Results 8,861-8,880 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 35 – Army Pensions (Supplementary) (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: I do not have an overall figure but if one takes the annual pension paid to an individual compared with what he or she would have received if he or she was still in the Defence Forces, there is a saving of approximately €17,000 per individual per annum. That is based on a comparison between an annualised pension payment and an annualised salary payment. It is not pure salary because,...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 35 – Army Pensions (Supplementary) (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: Yes, effectively.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 35 – Army Pensions (Supplementary) (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: That is a recommendation that would come to the Minister from the military. There can be reasons as to why someone’s service should be terminated. As the Deputy can see, that provision affected three people. Disciplinary, health or other issues could arise in that context.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 35 – Army Pensions (Supplementary) (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: Not in those circumstances. If there is a recommendation from the military that, for example, it is inappropriate for someone who has undergone a disciplinary process to remain in the military, he or she is not going to receive additional compensation for service being terminated. Fortunately it only affects a small number of individuals.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 35 – Army Pensions (Supplementary) (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: Generally there are no added years as I understand the matter.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 35 – Army Pensions (Supplementary) (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: I thank the Chairman and members for their co-operation in dealing with this issue and I look forward to reverting to them on other defence matters during Question Time later today by way of a break from dealing with the Personal Insolvency Bill.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 35 – Army Pensions (Supplementary) (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: I thank the select committee for the opportunity to present for its consideration the 2012 Supplementary Estimate for Vote 35, Army pensions, which is for a net sum of €30 million. I also thank the committee for agreeing to meet at 10 a.m. rather than 9.30 a.m. as I had another meeting in which to participate. The 2012 Estimate provided for a net sum of €207.9 million. Net...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 35 – Army Pensions (Supplementary) (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: Yes. Far more retired than was anticipated, especially in the period from January to February 2012. They did so because of the advantages in the pension that would accrue to them. After that had occurred we had to assess the impact on the Permanent Defence Force and make arrangements for recruitment which we advertised in June. When one advertises, there is a lead-in period. I may be...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 35 – Army Pensions (Supplementary) (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: We should be close to 9,500 by the time we get to the end of the year. That is our objective. In the middle of this process we are implementing a reorganisation programme. As there will be Dáil questions on that issue this afternoon, I will not go into it here. In the context of the Estimates process we are engaged with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Estimates for Public Services 2012
Vote 35 – Army Pensions (Supplementary) (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: That is a series of questions to which I have answers which I will gladly give to the Deputy. However, I will consult the statistics because I do not wish to do it from memory in case I give the wrong statistics. A total of 21 years is normally the length of service required to be on full pension. The retirement age is normally 50 years for those who joined post-2004. We have a...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: EU Battlegroups (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: Ireland is currently participating in the Austro-German led Battlegroup, which will be on stand-by until 31 December 2012. In 2010, the then Government approved Ireland’s participation in this Battlegroup. The other members of the Austro-German Battlegroup are Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Our contribution is a...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: White Paper on Defence (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: The White Paper on Defence has provided the policy framework and development strategy for Defence since 2000. The planning certainty arising from the policy provisions of the current White Paper underpinned the modernisation process within the Defence Organisation. It also afforded the requisite flexibility to develop appropriate capabilities in response to changes in the defence and security...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Overseas Missions (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12, 32 and 168 together. Ireland has offered, through the United Nations Stand-by Arrangements System (UNSAS), to provide up to 850 military personnel for overseas service at any one time. This demonstrates Ireland’s commitment to the cause of international peace. This is the maximum sustainable commitment that Ireland can make to overseas peacekeeping...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Ombudsman (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 31 together. The primary role of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces, which is provided for in the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Act 2004, is to provide an independent appeals process for members of the Defence Forces. Such appeals arise where a complaint has been processed through the internal Defence Forces “Redress of Wrongs” process...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Expenditure (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: The depth and gravity of the current economic difficulties means that all areas of the public sector must deliver greater efficiencies and operate within a reduced resource envelope. All elements of Defence expenditure have been critically reviewed in order to deliver the required savings. Some of the measures to reduce costs in the past three years have included reductions in the number...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Strength (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: The involvement of the Defence Forces in responding to emergencies or security issues arises from requests for assistance from An Garda Síochána (as aid to the civil power) or from other agencies of the State (as aid to civil authority). In relation to security, primary responsibility for the maintenance of law and order rests with An Garda Síochána. However, one of the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Reorganisation (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17, 23, 25, 35, 164 and 165 together. The current reorganisation of the Defence Forces was in response to the Government decision to stabilise the strength of the Permanent Defence Force at 9,500 personnel. At this revised strength ceiling, the existing organisational structures that had been in place for a strength ceiling of 11,500 personnel were no longer...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: European Council Meetings (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: During each European Union Presidency both formal and informal meetings of Defence Ministers are held. There is no separate Defence Ministers’ Council within the EU Council of Ministers. However, twice a year - once during each Presidency - Defence Ministers attend the formal Foreign Affairs Council. These Council meetings are held in Brussels or Luxembourg at the invitation of the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Reserve (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: I am not in a position at the present time to outline what financial supports will be available to members of the Reserve into the future. You will appreciate that although the Value for Money Review of the Reserve Defence Force has been submitted to me, the responses to the recommendations contained in that report are currently being developed. Until this process has been finalised, it would...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Allowances (7 Nov 2012)

Alan Shatter: As the Deputy is aware the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has already undertaken a review of allowances and premium payments across the public sector and proposals were brought to Government for decision. Further to this, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform published the results of this review of allowances and the outcome of the Government decision on its website at...