service in terms of time at sea and so forth. It is quite different. However, I take the point. The truth is that it took us many months to negotiate the terms and conditions for the sea-going service commitment scheme because there was a legitimate concern in the Department of Public...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: What I said to the representative bodies and the General Staff is that we would seek to provide clarity on the issue of associate membership of ICTU in the context of public sector pay talks. The Deputy might note that we are dealing with that issue well in advance of bringing the memorandum to Government on the Commission on the Defence Forces, which made a recommendation on this issue. We...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: On the level of ambition, the commission deliberately put this back to the Government, saying “Here is what we think you should do but, of course, it is your choice from a policy and budgetary point of view.” With regard to the language the commission has used, level of ambition 1 is essentially maintaining the status quobut getting the establishment up to where it needs to be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for that. I believe and hope I have the support of most parties in this House, even though sometimes we have a very abrasive political system here in terms of disagreement on policy and so on. I hope the vast majority in this House will support this because it will be for future Governments too and is not just about this Government. I hope we can listen to and take in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I have some sympathy for that but I also need to put on the record what has happened here so it is clear from the Government's perspective. The Deputy may be aware that, with the agreement of RACO, the specialised instructors allowance for officers was bought out under the defence sector collective agreement of the public service agreement 2013-2016, which was the Haddington Road agreement....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I have had long discussions with RACO on this issue. It has repeatedly raised it with me and that is fair enough. It has a slightly different version of what happened to specialist instructors' allowances. However, there is a broader question here that we must address. If we are going to be successful in recruiting the numbers we need to recruit and in maintaining standards in the Defence...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I have spoken to the commission in some detail about this and, for what it is worth, while pay and conditions are a factor, they are by a long shot not the only factor with regard to people leaving the Defence Forces. Let us be clear on that. Let us also be clear that Deputy Barry and others want to ensure that the Defence Forces are part of the ICTU negotiations on public sector pay...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: They have not been locked out.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: With all due respect, none of the representative bodies representing Defence Forces personnel are looking for the right to strike. What they have asked me to consider and what they have taken legal action on is the right to allow ICTU to negotiate on their behalf through their having associate membership of ICTU, which is a very different thing. We are looking at the legalities. I hope we...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: That commitment to level of ambition 2 has not yet been confirmed by the Government. It is certainly my view, as Minister for Defence, that we have to be at least where the Commission on Defence Forces recommends that we need to be, rather than where we would like to be, to have at least a basic defence capacity. Let us not forget that the commission carried out its work and finalised its...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: On pay, I am being asked to ensure the representative bodies within the Defence Forces can have associate membership with ICTU, that is, to ensure that pay within the Defence Forces will be consistent with public sector pay policy. At the same time, I am being asked by the very same people to increase pay in the Defence Forces as though it was not a public sector pay policy issue at all....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I might just respond to the working time directive question. There were questions from two Deputies; surely I should have double the time for my responses.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: Should I not have double the time for the follow-up responses?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I appreciate that. Briefly, on the working time directive, which is an important issue we have discussed at length as we have moved through the barracks, we are making really good progress. The Government is fully committed to ensuring the working time directive will apply to the Defence Forces, but there will have to be exemptions in certain areas to facilitate military service and the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: It is my job to make a decision, having considered all the issues and the legal advice. As I said, we will do that next week.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: That is a fair question. I will come to the specifics of the issue after I have outlined my prepared contribution for the record. The Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment in the programme for Government. As Minister for Defence, I welcomed the publication of the report of the commission on 9 February. There is an ongoing requirement to consider whether...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 3 together. As the Deputy will be aware, the Permanent Defence Force is currently under strength by just over 1,000 personnel. The report of the Commission on the Defence Forces made it clear that the level of ambition for the Defence Forces must be elevated beyond that at which it is operating at the moment. The report outlines three levels of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: There were a number of questions. First, with regard to strength, as colleagues will know, in the Army, the establishment is 7,520 and the current strength is 6,778. In the Air Corps, the establishment is 886 and the current strength is 733. In the Naval Service, the establishment is 1,094 and the strength stands at 855. We have a challenge here. While it is about recruitment, it is...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 May 2022)

Simon Coveney: The White Paper on Defence is clear that there is a continued requirement to retain and develop the Reserve Defence Force (RDF). The RDF has an establishment of 4,069, with a current strength of 1,494 for the Army Reserve and Naval Service Reserve, and 271 for the First Line reserve, which accounts for 43% of the establishment figure. The ability to conduct RDF inductions in recent...