Results 8,821-8,840 of 12,646 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Marine Accidents. (4 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 100 and 101 together. As I indicated to the House previously, the board of Coiste an Asgard decided in early December last to arrange a second underwater survey of Asgard II. Due to factors outside its control, it was not possible to arrange that survey until last week. However, due to adverse weather conditions, the survey could not be completed...

Marine Accidents. (4 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: Deputy O'Shea is correct. We did promise last December that there would be a second inspection. However, due to weather conditions, it was not possible to organise it until last week and even when it was organised the weather was so bad the normal type of inspection done in the first instance could not be done. Due to the appalling conditions, all that could be done was to take a sonar...

Marine Accidents. (4 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I have not made a final decision on that yet. The fact is that the Asgard is a very popular institution and it is true that it has been a great ambassador for Ireland. The other side of the story, however, is that the ship does not have any historic significance per se as it is only 30 years old. It is called the Asgard but does not have any connection with the original vessel. We must...

Marine Accidents. (4 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: Deputy O'Shea has posed three questions. First, no matter what happens we will need a replacement if we are to have a sail training season from May to September-October. On my instructions, the board of the Asgard is actively pursuing the question of a replacement. It has examined a number of possible replacement vessels with a view to leasing one for the season at least. I have asked the...

Marine Accidents. (4 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I would advise Deputy Deenihan not to take any interpretation from my tone. I am trying to remain neutral in this matter and am awaiting a report from the board. I will communicate with the Deputy as soon as I make a decision.

Marine Accidents. (4 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: One does not have a dog and bark oneself. We get advice from the board. I can only give a rough estimate of the salvage cost due to the way the system operates. When the salvage operation is commissioned, from the time they start mobilising, one is paying for it. Even if a salvage operation were to take place, our advice is to delay it for a while until the weather improves. There is no...

Marine Accidents. (4 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: We will see in due course. I know there are some objections to using the Jeanie Johnston. It has been suggested as a replacement vessel for the next sailing season with a view to using it as a permanent replacement for the Asgard. There have been a number of objections to that, however. I have asked the Department to give that realistic consideration. It may well be that the Jeanie...

Marine Accidents. (4 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: Yes. As I said to Deputy O'Shea, we will have something in the meantime, and the Jeanie Johnston is one of those options.

Defence Forces Representative Associations. (4 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The position is that under the terms of the Defence (Amendment) Act 1990, the Defence Force representative associations are prohibited from being associated with, or affiliated to, any trade unions or any other body without the consent of the Minister. Accordingly, the representative associations, RACO and PDFORRA, cannot be affiliated to ICTU at present. A similar arrangement applies to...

Defence Forces Representative Associations. (4 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I appreciate what the Deputy has said. The difficulty to date is that it is felt to be inappropriate and that it might be a question of divided loyalties. For example, 2,000 members of the Defence Forces were recently trained to step into the prisons in the event of a threatened prison officer strike. It is felt there might be a conflict of interest in such a situation as they might be...

Defence Forces Representative Associations. (4 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: If the request comes to me again, I will consider it afresh. I could not see the change being made in isolation. In other words, I cannot see a situation whereby we would let the military avail of the facility while the Garda is prevented from doing so, because the reasons it is not regarded as appropriate for one organisation are the same reasons for the other. However, if the request...

Military Medical Services. (4 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: Military medical services and their facilities exist to maintain the health of the Defence Forces and to support them in operational and overseas activities. The focus of the military medical service is on primary care, occupational medicine, acute trauma management, preventative medical programmes and field medical training. A key issue in the provision of medical services to the Defence...

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

Willie O'Dea: The closure of barracks and the consolidation of the Defence Forces formations into a smaller number of locations is a key objective of the White Paper on Defence. While the decision was made in the context of realising savings in the Defence budget, the decision was not purely a financial one. The consolidation process is designed to facilitate collective training and improved training...

Written Answers — Public Order Offences: Public Order Offences (3 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: I have not had recent discussions with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on this matter.

Written Answers — Irish Language: Irish Language (3 Feb 2009)

Willie O'Dea: Since the introduction of the Official Languages Act 2003, my Department has spent a total of €34,394.54 in translation costs, required for implementing its provisions. As the printing costs for documents are not disaggregated into English language and Irish language costs, the specific costs of the Irish language element are unavailable. Year Translation Costs € 2003 1,798.48 2004...

Written Answers — Naval Service Vessels: Naval Service Vessels (29 Jan 2009)

Willie O'Dea: No final decision in relation to the salvage of Asgard II has been made. However, I will make my decision following consultation with the board of Coiste an Asgard. I can assure the Deputy that a decision is imminent.

Written Answers — Defence Forces Properties: Defence Forces Properties (29 Jan 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The property in question is surplus to military requirements and consideration is being given to its disposal. In this connection, Department officials met with the stakeholders in December 2008 to ascertain if they would have an interest in acquiring the portion of the property that they currently occupy. The matter remains under consideration in my Department with a view to making a...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (28 Jan 2009)

Willie O'Dea: In relation to publications for 2008 the information sought by the Deputy is detailed in the following table. Publication Cost Postage â'¬ â'¬ Defence Forces OmbudsmanAnnual Report 18,035.00 3,300.00 Department of Defence Annual Report 8,159.02 Nil Civil Defence Board Annual Report 6,181.00 Nil Office of Emergency Planning Annual Report 300.00 Nil Defence Forces Reports 5,493.33...

Written Answers — Ministerial Staff: Ministerial Staff (28 Jan 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The information regarding staff members appointed by me in 2007 post election and in 2008 is set out in the following table. Staff Members Appointments Name Derek Mooney Title Special Adviser / Political Adviser Duties To provide relevant advice to the Minister as necessary Dates of Appointment 14 June, 2007; 7 May, 2008 Salary Scale 1 June 2007 €82,016 – €101,446 Salary Scale 1...

The Economy: Statements (Resumed) (28 Jan 2009)

Willie O'Dea: The global economy is facing its most grim and uncertain outlook for a long time. As a direct result, Ireland is now confronted with a wide range of unprecedented difficulties on a budgetary and economic front. The Irish economy has several distinctive and unique features. It is an exceptionally open economy. We do not have a sufficiently large domestic market to consume the goods and...