Results 421-440 of 732 for speaker:Cathal Berry

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (10 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: I thank the Minister for outlining the Government's position. I am glad Deputy Gannon mentioned the appalling atrocity in Mariupol yesterday, namely, the bombing of the maternity and children's hospital. I was recently contacted by the HSE, which pointed out that there is some small spare capacity in our neonatal ICUs in Ireland. There is a national neonatal transport programme available...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: I welcome the Minister and his team. I have some brief questions. I am not sure what programme they come under so I will fire them out if that is okay. Do we have plans to open any new embassies this year or next year? Did Ireland purchase the building that houses our embassy in Kyiv or do we lease it? If the latter is the case, how much did the lease cost? Has the embassy sustained any...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: The Minister may not be aware of this. Has our embassy building in Kyiv sustained any damage at all? If it is affected over the next few weeks, do we have a system in place to know whether it has been damaged?

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (10 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: I welcome the Minister and I thank him for his opening statement. I also welcome his team. I have two brief questions. I welcome the size of the overseas development assistance budget for this year. Do we have anything in reserve or uncommitted? For instance, if Ireland decides to make a further contribution to the European Peace Facility fund, do we have any spare headroom? We know...

Proposal for a Council Decision on Hate Speech and Hate Crime: Motion (9 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate which is timely and appropriate. I am happy to support the addition of hate speech and hate crimes to the EU list of crimes that are indictable. As Deputies we all appreciate the importance of freedom of speech. While we should be allowed freedom of expression inside this Chamber and beyond, the majority of us appreciate also that...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (9 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: 114. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the position regarding the promotion competition for enlisted personnel which was due to commence in 2021; when the competition is expected to commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13461/22]

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (9 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: 115. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of promotions pending throughout the Defence Forces by branch and rank in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13462/22]

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (9 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: 116. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the position regarding his Departments implementation of recommendations within the Public Service Pay Commission 2019 on recruitment and retention in the Defence Forces, particularly in relation to options to tackle barriers to extended participation in the Permanent Defence Force; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13463/22]

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (9 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: I thank the Minister for his opening statement, and the Department officials are very welcome. I have three observations on Vote 35. On page 3 of the Minister's opening statement, we see that 12,890 people are in receipt of Army pensions. That is a massive number. My observation is that there are 50% more people on military pensions than are actually serving in the Defence Forces. It...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (9 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: My question is quite technical and, therefore, I appreciate the Minister may not have an answer to hand. If an enlisted soldier, say, of private or corporal rank, retires after 31 years' service, he or she will get a 31-year pension, perhaps in his or her late 50s or at 60-years-old. When he or she hits 66, he or she will get the old age pension, but the 31-year pension will be pushed back...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (9 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: It may for the post-2004 position but perhaps pre-2004 might not be on that.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (9 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: I will make a couple of points. On page 5, it states that 19% of the Defence Forces served overseas in 2020, which is a staggering number. I want to emphasise that. When one fifth of an organisation is spending six months overseas, it has massive implications for family separation and all the social issues that go with that. It emphasises why we need to have more substitutes on the bench,...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (9 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: On page 20, under subhead A13, I very much welcome the increase in infrastructure expenditure from the guts of-----

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (9 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: I am referring to subhead A13. I welcome the allocation of €45 million but everybody here knows that most of the facilities across the country were built by the British and they are crumbling. There is a lot of talk of increasing the Defence Vote in October but some people are pushing back on that because they think the money will be spent on warmongering equipment. The reality is...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (9 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: Subhead A23 refers to the European peace facility and €5 million being handed over. I was surprised by that. I could be completely wrong, but normally when money goes to Europe it comes from the Department of the Taoiseach. I seek clarification on that money having come from the defence budget. I agree that an additional €9.5 million for the European peace facility was...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (9 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: On a connected but different point, I agree with the €9.5 million being handed over for non-lethal equipment as per the programme for Government and we should honour that commitment, but has there been any consideration of or any final decision made regarding the provision of non-lethal equipment such as helmets, body armour, communications equipment and medical equipment from Defence...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (9 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: Is that money completely gone or, in light of the fact the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces has now been published, is there any chance of having a supplementary budget to get that €23 million back? I am concerned because 12 months were spent - I will not say that time was wasted because it was not - waiting for the report of the commission. If the budget for the 2023...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: In light of the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine and the fact that President Zelenskiy is addressing a number of parliaments around Europe and, indeed, the world, the Regional Group is of the view that he should be invited to address the joint Houses of the Oireachtas by video link at his convenience. I would be grateful if the Business Committee could hold an urgent meeting...

Situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the recent Amnesty International Report: Statements (2 Mar 2022)

Cathal Berry: I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I will not speak for long, given my views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are well known at this stage. I very much welcome the report from Amnesty International. It may not be universally accepted, but it is certainly consistent with many similar reports in recent years and it chimes with my experience in the region over...