Results 8,521-8,540 of 51,889 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Cathaoirleach said that the experience with the representative association was not a pleasant one.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: A comprehensive written update on all 38 early actions was published on 23 March last. This included a detailed status update, in tabular form, for each of the 38 early actions and outlined what had been achieved. That was fully transparent and was made available publicly. We said that 95% of the early actions had been completed. There is a difference between the 38 early actions and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: Well it is 95% of 38, I was just making a point. That was the level of detail published on 23 March because the high-level action plan identified 38 early actions. Parallel to this, it provided the necessary building blocks to develop a detailed implementation plan and the establishment of the oversight group. I have no difficulty with the committee having an oversight role and access to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: I want to finish my contribution and then the Senator can contribute. It is not acceptable that I be interrupted in this way. I know people coming out of college and what they are getting. This is a good thing because we want to attract people into the Defence Forces. It needs to be acknowledged that these pay increases have improved matters again. We need to do more. Recently,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: -----the manifestation of the physical investment that has happened over the last while , and continues to happen. There are 120 capital projects under way in respect of our Defence Forces. That is open; people can see it. I have no difficulty with the committee meeting people in every barracks who will outline for the members the capital projects that are either at design stage or other...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: It is a question of industrial relations. To be fair to the representative bodies, they have legitimate issues. We will have to engage with them further.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy asked about the IRG terms of reference.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: There are 30 who will be going into a class next week. Approximately every two years there is a new class of non-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: They are going on a course to become officers, yes. I think that is biannual. I can check that for the Deputy and get the precise details, but there is progression.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: Yes. The other point is that there are figures for length of experience and previous tours and so on. Quite a number with experience of previous tours are on the current UNIFIL and UNDOF missions. I normally have those figures when I am seeing them off. I was with Senator Wilson recently. I hope he does not mind me saying that his son is serving. Ordinarily in the speech we outline the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: Is the Deputy asking about this year's budget?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: When was this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: When was the article written?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: Of 2023.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: He was talking about 2022, was it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: So that is the budget from October 2022.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: This was during my arrival but I was informed. As the ceiling of 9,500 was not being achieved, the perspective of the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform was that the current budget should go to fund the existing numbers. If that was to be exceeded, it could be funded up to the ceiling of 9,500. In 2023 the Department was funded for 8,600. Prior...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: Yes, as capital.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: We are trying to regularise. We want to get capital to be more straightforward.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: That was part of budget negotiations of 2022 and into 2023, which came in in December. It is as I said. I am told the money was used to go into capital. I think that has been publicly stated.