Results 6,641-6,660 of 17,012 for speaker:Paul Kehoe

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I will not get into it now if we will be returning to the committee about it. The submission on pilots was sent last April. I expect it-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: What the pay commission had sought from us was a data based submission in which we gave it all of the statistics, trends and so forth. It is not up to us to make recommendations. It is up to the pay commission to make recommendations to the Government. Of course, the interface and dialogue are ongoing with the pay commission, the Department and the military. Why would one have a pay...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: My officials tell me that we included in the submission the pilot retention scheme that was also in place.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: We included what was in place.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: Not a recommendation. We included what was in place.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: No. In the submission we made to the pay commission on pilot retention we looked at a number of measures that were in place. It is up to the pay commission to recommend.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: After we submitted the submission on pilots the Public Service Pay Commission came back to us looking for data-based evidence for the wider Defence Forces organisation. That is what we put to it. It looked for data-based evidence and trends, which is what we gave it. Deputy Jack Chambers spoke about trends in recruitment. With regard to general service recruitment, in 2002, 2,750 people...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I have given them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I am sorry-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: In reply to the Deputy in the Dáil a number of weeks ago I said we had challenges. We are going through the process with the Public Service Pay Commission. Adjudications are happening. If fixing pay was within my remit, it would have been fixed long ago, but it is not within my remit. It is the responsibility of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. We have highlighted...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I do not know, but I expect that that is when it will be due. The commission has stated it requires a number of months to do its work. It is working in the area of health. There is an interface-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: No, it has not reported fully on it. It is interfacing with the Defence Forces. I want to give it time and space to do its work and go through the process. I expect that it will be quarter 1 of 2019 before we have it. If it is earlier, great.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I have received a number of reviews and recommendations. My Department and I are working on them, with senior military management.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: Will the Deputy give me a few examples?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: We are coming to the committee. I would call it an ongoing review.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: There are 80 projects involved in respect of Defence Forces military management. A Defence Forces team and a civil team are looking after all of the projects included in the White Paper. Of course, there is an ongoing review of all of the projects that are happening. Will the Deputy give me other examples? The White Paper will be brought before the committee. I have written to it in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: It is occurring within the process of recruitment. We are not going to say we are going to fix this and not change it for the next five years. Of course, we will review our practices and processes. I would be very critical of the organisation if it was not doing so.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: First, I will deal with the formal decision making process. It is also important to have an informal discussion beforehand because when I go to these meetings I arrive on the evening before and I am gone by around two or three o'clock the next day. It is really important to have informal discussions around decisions that will be made at the formal meetings. Of course I discuss the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I will not divulge any conversations I had in a private capacity with anybody.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council – Defence, and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Defence (18 Oct 2018)

Paul Kehoe: Deputy Barrett is a former Minister, and he fully understands that when one is competing in a troubled economy one of the areas hit hardest in the public sector is the Defence Forces. Looking at trends over the years, it is clear that that has always been the case. We have to prioritise what we can and cannot do, but the important thing is that it is done in a very safe environment and in a...