Results 5,061-5,080 of 8,986 for speaker:Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Use of Irish Airspace and Landing Facilities: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Can Mr. Burgess provide us with statistics to clarify that issue? Some 15% are not the rifles or pistols that a soldier would be carrying as standard.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Use of Irish Airspace and Landing Facilities: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade makes a recommendation to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport about those matters because it is an exemption of prior approval that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade must recommend.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Use of Irish Airspace and Landing Facilities: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: We will do so.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Use of Irish Airspace and Landing Facilities: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I thank the Deputy. Is Mr. Burgess clear on the question?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: The committee is now sitting in its capacity as a joint sub-committee on petitions. We have had a chance to deliberate on petition No. 17/14, which was deferred from last week, regarding the incorrect allocations of public funds allocated for flood prevention in a specified area, from Mr. Eugene Mitchell. The petitioner's house flooded in 2009 and he is claiming that Galway County Council...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Use of Irish Airspace and Landing Facilities: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: We will now proceed to deal with the role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in issuing diplomatic notes which allow foreign aircraft to enter Irish airspace and avail of landing facilities. I remind all present, including members, media and people in the Visitors Gallery that mobile telephones and blackberries must be turned off completely or switched to flight or safe mode as...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Supplementary)
Vote 36 - Defence (Supplementary) (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I am urging the Minister to meet members of PDFORRA and the Reserve Defence Forces Representative Association in the light of the previous Minister's repeated omission in that regard. That was a profound failure on his behalf. I am not saying the Minister must agree with everything these people have to say when he meets them, but it is-----

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Supplementary)
Vote 36 - Defence (Supplementary) (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I acknowledge that the Minister is new to the role.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Supplementary)
Vote 36 - Defence (Supplementary) (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: In fairness, Chairman-----

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Supplementary)
Vote 36 - Defence (Supplementary) (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: With respect, Chairman, we are very busy people. There is no way we can sit here as defence spokespersons and examine figures without talking about the people behind them.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Supplementary)
Vote 36 - Defence (Supplementary) (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: However, we are not bean counters. We are people with a view regarding the implications for our Defence Forces of these proposals.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Supplementary)
Vote 36 - Defence (Supplementary) (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: That is fair enough.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Supplementary)
Vote 36 - Defence (Supplementary) (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: My previous point was that if the Minister meets PDFORRA, he should also meet the Reserve Defence Forces Representative Association. Throughout the last period when we were dealing with the value for money report and its implications, we were receiving representations and there would be a concern. The FCA evolved into the Reserve Defence Force. The individuals involved in these...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Supplementary)
Vote 36 - Defence (Supplementary) (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: The Minister will be aware of the alarming reports from the PDFORRA annual conference of members of the Defence Forces sleeping in cars. I acknowledge he dealt with this issue at the last Question Time but I also refer to the pay issue, whereby 20% of the membership of the Defence Forces is in receipt of family income supplement. Has the Minister met representatives of PDFORRA since he took...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Supplementary)
Vote 36 - Defence (Supplementary) (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: As subhead A5 pertains to Reserve Defence Force, I will deal with that issue then.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Supplementary)
Vote 36 - Defence (Supplementary) (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Will the Department seek the meeting or is the Minister awaiting an invitation?

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Supplementary)
Vote 36 - Defence (Supplementary) (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: That is okay and I thank the Minister.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Business of Select Committee (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I second that proposal.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Supplementary)
Vote 36 - Defence (Supplementary) (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Similar to the Justice Vote which we dealt with last week, there seems to be substantial under-estimation of the number of members who will retire in a given year. Are there lessons to be learned on making projections? We have discussed the issue of Defence Force personnel who must retire at a certain age, although individual members feel they are physically capable of continuing to serve....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Aggressive Begging from a Public Order Perspective: Discussion (3 Dec 2014)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: This issue has been ignored for too long. It is a difficult issue to which the response must by its nature take a multi-agency approach. Policing obviously is one aspect of it, but consideration also must be given to social services, housing services and all of that. In addition, one must be realistic in this regard. I would argue that some of those who are involved in begging, albeit in...