Results 3,481-3,500 of 49,960 for speaker:Micheál Martin
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: The Deputy should let me make my few points generally about why this necessary, or at least a framework around it is necessary. Let us not pretend we can be all things to all people. We cannot be. People are generally saying we agree with some code-----
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: I am giving the backdrop to this.
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: I am trying to tease out what page everybody is on. People are generally saying they agree there should be some code of conduct, but then we are querying it and saying perhaps there should not be. I was just taken a bit aback by the casual references to the public service and the Civil Service. It is one of the great strengths and we would lose it at our peril in terms of the conduct,...
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: The nature of politics is to be popular. I include myself in that by the way.
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: To which page is the Deputy referring?
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: Which paragraph?
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: Okay.
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: Would that not be very clearly a matter for the representative associations?
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: No.
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: Through the Chair, I wish to ask the Members opposite for clarity. Let us take paragraph (g)(ii). It states: "without prejudice to the purpose of an association of representing members ... encourage members to engage in public agitation, protest, lobbying or media commentary...concerning a political matter or matter of Government policy". Does the Deputy think that is a problem?
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: I want to tease out the Deputy's problem before I come back on Report Stage. I think that "engage in public agitation" and "protest" should stay. Normally what happens in this case is that the representative bodies can and do comment on budgets.
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: It does not.
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: The section refers to "without prejudice to" their efforts. "Without prejudice" means they can.
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: It is the other protests.
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: No. The associations are, generally speaking, the conduit for their members' concerns. They get communicated to the Minister of the day in respect of budgeting matters, pay and conditions or issues affecting the Defence Forces more generally. During the recent statutory inquiry, PDFORRA and RACO came in and gave us their views, which reflected the views of the members of the association....
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: That is for members.
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: As an association, yes.
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: I can clarify the point. There is nothing stopping the defence representative associations, appointed people and officers of the associations to comment on behalf of their members. That is not being stopped. It is about encouraging a widespread campaign.
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: I am not talking about the lobbying part in that regard. I am talking about campaigning. There is no issue with the defence bodies or the representative associations making commentary. There is no issue there. If we extend that, however, to a full-blooded campaign on a whole range of issues pertaining to political matters, that is a new departure-----
- Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)
Micheál Martin: -----the implications of which we need to think through very carefully in the interests of the members themselves. Every member of the Defence Forces has a political view and is entitled to it. Those members probably appreciate the clarity of the current situation in terms of their position. In some respects, a free-for-all scenario could create difficult challenges down the road.