Results 10,021-10,040 of 12,596 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Defence Forces Recruitment. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I do not have the figures for 2008 as yet. However, I will find out what I can and forward the information to the Deputy. Last year, female membership numbered approximately 570.

Defence Forces Recruitment. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: Yes. This represents an extremely small percentage of the total. I understand the number of female cadets in the military is approximately double the number of female enlisted personnel. The Deputy is aware I have reduced the height requirements in a measure that has just taken effect. The Department has conducted some research etc. that it is analysing to put in place its...

Ombudsman for the Defence Forces. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 14 together. The Ombudsman for the Defence Forces, Ms Paulynn Marrinan Quinn SC, launched her first annual report on 15 May last. The report covers the period from December 2005 to December 2006, inclusive. The creation of the Office of the Ombudsman for the Defence Forces which became operational on 1 December 2005 represented a major historical...

Ombudsman for the Defence Forces. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: Obviously I have no control over what sort of cases go to the ombudsman. Deputy O'Shea is correct that only one case out of the 26 cases considered last year related to bullying or sexual harassment. I understand that the ombudsman could not consider that case because it was outside her remit for procedural reasons. I would look at it the other way. The internal procedures now are so good...

Ombudsman for the Defence Forces. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: Deputy O'Shea has a point, but there are handbooks, guidelines and strategy statements, there is the A7 personnel directive, and anti-bullying measures are imbedded in all education courses in the Army. The ombudsman is a final, statutorily independent court of appeal if people are not satisfied with how they get on internally. They can make the complaint in a number of ways internally but...

Ombudsman for the Defence Forces. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The terms under which people make informal complaints make specific provision that no one is victimised or intimidated, that his or her career will not suffer, etc. These provisions are written down as part of the regulations that officers investigating complaints must take into account. They must also be taken into account when people are being considered for future promotions. I counted...

Ombudsman for the Defence Forces. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: As Deputy Deenihan will be aware, the vast majority of complaints to the ombudsman relate to selecting people for career courses, for overseas service and for promotion. I do not know whether the latter category contained accusations that people were not promoted simply because of their gender. I do not have the details about the complaints. I stated that the ombudsman is statutorily...

Ombudsman for the Defence Forces. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I possess general figures on the total number of complaints being made but I do not know whether they include informal complaints. For example, 96 complaints of harassment and bullying were made in 2006 and the figure will be higher in 2007. However, the number of complaints getting as far as the ombudsman is still quite small. From that point of view, in the context of the overall...

Bullying in the Workplace. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 11 together. The Defence Forces and the Department have taken a wide variety of initiatives and have devoted extensive resources to this issue since Dr. Eileen Doyle and the external advisory committee presented their original report, The Challenge of a Workplace, in March 2002. This independent report addressed the entire range of interpersonal issues...

Bullying in the Workplace. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I do not wish to mention timeframes which I will subsequently be asked about in the House. There are some indications the change in the height requirements is having a beneficial effect. As a result of this change, slightly more than 90% of the female population is now eligible to join the Army. That is an increase from the previous level of 65%. Based on research carried out, we will be...

Bullying in the Workplace. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The deadline has been missed by a couple of months. I am sorry but this is not a major crisis. What is important is that the recommendations of the Dáil committee are being put in place and are being implemented. I am sure the report will show that. I am satisfied the Army will inform me if difficulties arise on the training side in terms of the number of instructors or in regard to other...

Bullying in the Workplace. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I wish PDFORRA would bring these allegations to my attention. I read about this in the newspaper but even though I frequently meet individual members of PDFORRA — I will meet them at the national conference next week — nobody has brought this matter directly to my attention. I say that as a matter of certainty. I see no evidence of it. If something like that is happening, there are...

Bullying in the Workplace. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: That is absolutely correct. This has never been brought directly to my attention. I would remember if it had been. I have no evidence to sustain this allegation. The only way one could possibly test it, as it were, would be to go through the list of people against whom disciplinary action was taken and see whether an undue proportion of them are actively involved with PDFORRA. As far as I...

Commemorative Events. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: During the lifetime of the 29th Dáil, an all-party Oireachtas consultation group was established for the official preparations for the re-instatement of the traditional military parade at Easter and the commemorative programme to be put in place in coming years for the centenary of the Easter Rising. The group met in November 2006 and March 2007. I expect invitations will issue soon to all...

Commemorative Events. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I agree it should not be an exclusively or even predominantly military occasion. That was the case for the 90th anniversary but we were reviving the celebration after it had lapsed for a number of years due to events in Northern Ireland and so on. I am strongly of that view, as was the previous Oireachtas consultation group, and I am sure the same view will be reflected by the new group. We...

Commemorative Events. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I agree that the 90th anniversary commemoration was extremely successful. I appreciate the Deputy's kind remarks about the military, which I will communicate to the Chief of Staff. It is not that we are ashamed of our military; we are very proud of them. My point to Deputy O'Shea is that it will be a wide-ranging commemoration, which will commemorate far more than the fact we have an...

Commemorative Events. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I agree the consultation group should be established shortly. I will arrange for invitations to be issued to the various party leaders. My view, for what it is worth, is that we should not confine the group to members of established parties and that we should get the widest range of opinion and perhaps invite one or two non-party members. I am in the hands of the committee. Whatever it...

Naval Service Vessels. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 48 together. The Naval Service provides the maritime element of the Defence Forces and has a general responsibility to meet contingent and actual maritime defence requirements. In the 2000 White Paper on Defence, the Government decided that the Naval Service would be based on an eight-ship flotilla and committed to a modernisation and replacement...

Naval Service Vessels. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The two or possibly three offshore patrol vessels will be 80m to 90min length. The extended patrol vessel — wemay exercise an option to procure two such vessels — will be between 130m and 140m.These vessels will be able to perform the tasks to which the Deputy referred, including the provision of humanitarian relief. However, we must work out precisely what functions they will perform....

Naval Service Vessels. (4 Oct 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The replacement vessels will be considered as part of the 2008 Estimates. In July this year, the Government authorised me to issue an invitation to tender. This decision is indicative of the Government's adherence to its promise in the White Paper to maintain an eight-ship flotilla. Policing the coastline is a difficult job and I wish we had three or four times more ships to perform this...