Results 7,841-7,860 of 17,012 for speaker:Paul Kehoe

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Retirement Scheme (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: Military life places unique physical and psychological demands on individuals. It is necessary that members of the Defence Forces are physically and mentally capable of meeting the challenges of all military operations and to undertake duties on deployments at home and overseas.  To this end, it is vital that the age and health profile of personnel be such as to ensure that operational...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Retirement Scheme (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: I thank the Deputy. At the recent Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, conference, similar concerns to those the Deputy has raised were raised with me in speeches by the president and the general secretary and also in a private capacity in one of the meetings I had with members of RACO. I took their concerns on board. I spoke to the Minister for Public Expenditure and...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service Vessels (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: The White Paper on Defence underpins the ongoing replacement of the Naval Service fleet. In this regard, in the absence of a mid-life upgrade, naval vessels have a planned life expectancy of 20 to 25 years. The three ships most recently decommissioned by the Naval Service were LÉ Emer, commissioned in 1978, LÉ Aoife, commissioned in 1979 and LÉ Aisling, commissioned in 1980....

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Retirements (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: Given the unique and demanding nature of military life, there is understandably a relatively high level of turnover among Defence Forces personnel. However, this is not new and the Defence Forces have always had a level of turnover that far exceeds other are a s of the public service. Voluntary exit interviews of personnel of all ranks conducted by the Defence Forces indicate that the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Remuneration (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: The Conciliation and Arbitration scheme for members of the Permanent Defence Force provides a formal mechanism for the Permanent Defence Force Representative Associations, that is PDFORRA and RACO, to engage with the Official side. Having regard to commitments made under pay agreements, members of the Permanent Defence Force can make representations in relation to their pay and conditions...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Legislative Programme (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: A case was brought to the European Committee of Social Rights by EUROCOP, on behalf of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors. EUROMIL, a European umbrella body for military associations, made a similar complaint to the Committee on behalf of PDFORRA about the lack of union rights for military Representative Associations in Ireland. PDFORRA are claiming most of the same violations...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Medicinal Products (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: As I stated in my reply to the Private Members’ Motion, which was before the Dáil on 28 June, fundamentally the use of anti-malarial drugs is a medical matter that should be decided by qualified medical professionals. In the Defence Forces these are decisions for highly qualified Medical Officers having regard to the specific circumstances of the mission and the individual member...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Equipment (12 Dec 2017)

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. Within the Naval Service, examples of this include the acquisition of new ships under the ship replacement...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Reports (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: I can confirm to the Deputy that my attention has been drawn to the Chemical Exposure Report 1994 to 2005. As I outlined to the Deputy in my reply to Parliamentary Question number 547 of 26 September 2017, the report was undertaken in the context of ongoing legal proceedings. As the report is subject to legal privilege, it was not appropriate to make it available to the independent...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Permanent Structured Co-operation (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: As the Deputy is aware PESCO is a mechanism provided for in the Treaty of the European Union to enable participating member States to come together and, on a project by project basis, jointly develop military crisis management capabilities for use in support of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operations and missions in support of international peace and security. ...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: I can assure the Deputy that the health and welfare of the men and women of the Defence Forces is a high priority for me. The Defence Forces is fully aware of the importance of attention to mental health. Mental health services are part of the range of medical and non-medical services provided so as to ensure that Defence Forces personnel are medically fit to undertake the duties assigned to...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Overseas Missions (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: The EU Common Security and Defence Policy naval operation EUNAVFOR MED (Operation Sophia), against human smugglers and traffickers, is one element of a comprehensive approach to addressing the migration crisis in the South Central Mediterranean. Operation Sophia was launched in June 2015 as part of the EU’s broader action to provide a comprehensive response to the global migration and...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Permanent Structured Co-operation (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: Following the completion of national requirements, Ireland yesterday joined the other 24 EU partners in collectively launching PESCO at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels In relation to the target of 2% of total defence spending on defence research and technology, this is a collective benchmark and applies to the combined expenditure of all PESCO participating member States. The...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Strength (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: Given the unique and demanding nature of military life, there is, understandably, a relatively high turnover of personnel in the Defence Forces on an annual basis. A certain level of turnover is desirable as a human resource and organisational objective, in order to maintain an appropriate age profile across the Defence Forces and to retain an approach to regular revitalisation. However, it...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Data (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: The Organisation of National Ex-Service Personnel (O.N.E.) is an organisation dedicated to looking after the welfare of ex-service personnel of the Irish Defence Forces. It provides accommodation to homeless, elderly or disabled members in need of such domestic accommodation and shelter as well as other assistance and advice as required. O.N.E. has accommodation in Smithfield, Dublin...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: The Defence Forces Climate Survey was commissioned on foot of a recommendation contained in the third and most recent Report of the Independent Monitoring Group (IMG) which was established to oversee the implementation of recommendations relating to harassment, bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment within the Defence Forces. Follow up work to the initial findings in the Survey...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Reserve Strength (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: The White Paper on Defence confirms that the primary role of the Reserve is to augment the Permanent Defence Force in times of crisis. In non-crisis situations, the main focus will be on training to prepare for this role. The Government has also assigned a formal role to the Reserve of contributing to state ceremonial events. The Government appreciates the service of the members of the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: At the outset, let me state that housing and homelessness remains the Government’s number one priority. The issue of housing and homelessness is a matter in the first instance for the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government. My colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government, confirmed last week (6 December 2017) that the Government has...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Ministerial Meetings (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: I wish to begin by extending my thanks to the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO) for their invitation to attend and address their biennial conference and for making the necessary arrangements. I have met with officials from RACO a number of times this year and am aware of the various matters which are currently concerning their members. The conference afforded...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Permanent Structured Co-operation (12 Dec 2017)

Paul Kehoe: As the Deputy is aware, the EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy was published in June 2016. The strategy sets the context and provides a guiding framework for the Union’s external action under the Common Foreign and Security Policy. The Strategy also identifies key security challenges facing the European Union within its neighbourhood and beyond, and commits to a global...