Results 6,281-6,300 of 17,012 for speaker:Paul Kehoe

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Contracts (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: It is like comparing apples and oranges. We said we would encourage those with expertise to return to the organisation. If a pilot who retires at 35 years and who has gone to the United Arab Emirates or elsewhere in the Middle East, or who has gone into the private sector for five years, wants to come back into the organisation and has something to offer, it would be acceptable. What is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Contracts (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: A number of issues have to be considered. The Deputy may compare the Defence Forces to defence forces in Australia and elsewhere but those countries have large military organisations that may be five, six or ten times the size of ours. One cannot compare other militaries to ours. I attended the PDFORRA conference in 2017. PDFORRA understands my views on this and where I would like to get...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Military Aircraft Landings (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: The Department of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána have primary responsibility for the internal security of the State. Among the roles assigned to the Defence Forces in the White Paper on Defence is the provision of aid to the civil power, which in practice means to assist An Garda Síochána when requested to do so. On each occasion that the support of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Military Aircraft Landings (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I am not aware that members of the Defence Forces were present. They were called out to provide aid to the civil power on the occasion but I do not have the details of the aircraft the Deputy is speaking about. She speculated on what was on board but the Defence Forces have no responsibility to search foreign military aircraft that land at Shannon Airport. This is a matter for An Garda...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Military Aircraft Landings (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: There is absolutely no question about our military neutrality. I am not sure whether the Deputy has raised this issue with the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Simon Coveney.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Personnel (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I assure the Deputy that this is an absolute priority for me, the Department and the Defence Forces. As stated, several legal cases are ongoing and I must be very careful in the language that I use. However, the current situation must be contextualised. Legal actions are pending in respect of the application of the working time directive in very specific circumstances. I note what the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Personnel (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I will return to the Deputy with timelines for the legislation. I will correspond with him over the next week or so. Considerable progress is being made, even if the representative associations might not see it like that. I assure the Deputy that a great deal of work is being done on the civil-military side. As stated, the military side is due to report to the Department on this shortly....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Personnel (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: It is a priority for both myself and the organisation, for the civil and military side.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Contracts (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: Military life places unique demands on individuals and it is necessary that Defence Forces personnel are prepared to meet the challenges of all military operations. To this end, it is vital the age and health profile of personnel be such as to ensure that operational capability and effectiveness are not compromised in any way. The age and fitness profile of members of the Permanent...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Contracts (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: At the conference in question, I stated that I had instructed civil and military management to develop a broad review of contracts for enlisted personnel within the Defence Forces. I advised that this would require careful consideration of the operational requirements of the Defence Forces and the personnel requirements to meet all of the requirements and needs of the organisation. A group...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I am not sure if the Deputy is aware of the report of the Public Service Pay Commission from May 2017. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, gave priority to both the health sector and the Defence Forces in the work of the commission. A joint submission has been made to the pay commission. The Deputy referred specifically to payscales. I will outline the average...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: First, there is a significant number of educational incentives within the Defence Forces. I will address Deputy Chambers's question first. We sent the joint submission to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in September or early October. I may be corrected on that. That is the body which submits it to the Public Service Pay Commission. The Department was looking for specific...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Personnel (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: As the Deputy will be aware, the Defence Forces are excluded from the provisions of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. The Government has committed to amend the Act to encompass the Defence Forces.  The uniqueness of certain military activities must be provided for in the regulatory framework, having regard to the specifics of the directive. Work is under way in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 4 together. Although I note that Deputy Harty is not present currently, I will answer his question. Similar to other sectors in the public service, the pay of Permanent Defence Force personnel was reduced as one of the measures to assist in stabilising the national finances during the financial crisis. Pay is being restored to members of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: Let me refer to what the Taoiseach stated in Mali. I am not sure whether the Deputy listened to the full interview. The Taoiseach agreed that there was an issue with pay in the Defence Forces and added that people did not join the Defence Forces just for the pay. He was right in saying that. Many people join the Defence Forces for the experiences they can get. They want to join from...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Remuneration (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 23 together. Similar to other sectors in the public service, the pay of Permanent Defence Force personnel was reduced as one of the measures to assist in stabilising national finances during the financial crisis. Pay is being restored to members of the Defence Forces and other public servants in accordance with public sector pay agreements. The...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Expenditure (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: With regard to defence spending, Government policy is defined within the parameters of our national budgetary process and role of Dáil Éireann. Within the EU, it is accepted that defence and security is a national competence, including national spending on defence and security. As part of our participation in PESCO, Ireland has committed to regularly increase our defence...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Deployment (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: As of 10 January 2019, Ireland is contributing 678 personnel to 9 different missions throughout the world and also to a range of international organisations and National representations. The UNIFIL mission in Lebanon continues to represent Ireland's largest and most well known overseas deployment with 460 personnel. Until recently, Irish troops served as part of a joint Irish-Finnish...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Strength (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 19 together. The Government remains committed to achieving the strength target of at least 9,500 personnel for the Permanent Defence Force (PDF). There are a number of factors, some of which are hard to predict, which will impact on the timeframe within which this will be achieved. As at 31 December 2018, the most current figures provided by the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service Operations (17 Jan 2019)

Paul Kehoe: My priority as Minister with Responsibility for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service, is maintained to the greatest extent possible so as to enable the Defence Forces to carry out their roles as assigned by Government. As the Deputy will be aware, the Naval Service is the State's principal sea-going agency tasked with a variety...