Results 9,961-9,980 of 12,646 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Written Answers — Defence Forces Retirement Scheme: Defence Forces Retirement Scheme (29 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I have been advised by the military authorities that an appeal has been made to the relevant military authority in this matter on the 21 November 2007 and, as a consequence, it would not be appropriate for me to comment at this stage. The minimum service required for a Private to qualify for a pension under the Defence Forces Pensions Scheme is 21 years, or 12 years if discharged "Below...

Written Answers — Commemorative Events: Commemorative Events (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: As the Deputy is aware, I propose to re-establish the All Party Oireachtas Consultation Group which was originally set up last year to offer advice on the scope and content of a 1916 centenary commemoration programme. I will be writing to Party Leaders, shortly, to ask them to nominate spokespersons to the Group. I intend to convene a meeting of the Group early in 2008. The Group will be...

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: We do not have sufficient air assets or medical facilities and we need substantial assistance in these areas. I appeal again to our European partners in this regard. The whole future of European security and defence is at stake. The credibility of the EU's involvement in peacekeeping missions is at stake if we cannot launch this mission as soon as possible. If our partners do not step up...

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I thank the various speakers for their constructive and helpful contributions today. Many points have been raised but time does not permit me to deal with them all. Will the House grant me a few minutes over and above the ten minutes allocated to conclude?

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I wish to deal with the main points that were raised by Members, including Deputies Deenihan, O'Shea, Michael D. Higgins and others. One question related to the water supply in Chad. There have been reports that there is a problem with the supply and capacity of water in Chad. While these reports have been around for some time, accurate reports and surveys are not available to confirm...

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I have no difficulty with attending the committee meeting to discuss the matter further.

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I will ask him. The Deputy will appreciate that he is busy at present but if the request is made, I will certainly ask him.

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: We will communicate that request to Lieutenant General Nash. Deputy Ó Snodaigh indicated that he intended to oppose the motion because he did not agree with battle groups. This is not a battle group in the classic sense of the word. We are part of the Nordic battle group. This is a peace support operation which is being carried out for humanitarian reasons. Incidentally, of all the...

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I am giving them that assurance.

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I am giving all those assurances.

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The Deputy must wait a minute. He was not here for the debate. Lieutenant General Nash will not deploy——

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The Deputy must have been invisible, because I did not see him all day.

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: Lieutenant General Nash will not deploy unless all the key enablers are in place.

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: At a meeting of Defence Ministers in Brussels last Monday week I pleaded with my colleagues to put the key enablers in place. We have less than 1% of the population of Europe but we are supplying approximately 12% of the troops for this mission. Someone asked me why we are not supplying air assets. We would gladly supply them if we had them, but the air assets we have do not have the range...

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: No.

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: There is a lot of diplomatic activity going on at the moment with a view to obtaining what is still needed to launch the mission. As we have a sufficient commitment of troops, fortunately, we do not need any more.

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The Deputy should not believe all he reads in the papers.

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the despatch, pursuant to section 2 of the Defence (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1960, as applied by the Defence (Amendment) Act 2006, of a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force for service with the EU military operation named "EUFOR TCHAD/RCA", established under the authority of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1778 (2007), including headquarter...

Despatch of Defence Forces Personnel: Motion (28 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: We have to meet such costs ourselves. This is an EU-led operation. If it were a UN-led operation, the UN would meet those costs.

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (27 Nov 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The information requested by the Deputy is outlined in the table below: Date Total Employed Total Permanent Total Temporary Total Contracted 31 October 2007 *435 427 4 4 31 October 2002 *467 463 Nil 4 **This figure represents the total number of officers serving in my Department, including those officers who are worksharing, those who are in temporary employment and those who are working...