Results 541-560 of 45,281 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Weather Events (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: The Deputy is entirely right. As he and I know, nobody is more willing to get stuck in, help out and serve their country than the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann. It is important to have an even greater level of clarity in terms of interagency response. I will certainly reflect and engage with the Defence Forces in my own Department regarding the medical skills and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Neutrality (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy again for engaging on this. I accept that we have very different views on this. I am not trying to deny that. How we engage, however, is important. Teasing through detail, our fundamental views and positions and everyone accepting our bona fides is good. I accept the Deputy's bona fides in terms of the value he attaches to military neutrality. Let me be as helpful as...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Neutrality (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: I hope the Deputy heard me that time. I have already given them, but let me give them again. Maybe he does not want to hear them or does not want to engage. Maybe he wants to jump up and say Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil want to get rid of military neutrality. No, we do not. The Deputy might not trust us, but let me assure him that the people of Ireland showed, when they went out to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Neutrality (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: So am I.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Neutrality (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: Says who?

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Neutrality (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: I am having an out-of-body experience here. I am in favour of Irish neutrality. The Government of Ireland is in favour of Irish neutrality. The Government of Ireland values Irish neutrality. I spend a significant amount of my working week travelling the world explaining to colleagues, partners and counterparts why we value our neutrality. I also value this place and the democratic...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Neutrality (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: In terms of our defence and security obligations, we have an obligation to do that. On the occupied territories Bill, I do not wish to be misrepresented. I spent all of Monday in Brussels at an EU-Israel association agreement negotiation. It was stated that we have not made no progress. We have made progress. The 27 member states have unanimously agreed to language that I think that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Weather Events (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Daly for raising this important and timely question in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, which brought a great deal of devastation to so much of our country, particularly, perhaps, to the Deputy's part of the country, namely the west, and to the north west. I take this opportunity to recognise the contribution made by our Civil Defence units and our Defence Forces in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Neutrality (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: A very worrying thing is beginning to happen in this House where there is a basic lack of respect for the mandate of people who sit on this side of the House. Deputy Connolly has come in here and said that I do not have the trust and respect of the Irish people. I got elected to Dáil Éireann on the same day as she did, as did my colleagues. Together we formed a majority of the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Neutrality (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: I agree with Deputy Connolly. We should and do continue to champion the UN and champion reform of the UN. I fully agree with that. I am a huge believer in international law and the workings of the United Nations. At a time when that is under threat from others who are looking inwards and do not believe in multilateralism, we should be even louder in our promotion. I do not disagree on...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Neutrality (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: The Deputy must not have been listening. I will give them again in a second.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Neutrality (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: I gave them to him; does he want them again? They were: the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force in 1999; in 2015 the Mediterranean operation known as Operation Sophia; the Maritime Analysis Operations Centre (Narcotics) mission operation; and a UN authorisation for EUFOR Operation Althea in Bosnia Herzegovina that we nearly had to miss out on too. These are the examples.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy. I agree with some of what he said. It certainly would be factual to say that the Reserve Defence Force went through a rocky period in terms of recruitment and retention. This was through no fault of its own. We have been working in line with the commission on the Defence Forces to get that to a much better place. I acknowledge the Deputy's welcoming some of the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: To be clear, the target in terms of what the effective strength of our Reserve Defence Force should be remains the same. We do not disagree on that figure in terms of where we need to get to. When the regeneration and development plan was published in July 2024, one of the four operational objectives was to get us to that effective strength of at least 80% by 2028. If we were to map out...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Neutrality (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 15, 44 and 45 together. I reject the Deputy's assertion. That will not come as any surprise to him. As set out in the programme for Government, this Government intends to reform the legislation relating to the triple lock also ensuring that amendments to it are in keeping with our values and our policy of military neutrality. I might be shouting into...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: Yes, there have been. Consistently, for years, there have been efforts by Irish diplomats and our permanent representative in the UN. Every Irish Government for many years has put forward the idea that the UN Security Council needs to be reformed. As recently as last week, I was articulating this in international fora. We should be clear on this. The proposals to amend the triple lock...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Wall very much for raising this issue and the issue of the Curragh Camp, which he knows well. I, too, appreciate the historical importance of the Curragh Camp to many members of the Defence Forces and their families. I am sympathetic to the sense of attachment many serving and former members of the Defences Forces have to the camp. It is no longer a location where...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Wall for raising this matter. I share his view that the Curragh is the jewel in the crown. There is a particular affinity and connection felt by many serving and former members of the Defence Forces and their families. I hope to visit the Curragh in the coming days. I would be delighted if Deputy Wall could join me when I do that. We can engage with people on the ground....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: I very much look forward to it too. Deputy Wall is right because not only is the Curragh, to use his phrase, the jewel in the crown from a Defence Forces point of view and a valuable resource for the Defence Forces, but more broadly it is also an incredible resource for the people of Kildare and Ireland. If we look at some of what we have managed to achieve together as a country in recent...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (26 Feb 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for raising this issue. As he rightly said, there is huge potential in further expanding the Reserve Defence Force and the already incredible work done by its members. I remain committed to bolstering the numbers in the Reserve Defence Force. I am very much aware that the ability to increase its strength is fundamental to the regeneration of the force. The...