Results 7,221-7,240 of 17,012 for speaker:Paul Kehoe

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: Whatever is in the UL study is being addressed. A military team has been set aside and projects have been set up to address all the issues in the UL study. Regarding the duty allowance, a PDFORRA claim has been submitted through the conciliation and arbitration process. We are going through a review of conciliation and arbitration at present. I have spoken to the Minister, Deputy...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I will get the Deputy a full update on it and have it addressed directly to him. Regarding the gap analysis, I said earlier that there is a project that was in the 2015 White Paper. I have brought forward that project and a military and civil team will be working on it shortly. Now that we are dealing with the Public Service Pay Commission, the team has identified a number of the gaps in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: Absolutely. Our policy direction for the next ten years is in the White Paper on Defence 2015, and that is what we base all our decisions on. If this is to be changed, that is not a matter for me; it will be a matter for the Dáil and the people of Ireland. I think that covers-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: On the detention centres?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: On the question on Operation Sophia, Deputy Ó Snodaigh will know that picking up and rescuing migrants is one thing in which members of the Naval Service are involved, but they are also involved in gathering information on oil smuggling, patrols for illegal arms trafficking and monitoring the effectiveness of the Libyan coastguard and navy. I am due to travel out to the headquarters of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: Any migrants the Irish Naval Service picked up were brought to the Italian coast, a safe haven, and we do not return any of them to the Libyan coastguard or to the Libyan navy. We might transfer some migrants to other naval vessels involved in Operation Sophia and they then transport them. If another country picks up 500 migrants and we pick up 100, instead of two ships travelling it makes...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: Yes, I know.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: That is okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I accept the comments made by the Deputy. I know that the Chairman and all of the members of this committee greatly appreciate the work that has been done by Major General Beary. A question was asked about how many members of the Irish Defence Forces served in Afghanistan. I understand that there were seven members and only one of them came from the Army Ranger Wing. That is a situation...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: No. I hope the Deputy will understand that the submission contains sensitive material such as evidence-based data. For security reasons, I do not want to hand over some of the submissions. Deputy Grealish mentioned the conciliation and arbitration scheme and I can confirm that there is a backlog. In 2016, when I was appointed to this office, one of the first areas that I was briefed on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I await the report.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: Yes. Once the report is presented to me, I will place it in the public domain.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: Yes. I will come back to the Deputy about the matter. Off the top of my head, I have not got that information. The officials-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I have not got the information here, but I will contact the Deputy. I want a process that will deal with the issue instead of trying to tackle a backlog which leaves people frustrated. I understand where the Deputy is coming from. Members of the Defence Forces and people from the representative associations have approached me and informed me that they are frustrated by the fact that there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I hope that Mr. Gerard Barry will submit his report to me by the end of June or in July. I do not mind giving extra time as long as there is full agreement on all sides. I know that officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform are part of the conciliation and arbitration review group.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I will address the Deputy's last comment first. It is a matter for the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I will not enter onto his ground. As Deputy Barrett knows, one can get one's wings clipped very quickly if one encroaches on another Minister's area. I agree 100% with Deputy Barrett that the role of the Defence Forces is changing rapidly. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: I was going to suggest that the committee consider inviting the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to talk about Brexit. The policy side of Brexit is a matter for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of the Taoiseach. I understand what Deputy Barrett is saying. Absolutely, there might be Border issues, and we are very aware of that. It is the reason a senior official in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: It is probably up to the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to give an address to the committee on Brexit. That is up to the Chairman and the members of the committee. On Ireland and the role of the peacekeepers, I have addressed this in replying to the other contributors who asked questions on the same issue. As a former Minister, Deputy Barrett was honoured and privileged to see our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: The Taoiseach has raised this previously.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council: Defence and Related Matters (26 Apr 2018)

Paul Kehoe: The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has also raised it. We have not raised it in isolation. Our European counterparts have raised the issue as well and it has been raised at European Council level. I will continue to raise the Deputy's concerns. On her other concerns, I will refer back to the Deputy after my visit to the headquarters of Operation Sophia and give her a full update....