Results 561-580 of 2,815 for speaker:Tony Killeen

Written Answers — Defence Forces Strength: Defence Forces Strength (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: The number of personnel who have recently left the Permanent Defence Forces is provided in the tabular statements overleaf. Within the available resources, the Government is committed to maintaining the strength of the Permanent Defence Force at a level of 10,000 all ranks, for which Government approval has been secured in the context of Budget 2010. This reflects the reductions in personnel...

Defence Forces Recruitment (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: I assure Deputy Deenihan and the House that the delays from the original date mentioned by the Deputy in regard to the employment control framework have arisen because of the additional work required. I can assure him absolutely there is no foot dragging on the part of the Department or the military authorities. It is a very important exercise and one which must be dealt with subsequently...

Defence Forces Recruitment (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: I have no doubt progress will be made within the figure of 10,000 personnel agreed for 2010 and also within whatever may arise from the employment control framework proposals which, in any event, must be agreed subsequently with the Department of Finance. The figure of 10,000 is the employment number agreed for 2010 and, as I stated, we have already commenced the process of recruiting to the...

Defence Forces Personnel (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 23, 43 and 156 together. The number of persons who have left the Permanent Defence Force and associated details since May 2009 are presented in the following tabular statements. The corresponding information for the Reserve Defence Force is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it becomes available. Within the available resources,...

Defence Forces Personnel (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: It is not helpful or positive to have a fixation on numbers regarding the strength of the Defence Forces. It would be far better for the Defence Forces and their capability if we were to concentrate on that capability to do the job effectively. One factor that must be acknowledged is that with smaller numbers both the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces have a considerably greater...

Defence Forces Personnel (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: Deputy O'Shea raises a very important question. It impacts on the kind of recruitment campaign one might carry out, especially if there was an indication that people were leaving in large numbers from a particular segment and one would have to try to replace them in that area. One factor that has become apparent - I am not clear whether it is a trend - is that the figure of 21 is...

Defence Forces Personnel (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: That would be very difficult. The problem I mentioned is not really a question of recruitment but retention in certain areas, which is very difficult to address and needs to be considered in detail. On the question of rank and numbers, we would ideally need to look at a very large number of pages, and it would defy the patience level of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle if I tried to read them out.

Defence Forces Personnel (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: It may well be that the question of retention is more appropriate for direct attention than recruitment, and a raft of ideas has been aired. In some respects it might be reasonable to indicate that the White Paper will be very important in setting the medium-term goals for the Defence Forces. I would like to be in a position to get into that consideration as quickly as possible.

Defence Forces Personnel (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: I will have to get back to the Deputy on that. I have heard the issue mentioned but I do not have the required detail today.

Defence Forces Personnel (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: The Deputy is providing many difficult tasks and not much time to complete them.

Defence Forces Reserve (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: On 15 May 2010 I addressed the 16th delegate conference of the Reserve Defence Force Representative Association, RDFRA. In my address I dealt with a range of issues, including the current challenging economic circumstances, which have required the Government to take tough and decisive action and which has won international respect. I made the point that whereas some of the necessary...

Defence Forces Reserve (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: The 2010 provision under subhead D is €4.7 million and this will provide approximately 31,000 paid man days. That will allow 3,500 members to undertake seven paid training days each with the provision for career courses and so on. The provision for 2009 was €8.9 million, of which €6.651 million was utilised. The number of training days utilised in 2009 was approximately 54,190. On...

Defence Forces Reserve (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: As the Deputies will be aware, considerable progress was made on the inclusion of RDF members in a UN mission. This plan did not proceed for a number of reasons. Until a new mission becomes available, progressing this element will not be possible, but it is held to be a matter of considerable importance by the representative association at the reserve level. The association has raised this...

Defence Forces Reserve (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: As set out, its role and function are to support the Permanent Defence Force in a number of operations. As I stated in connection with the Red Cross, some of this was envisaged in a period when the opportunities and threats presenting differed from those currently at play. I strongly suspect that the recommendation of a particular report to cut the numbers in the RDF to one third was driven...

Defence Forces Reserve (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: In the context of the Defence Forces and the RDF, everyone would accept that security clearances are important. Given the nature of the role, medical clearances are also an issue. As we all know, some delays have occurred partly because of the requirement for people in many service areas to have security and Garda clearances for certain activities and professions where such requirements did...

Defence Forces Recruitment (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 25, 28, 29 and 34 together. Within the available resources, the Government is committed to maintaining the strength of the PDF, at a level of 10,000 all ranks, for which Government approval has been secured in the context of budget 2010. This reflects the reductions in personnel recommended in the report of the special group on public service numbers and...

Defence Forces Recruitment (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: There may well be a case for approaching the Department of Finance on foot of Deputy O'Shea's general point, but I would be more comfortable doing so in the context of arguing that the operational capability of the Defence Forces was being negatively impacted by certain numbers instead of by adhering to a rounded figure like 10,000, which seems a somewhat suspicious target. Instead of...

Defence Forces Recruitment (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: Historically, new recruits to the navy in particular have tended to come from the reserve. It is how many recruits enter the PDF. It is hardly surprising and will be likely to feature. I have not examined the recruitment numbers over the years. I understand there is a trend for younger members of the reserve to apply to be permanent members when the opportunity arises. That is to be...

Defence Forces Recruitment (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: I have no doubt at all about that. Having spoken to the military authorities, I am satisfied that we have extremely credible Defence Forces. The credibility of the forces with our people was greatly enhanced last winter during the flood crisis and the snow and ice crisis. We often tend to overlook the value of their contribution and in some areas, there is a tendency to denigrate that...

Defence Forces Reserve (2 Jun 2010)

Tony Killeen: I propose to take Question Nos. 26, 27, 37, 46 and 54 together. The Reserve Defence Force review implementation plan has provided the framework for the development of the reserve over recent years. The plan outlined a series of steps which were designed to significantly enhance the quality of training within the Reserve Defence Force. These steps, together with re-organisation, enhanced...