Results 9,081-9,100 of 50,136 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I know.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I know. I have only been Minister for two months.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: That is my view and I will be in negotiations with the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on this issue.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy was asking whether there was a pause. There is no pause. This is the reality of where we are. In other words, the historic position has been that there was mandatory retirement, people retired early. My own view is that demographically, the world has changed. I have to have due respect for my own negotiating processes with my colleagues in government. The point I am trying to...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I refer the Deputy to my earlier comments. On the recruitment side there are two issues. The more immediate one is retention. Retention is one of the key areas, as Deputy Berry has said, that could give us an immediate dividend of holding onto people and reducing the exit from the Defence Forces more generally. While we did recruit last year we lost nearly double the number of people we...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: It is part of an ongoing process of engagement between the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and me. I cannot unilaterally make decisions, as the Deputy will appreciate

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: That is not the only issue. There is a range of issues I have to engage with now, around retention in particular. I envisage looking at all of those in a one-set approach. What tends to happen here is, over the years, all these issues get into a sort of engagement, either conciliation and arbitration, or a kind of a big ping-pong, an ongoing discussion between the Departments of Public...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I do not have that figure with me. However, right now some people are saying it could be seven to ten people who literally have weeks to go or will be leaving in a short time if something doesn't happen.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: No one has alerted me to the pausing of apprenticeships but yes, I will come back to the Deputy on it.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: "Sacking" is a terrible word, Deputy.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: That is a fair point by the Deputy and I will follow that up.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: The point is well made.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: That is a very good point.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I will certainly follow up on that point with regard to the Reserve Defence Force. I do not have an issue with that. I would have thought it was fairly obvious. Much of this has to do with the prioritisation of the Reserve Defence Force and seeing it as a real objective component part of what we are about in the 21st century. Where there is a will there is a way. It would seem to be a...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputies for their constructive engagement and I appreciate what the Chair said with regard to everybody here having one objective, which is to advance and support the transformation and modernisation of our Defence Forces.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I welcome this opportunity to present the 2023 Revised Estimates for the Foreign Affairs group of Votes, comprising Vote 27 - International Co-operation and Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs. I ask members to allow me to repeat our sincere sympathies to all affected by the earthquakes last week in Türkiye and Syria, including employees of the Irish aid agency Goal, and our recognition of all...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: It was, yes.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: Search and rescue-----

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I will come back to the Deputy, but there is no search and rescue expertise within that Rapid Response Corps. However, personnel within the Rapid Response Corps could yet be deployed for different tasks.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 27 - International Co-operation (Revised)
Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs (Revised) (14 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate the concerns that all members have raised and sympathies that have been extended to the people of Türkiye and Syria in respect of the shocking earthquake and the impact of it, the appalling loss of life and the destruction of societies and communities within a very broad geographic area. To Ireland's credit, we have been one of the stronger contributors to the UN Central...