Results 101-120 of 148 for does speaker:Cathal Berry

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Situation in Belarus: Discussion with Ms Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (15 Jul 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...to have her home. I offer our full solidarity. I have one brief question on the two passengers who were forcibly removed from a Ryanair flight at the end of May in Minsk National Airport. Does the Belarusian opposition leader have any update on the welfare of those two individuals? I thank Ms Tsikhanouskaya for coming before the committee and for her opening statement.

Mandatory Hotel Quarantine Extension: Motion (14 Jul 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...will not be required. With the success of our vaccination programme, which is the envy of the world, this country is approaching herd immunity and will achieve it in the next couple of months. Does the Minister of State have in mind a ballpark date for commencing the wind-down of mandatory hotel quarantining, bearing in mind that we are approaching herd immunity in this jurisdiction? ...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...in coming up with such a formula that can be applied to various farms and regions? Third, how long will it take before a formula that can be applied can be agreed between various parties? Fourth, does any other country do something similar? Rather than us reinventing the wheel, could we take a template from another country and apply it or customise it here? Finally, how will individual...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2021)

Cathal Berry: ..., particularly regarding how farmers may be able to monetise this situation, which is definitely good news. The Minister mentioned that an amendment will be tabled in the Upper House tomorrow. Does the Minister envisage any more amendments being accepted and can he indicate when the amended Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill is due to be brought back before the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Defence Forces (29 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...service. Thankfully, we have not had a casualty overseas in 16 or 17 years, but we are on borrowed time. If we recruit nurses, we should be able to deploy them overseas like any normal military does. That is important, as we must de-risk our overseas operations. We must prevent our next casualty from becoming our next fatality. Having a functioning, well-resourced and well-staffed...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Recruitment and Retention in the Defence Forces: RACO (29 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...a role for this committee in the implementation piece? They mentioned that implementation is a major issue. We have had lovely reports over the past five years but very little implementation. Does the RACO team believe it would be a worthwhile endeavour for this committee to bring before it members of whatever implementation entity is created to provide some kind of forensic scrutiny of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: International Relations (24 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...that the Belarusian national airline is banned from EU airspace and it is likely that more targeted economic sanctions are coming down the track, perhaps even as early as this weekend. How does the Minister see this playing out over the next couple of months? We are all aware that the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organisation was tasked with formally investigating the...

Fisheries and Coastal Communities: Statements (17 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: .... It is not just about fishing: it is about the importation and smuggling of drugs, fugitives, people, and weapons. There is a gap in our defences from the perspective of our territorial waters and it does affect the fishing community. The fourth and final point I wish to raise specifically relates to fisheries protection. In particular, in light of Brexit, we now have a massive third...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Jun 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...member states and to confirm if he is happy and satisfied with Ireland's allocation. My second question is again in regard to the €915 million. I ask the Taoiseach to confirm if it is a grant that does not have to be paid back to Brussels or if it is a loan that has to be paid back over time. I would like to make a third point. I agree with the overarching objectives of this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence Forces: Discussion with Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association (25 May 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...before this meeting today is, I presume, totally coincidental, but we will take whatever is going. Perhaps Mr. Guinan would outline to the committee what the current position is with that issue. Does he have confidence? We have had announcements in this regard in the past, so is he confident that the announcement will be delivered on this time, unlike two years ago when it was announced...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence Forces: Discussion with Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association (25 May 2021)

Cathal Berry: .... I am aware that many of the paramedics, advanced paramedics and even the emergency medical technicians in the Defence Forces have left as a result of complete exhaustion, burnout and a lack of remuneration. Does Mr. Guinan have any thoughts on how to stem that haemorrhage of medical staff from the Defence Forces? I would appreciate his comments. Finally, in respect of...

Situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel: Statements (20 May 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...when it comes to civilian casualties. There is a lot of extra work the Israeli defence forces needs to do from this point of view. Uttering these things in an Irish Parliament outside of Israel does not make anybody anti-Semitic. If anything, this Parliament is pro-Semitic. It is pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian, pro-Palestine and pro-peace. We are good friends with the people in the...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for the Public Services 2021
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (20 May 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...reduction. There is a mitigating factor in that it is stated that 197 days were spent in support of the HSE in three dockyards - in Cork, Galway and Dublin - in respect of the pandemic but even that does not account for the drop-off. My concern is that a reduction in the number of Naval Service patrol days increases the number of gaps in our defences. We need our ships on patrol to...

Recent Cyberattack and its Impact on the Health System: Statements (18 May 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...the Minister's thoughts on the utility of that? I know the Minister, Deputy Ryan, mentioned that the National Cyber Security Centre is more of a co-ordinating centre than a first response centre. Does the Minister see a role for the Defence Forces in providing a first line of cyber defence?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Properties (13 May 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...the defence budget were increased. The budget negotiations will be coming up in the next few months and I ask the Minister to advocate as strongly as possible to his Cabinet colleagues - I know he does so - that if the defence budget was increased, there would be more money available for infrastructural projects and to invest in the Curragh Camp in particular, which is the home of the...

Europe Day: Statements (11 May 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...and remake it as we see fit. We must engage more. I am happy to see the recently announced initiative encouraging increased representation of Irish people in the various institutions. What does the future hold for the European Union? I look forward to the likely return of Scotland in the not-too-distant future and in time, the Union's expansion into the Balkans and beyond. Unfinished...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 May 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...formal advice to his office on how best to proceed with this proposed project. Now that a year has passed it is prudent that we should review any progress in this regard because, on the surface at least, there does not appear to have been any major events, bar the pandemic. We have had difficulty getting PPE into the country, we have had troops and citizens stranded overseas and Ireland...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Commission on the Defence Forces: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...is not specifically involved but the process towards it is covered in the terms of reference. What would the independent peer review body look like to Mr. O'Driscoll? When will it be established? Does Mr. O'Driscoll see it being established in January of next year or will it be synchronised with the pay talks later in 2022? What are his thoughts on that? My last two questions have to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Distribution of Covid-19 Vaccines to Developing Countries: Discussion (9 Feb 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...C-TAP, that has been described, did their minister for health sign off on it or was there a motion on the floor of parliament? What technical mechanism was used? Is there a document to sign or does one merely have a press conference and make a formal pledge across the airwaves? I will summarise my questions. Have the pharmaceutical companies formally said "Yes" or "No" at this stage?...

Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Second Stage (Resumed) (4 Feb 2021)

Cathal Berry: ...something we should look at filling, particularly when we are discussing it with regard to the Bill. We have no primary military grade radar. We are unique in Europe as of the EU 27 we are the only country that does not have this capability and it needs to be addressed. We do have secondary civilian radar but once the transponder of an aircraft is turned off we have no sight and no...