Results 8,641-8,660 of 12,596 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Defence Forces Operations. (10 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The primary responsibility for the maintenance of law and order rests with An Garda Síochána. The Defence Forces, pursuant to their role of rendering aid to the civil power, ATCP, assist the Garda as required. Requests for aid to the civil power are normally made by a member of An Garda Síochána not below the rank of Inspector. The explosive ordnance disposal, EOD, team responds when a...

Defence Forces Operations. (10 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: Not to put too fine a point on it, I agree with Deputy O'Shea that the recent trend has been quite alarming. In 2006, there were 101 call-outs, eight of which were hoaxes. The figures for 2007 were 98 and 11, respectively. In 2008, there were 180 call-outs, 58 of which turned out to be hoaxes. I have the up-to-date figures to 5 March. There were 32 call-outs, which seems to be a repeat...

Defence Forces Operations. (10 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I agree with Deputy O'Shea that there seems to be a pattern emerging. I have spoken about the matter on a number of occasions with my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and I will discuss it with him again on foot of this discussion. I do not have the information about arrests, apprehensions and prosecutions but I will ascertain it and let Deputy O'Shea know.

Constitutional Amendments. (10 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The Lisbon treaty will have no impact on the organisation, structure or roles of the Defence Forces. National security will continue to remain the sole responsibility of each member state. In addition, the treaty will not have any impact on Ireland's traditional policy of military neutrality. Any decision by Ireland to participate in EU-led military crisis management operations will be for...

Constitutional Amendments. (10 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I accept Deputy Deenihan's point. People were led to believe, and some people unfortunately did believe, during the recent referendum campaign that no sooner would the ink be dry on the Lisbon treaty if it was passed than a press gang would arrive in the early hours of the morning to conscript everybody's sons and daughters from one end of the country to the other into a non-existent...

Constitutional Amendments. (10 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: Yes. Unfortunately, too many people believed it.

Constitutional Amendments. (10 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: There is nothing whatsoever in the Lisbon treaty which facilitates, enables or compels the establishment of a European army and since the Lisbon treaty does not provide for any European army, there is nothing to be conscripted into. That is the reality of it. Regarding Deputy Deenihan's question on the need for a protocol, we have tried to make the issue as clear as possible and we will do...

Constitutional Amendments. (10 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I am only too delighted to give Deputy O'Shea that absolute assurance. The triple lock mechanism has to be complied with before this country engages in any foreign peacekeeping operation. That is the situation now and it will be the situation if the Lisbon treaty is passed. There will be no change.

Defence Forces Reserve. (10 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 57 together. In line with the provisions of the Defence Forces Reserve review implementation plan, it is hoped that a small number of reservists will be able to undertake overseas service in late 2009. The organisational changes, enhancements to clothing, equipment, training and the piloting of the integrated reserve, all delivered as part of the...

Defence Forces Reserve. (10 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: It is planned to send 12 people on an initial pilot scheme. They will be recruited temporarily into the Permanent Defence Forces, PDF, to enable the deployment to take place, because the legislation provides that only members of the PDF can be sent overseas. When we are drafting legislation to allow members of the Defence Forces Reserve to be sent overseas on a regular basis, rather than by...

Defence Forces Reserve. (10 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: First, to respond to a question asked by Deputy O'Shea, those sent will be specialists, such as mechanics, IT people and engineers, etc. These are the types of people we are targeting. With regard to Deputy Deenihan's question on whether we will have legislation along the lines of the UK legislation, I imagine that will be factored in when the legislation is drafted. We must provide for...

Defence Forces Reserve. (10 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I do not know. The position is we have the regular Defence Force and the reserve. What we are doing here is allowing members of the reserve, for the first time ever, to serve overseas. This is a significant development. We are not short of applicants for the recruitment campaign to the Permanent Defence Forces, with approximately five applicants for every position. The campaign is...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Recruitment: Defence Forces Recruitment (5 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The following tables indicate the establishment against the strength by ranks in the Reserve Defence Force as of 31 Jan 09. Non-integrated (Army Reserve) Establishment Non-integrated Army Reserve Lt Col Comdt Capt Lt 2/Lt Total Offr SM BQ CS CQ Sgt Cpl Total NCOs Pte Grand Total 3 130 274 277 0 684 18 18 106 133 838 1,723 2,836 5,772 9,292 Total RD Strength (31 Jan 09) 4 101 225 231...

Written Answers — Asgard II Salvage: Asgard II Salvage (4 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I have already outlined my reasons for accepting the unanimous recommendation of the board of Coiste an Asgard not to proceed with the salvage of Asgard II. The main reason for that decision was that I considered that the risks were too great to commit to spending a sum in the region of €2 million at this time on a salvage effort where the outcome is uncertain. I also had to consider the...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Strength: Defence Forces Strength (3 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: A detailed breakdown of the strength by rank and gender of the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps are in the form of a Tabular Statement. The Government is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for men and women throughout the Defence Forces and to the full participation by women in all aspects of Defence Forces activities. Female strength in the Permanent Defence Force has increased...

Written Answers — Ministerial Appointments: Ministerial Appointments (3 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: Boards of agencies under the aegis of my Department are the Board of Coiste an Asgard, the Civil Defence Board and the Army Pensions Board. None of the board members appointed by me are directors or senior executives of banks or other financial institutions.

Written Answers — Naval Service Vessels: Naval Service Vessels (3 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 329 and 330 together. When I announced my acceptance of the Board of Coiste an Asgard's unanimous recommendation that a salvage operation should not be pursued, I stated that I had been impressed by the expressions of support for Asgard II and indicated that I am open to considering any realistic and funded proposals from private individuals or groups as to...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Property: Defence Forces Property (3 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: It is anticipated that Lifford and Rockhill Barracks will be disposed of, taking account of the market conditions, so as to maximise the return to the Defence Forces and generate funding for reinvestment in Defence Forces equipment and infrastructure in accordance with Government policy. Significant progress has been achieved over the past decade in re-equipping and developing Defence Forces...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (3 Mar 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The information requested by the Deputy is outlined in the following table. Year Name Purpose Cost Retainer € € Oct/Nov 2007 Cadden Communications To provide training for Civil Defence Officers in the area of Media Training. 26,680.00 Once off payment — no retainer paid. Nov 2008 Communications Clinic To provide specialist communications training for Assistant Defence Forces...

Written Answers — Defence Forces Equipment: Defence Forces Equipment (25 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: In general, tender competitions are conducted by my Department in accordance with the EU procurement guidelines. For procurements of defensive equipment in excess of €1million, the European Defence Agency (EDA) Code of Conduct on Defence Procurement is observed and competitions are advertised on the EDA Electronic Bulletin Board. Tender competitions are held in accordance with the EU Code...