Results 601-620 of 798 for speaker:Cathal Berry

Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (16 Sep 2021)

Cathal Berry: I thank the Minister of State for coming into the Chamber this afternoon to debate this Bill. It is a Bill that is long overdue. I welcome its publication and look forward to supporting its passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas over the coming days and weeks. I have three points to make. First, I wish to emphasise the importance of the marine domain in this country. I heard...

Confidence in Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence: Motion (15 Sep 2021)

Cathal Berry: I have absolutely no hesitation in voting confidence in the Minister, Deputy Coveney, tonight. I do it for one reason and one reason only. Earlier this year he committed to implementing the findings of the Commission on Defence Forces, which is scheduled for submission in a few weeks' time. I very much look forward to the Minister, Deputy Coveney, still being in office so that I can hold...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (7 Sep 2021)

Cathal Berry: I thank the Minister for his opening statement and for the apology contained within it. I have three questions. They are technical in nature. Perhaps the Minister or his team might be able to answer them over the next few minutes. I acknowledge the large treasure trove of documentation that was uploaded onto the Department of Foreign Affair's website yesterday. It was very useful and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence (7 Sep 2021)

Cathal Berry: That is great. I thank the Minister and the Secretary General. I have no further questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Situation in Belarus: Discussion with Ms Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (15 Jul 2021)

Cathal Berry: I welcome Ms Tsikhanouskaya. It is great finally to have her home. I offer our full solidarity. I have one brief question on the two passengers who were forcibly removed from a Ryanair flight at the end of May in Minsk National Airport. Does the Belarusian opposition leader have any update on the welfare of those two individuals? I thank Ms Tsikhanouskaya for coming before the committee...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (14 Jul 2021)

Cathal Berry: Community pharmacies are now actively involved in the vaccination programme. It is great to have them on board. The House appreciates that community pharmacies have significant latitude and autonomy in terms of whom they vaccinate first. That is entirely as it should be. Has any consideration been given to asking community pharmacies to prioritise indoor hospitality workers, particularly...

Mandatory Hotel Quarantine Extension: Motion (14 Jul 2021)

Cathal Berry: I thank the Minister of State for bringing this motion to the House and for her opening remarks. I thank everyone involved in the mandatory hotel quarantining system, specifically hotel staff, Department officials, private security firms and members of the Defence Forces. It is important to remember that the mandatory hotel quarantining system was established at the peak of the third wave....

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (8 Jul 2021)

Cathal Berry: We are all aware that representatives from the hospitality industry and officials from the Department of Heath are currently meeting to discuss how best to tease out the reopening of indoor dining over the next couple of weeks. That is a good thing. We are also aware that there are approximately 750 pharmacies across the country in which members of the public are being vaccinated on a first...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2021)

Cathal Berry: I very much welcome the Minister's acceptance last week of two significant amendments to the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021. I strongly support that. The reason is that the two amendments will ensure, for the first time, that the farming community will get due recognition when it comes to capturing and storing carbon on the land, be it in hedgerows, soil or...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2021)

Cathal Berry: I thank the Minister for his genuinely useful and helpful response, particularly regarding how farmers may be able to monetise this situation, which is definitely good news. The Minister mentioned that an amendment will be tabled in the Upper House tomorrow. Does the Minister envisage any more amendments being accepted and can he indicate when the amended Climate Action and Low Carbon...

Post Office Network: Motion [Private Members] (7 Jul 2021)

Cathal Berry: I am delighted to speak on this important topic of post offices in Ireland. I am also grateful to be here as a member of the Regional Group. As the Minister of State is most likely aware, my colleagues and I never come in here to trade insults with the Government of the day. Rather, we come in here to trade ideas and exchange potential solutions to address the problems of our time. It is...

Defence (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (30 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: I have three brief points to add to the contributions I have made over the past couple of weeks. First, I very much welcome this legislation. This is a historic day for the Reserve Defence Force. Its members have been screaming for this Bill for literally decades and it is finally here. It really is a defining moment for the Reserve Defence Force. It is 60% below strength but I see that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: I thank the Minister again for that very useful update. Nobody knows better than the Minister the amount of induction training going on now in the Defence Forces at the recruit, apprentice, direct entry and cadet levels. The commissioned officers involved in those training institutions are working flat out. They are working day and night, night and day and on weekends. Unlike other...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: I appreciate that response from the Minister. I am conscious of the clock, but my final point is that the specialised instructors allowance was introduced as a result of the work of an independent commission, the Doyle commission, and subsequent reports in the late 2000s. It was brought in for the good reason of addressing issues of burn-out and exhaustion in the training institutions of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: 18. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his plans to reintroduce the specialised instructors' allowance for Defence Forces officers in view of the Public Sector Pay Commission’s report, the ever-increasing intensity of Defence Forces induction training, the associated long hours and onerous responsibility taken on by Defence Forces officers and the previous Doyle report...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: I wish to focus on the high-level implementation plan which is two years old next weekend and specifically on the specialised instructors allowance for commissioned officers. This allowance was payable up to 2012, when it was discontinued as a result of the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, cutbacks. The high-level implementation plan left open the possibility of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: 15. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the status of the nursing review in the Defence Forces; when it commenced; when it is likely to conclude; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34707/21]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: I wish to focus this question on the Army Nursing Service, specifically the review that I understand may have been ongoing for a short while. Will the Minister indicate when the review commenced and is likely to finish, and will he make a statement on the matter?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: I thank the Minister for that useful and helpful response. What can I say about the Army Nursing Service? It is a fantastic component of the Defence Forces, but I assume the Minister agrees that it is in decline. In its heyday a number of decades ago, there were approximately 100 nurses. Now, there are only three or four. That is a major pity because, over the past 15 months during...