Results 7,841-7,860 of 12,630 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: Yes, but some must be filled immediately while others must not.

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: The remaining ten promotions will be made in the coming months. It is always the practice in such a scenario to hold back a number of people for contingencies that may arise and those affected will be appointed in the next few months.

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: If the Deputy tells me he keeps in touch with the representative organisations, I accept that but that makes it all the more surprising he gets so much wrong.

Defence Forces Promotions. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: The number of promotions could be increased from 30. I appreciate the need to extend the acting up provisions and that is why I am in contact with the Department of Finance in this regard. I also accept that 50 promotions are not adequate but this is the first instalment and I expect further news on this shortly. With regard to the health and safety issues, the military authorities say the...

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: Promoting physical fitness and supporting the delivery of physical education in schools is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Education and Science. All physical education instructors within the Defence Forces are fully engaged in the training process. Furthermore, the robust physical fitness training programme applied to Defence Forces training is not comparable or suitable for...

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: I do not want to be disrespectful to the Deputy in my reply and he should not draw the conclusion that I am being disrespectful to him. He mentioned a strong tradition of military involvement in physical fitness but quite honestly I do not know of what he is speaking. He mentioned other countries-----

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: I have a precis of it.

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: The Deputy referred to other countries.

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: In Canada it involves the military going to a school for a few days in the year. In no country in the world does the military step in to assist in the work of PE teachers or to replace them. That is a fact.

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: The paper refers to the Defence Forces having a plethora of qualified personnel and a vast resource of equipment. We do not have a plethora of qualified personnel. I assure the Deputy that my advice and experience is that all of those providing physical fitness training in the army are fully taken up with the work they are supposed to do. It is misleading to state that there is "X" amount...

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: Deputy Deenihan should not be so sensitive.

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: I am told that all of those involved in this activity in the Army are working flat out and that all their time is taken up. With regard to making facilities such as gyms and PE halls available, this is done on a local basis. It is up to the local barracks that has the facilities. People make their own arrangements at local level and sometimes they tell us about them and sometimes they do...

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: They are two former Army officers and therefore they know the structure of the Army.

Physical Fitness Promotion. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: As Minister for Defence I hope I also know the structure. At a minimum I will ask my officials to meet them and hear what they have to say. If Deputy O'Shea requests me to do this I am prepared to do it.

Defence Forces Deployment. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: Emergency planning is developed on the "lead Department" principle. This means that each Department is responsible for planning for emergencies that fall within its area of responsibility. The framework for major emergency management sets out the structure enabling the principal response agencies, namely, the Garda Síochána, the Health Service Executive and local authorities, to prepare...

Defence Forces Deployment. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: When they are asked.

Defence Forces Deployment. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: In 2008, I brought a document to the Government which outlined what happens in the event of various emergencies, including a weather situation like that which we have just experienced. That document identified the lead Department in all cases. For example, if there was an oil spillage off the coast, the Department of the Marine would lead. If there was a terrorist attack, the Garda...

Defence Forces Deployment. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: The national framework is there. There is a framework for a local response. At any time, the local committee can get together and request the assistance of the Army or anybody else. Many such committees did not do so for reasons I do not know. It is ludicrous to talk about the Army being ready because they were involved in the flood crisis. The Army is an aid or back up when somebody...

Defence Forces Deployment. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: This is ludicrous. The Army has to be asked. It acts in response to a request. During the crisis, the HSE was not slow in asking the Army for help. It asked the Army for help from the first day of the frost to carry out air ambulance missions over and above what it had ordinarily been doing. The HSE approached the Army to transport palliative care nurses in south Galway. The HSE...

Defence Forces Deployment. (20 Jan 2010)

Willie O'Dea: As this weather spell went on longer than anybody would have anticipated, contrary to the forecasts, the local crisis involved more than just accessibility of roads and other issues came into play which made it appropriate for the national emergency response committee to convene a meeting. The committee met when it became appropriate to do so, and the Army was involved very heavily at that...