Results 10,281-10,300 of 12,596 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Permanent Defence Force. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The article to which the Deputy refers is the report of an interview with the Defence Forces' Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Jim Sreenan, that appeared in The Irish Times on Wednesday, 27 December 2006. The interview was wide-ranging and the Chief of Staff gave his views on a number of current matters of interest to the Defence Forces, including their preparation for Ireland's...

Permanent Defence Force. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I had no difficulty with the interview per se. The Deputy probably knows better than I that the Chief of Staff has a distinguished record and I would be sorry if any shadow was cast over it by the actions of someone who leaked a letter sent by me to the Chief of Staff. There is a steady stream of correspondence between a Minister for Defence and a Chief of Staff. As in any democracy, Army...

Permanent Defence Force. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I have no idea about how this occurred. Once one writes a letter to the Chief of Staff and asks him to circulate it, it becomes difficult to follow the trail. I do not vet the statements of Army officers in advance and I have no desire to do so. Occasionally, I take the opportunity to remind officers of their obligations, namely, that the Army is neutral. It has maintained a tradition of...

Permanent Defence Force. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: There is a steady stream of correspondence between a Minister for Defence and the Chief of Staff. While I address many matters therein, I have had occasion to remind people of their responsibilities, which has been the practice of every holder of this portfolio since the foundation of the State.

Overseas Missions. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The Niemba ambush occurred almost 46 years ago. It was the first such action involving the horrific deaths of Defence Forces personnel on a scale that remains unique. It has never been far from the public consciousness and I would like to publicly acknowledge the sacrifice made by all of the patrol's members and to extend my deepest sympathies to the families of those who died. I will not...

Overseas Missions. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I thank Deputy Gregory for his kind remarks. I came to this issue with an open mind. Several of my predecessors in office had been asked about it and took the advice of the Army that the matter was closed. I reopened it. We had a full inquiry, as a result of which certain conclusions have been reached, which were not arrived at previously. I take the Deputy's point about Private Kenny...

National Emergency Plan. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that significant progress has been made in the establishment of a national emergency co-ordination centre. The centre is located in Agriculture House, Kildare Street. The building work is now complete and the centre will be furnished and ready to open within the next two to three weeks. The technical and communications needs of the centre are being...

National Emergency Plan. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The Deputy is right in saying it is not a bunker. There are no physical protection measures in place such as one might see in an underground bunker. The decision was made by the Government following a recommendation made in the environmental resources management consultancy report. To the best of my knowledge, the group concerned reported to the Government in 2003. In 2005 the Government...

National Emergency Plan. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The centre will be run by the Office of Emergency Planning located within the Department of Defence. My understanding is that a few people will be located there on a permanent basis. In the event of an emergency we will immediately contact all those involved in the emergency task force and get them into position as quickly as possible in order that they may respond. That is how it will...

National Emergency Plan. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: My apologies to the Deputy. We discussed the matter at the emergency task force meeting. I hope to have another meeting of the task force shortly at which we shall receive a specific report on the incident.

National Emergency Plan. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I agree with my colleague, Deputy Mulcahy, that there is a need to increase public awareness of the existence of the co-ordination centre and the emergency planning task force. This country is as ready as it can be to deal with any emergency that may occur, including a nuclear accident or terrorist attack. The Department intends to launch a public information campaign involving television...

National Emergency Plan. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: An essential aspect of the campaign will involve informing the public about the location, existence and function of the national co-ordination centre. I am interested in Deputy Mulcahy's suggestion that Members of the Oireachtas should be invited to the centre to see it for themselves. I will talk to the appropriate people about that suggestion, which is a good one.

National Emergency Plan. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The task force meets every five weeks, on average. I envisage that a hotline, staffed by people using a bank of telephone facilities, will be made available to the public in the event of an emergency.

Defence Forces Recruitment. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The day-to-day administration of recruitment to the Defence Forces is the responsibility of the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces. One can enter the Permanent Defence Force through the cadetship competition, the apprenticeship competition, the general service enlistment process or the direct entry competitions which are held to fill vacancies in specialist areas. If an unsuccessful...

Defence Forces Recruitment. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I do not have figures pertaining to the number of people who make second applications. I can get that information for the Deputy. As of 2 March last, some 1,154 applications had been made to join the Defence Forces. Just 66 of those applications were found to be unsuitable. If one's application is deemed to be unsuitable, one does not get past first base. One might be deemed unsuitable...

Defence Forces Recruitment. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: Under certain provisions in the Defence Forces' regulations, certain categories of people are deemed to be unsuitable from a security perspective. I can give the Deputy a copy of the regulations if he wishes. The regulations stipulate that a person who has been convicted of a serious criminal offence by the Special Criminal Court, or by a civil court, are not eligible for enlistment in the...

Defence Forces Recruitment. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The same applies for applicants to the Garda Síochána and they must also undergo a security check. The system is exactly equivalent for applicants to the Army except that military intelligence is involved even though I imagine this involvement is peripheral and merely a formality. The Garda record of an applicant is what is taken into account. The suggestion made by Deputy Costello and...

Defence Forces Recruitment. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: We will not wrangle about it. Viewed objectively it seems rather harsh that somebody who has had a minor brush with the law several years ago which might not even have resulted in a conviction or else merely the application of the Probation Act, are told out of the blue they are unsuitable to join the Defence Forces even though they have turned their lives around or there is no other blemish...

Defence Forces Recruitment. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: The strength of the Permanent Defence Force on 31 January 2007, the latest date for which detailed figures are available, as advised by the military authorities was 10,426. The current projected figure for recruitment to the Permanent Defence Force in 2007 is in the region of 560 general service recruits and 40 apprentices. The number of cadets to be recruited is currently under...

Defence Forces Recruitment. (7 Mar 2007)

Willie O'Dea: I am satisfied the Army is at sufficient strength as outlined in the White Paper to satisfy all our overseas commitments. However, Ireland has a standing commitment to deploy up to 10% of its standing Army overseas at any one time, being a total of approximately 850 troops. The current number is 808 which must be as near to the maximum as we have ever reached since we entered into that...