Results 9,681-9,700 of 12,646 for speaker:Willie O'Dea
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: Yes. That has all been taken into account.
- Order of Business (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: Deputy Kenny never gets it right.
- Departmental Staff. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: Is there no end to Deputy Kenny's talents?
- Departmental Staff. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: It did not do Dick Spring much good when he had a clatter of them.
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 107 and 108 together. The European Union military mission to Chad and the Central African Republic is being mounted in response to a direct request from the United Nations Security Council. This is the most widely supported military operation conducted in Africa by the EU. France will be making a sizeable contribution to the EU force of 3,700. However,...
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: I take all threats seriously. As I noted in my initial reply, there always will be a certain element of danger. This is a Chapter VII operation and is similar to any operation in a troubled African country such as, for example, Liberia, where great fears were expressed in advance of the mission but which ultimately worked out very well. This statement was made by a representative of one...
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: That is precisely the point. There will be no circumstances in which there will be no element of danger. We are entering a very troubled African country in a more or less constant state of rebellion. The rebellion is supported by Chad's powerful neighbour, Sudan, whose regime is in turn supported by the Government of China. There are constant efforts to disrupt the political system in...
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: There are other rebel groups but I do not believe they would be as capable of mounting similar operations. They are more like bandit groups. They operate opportunistically, join together and dissipate fairly quickly. On Deputy Deenihan's question, my information is that the rebels who attacked N'Djamena will not be in a position to make a comeback until the end of the rainy season....
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: The proposed deployment of a Defence Forces contingent to the UN-mandated EU operation in the Republic of Chad and the Central African Republic will be the most expensive operation on which the Defence Forces have ever been deployed. As the House will be aware, Chad is landlocked and nearly 2,000 km from the nearest port facility. There are few, if any, roads and little infrastructure over...
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: No. Deployment of the initial entry force will cost â¬3.8 million, the initial deployment of the main contingent will cost â¬10 million, rotation flights will cost â¬2.4 million and re-supply flights will cost â¬3.4 million.
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: I stated that, of the total of â¬20 million, â¬2.4 million will be spent on rotation flights.
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: Absolutely. I assure the Deputyââ
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: It is not built into that cost but the Deputy can be assured that three Role 2 medical facilities are being provided and they will include Medevac facilities, both air and ground facilities, to take people to hospital as necessary. There will also be facilities to fly people outside the Sudan if necessary.
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: No particular group making up the multinational force has dedicated helicopter capability. The area is divided into a number of zones. The capabilities are provided centrally and they will be available equally to all the participants in the mission.
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: You appear to have forgotten that I am not the commander of the force. The force commander and his staff organise all the details.
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: They tell me they are satisfied that all arrangements that can be made to make the mission as safe as possible have been made.
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: If other Deputies ask me questions, I would like to respond to them.
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: I note Deputy Deasy had a statement in a newspaper this morning about that. Somebody brought the matter to the attention of Deputy Deasy and instead of bringing it to our attention, he brought it to the attention of The Irish Times. That is not a responsible way to carry on when people are worried about their relatives in Chad. It is irresponsible and headline grabbing.
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: I am not the commanderââ
- Overseas Missions. (19 Feb 2008)
Willie O'Dea: Yes.