Results 121-140 of 4,824 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Paul Kehoe

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: After six months training, a new soldier earns €28,685. More can be done. I am the first to recognise that there are challenges.

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: Like every other member of the public service, members of the Defence Forces are regaining-----

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: That will be a matter for the next Government to decide. I never stated that discussions had concluded. Had they concluded, I would have brought a recommendation to the Government. Unfortunately, we did not reach a point whereby I could bring a memorandum to the Government regarding whether we recommended the extension of trade union rights. As I stated in reply to Deputy Sherlock,...

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: There are varying circumstances surrounding why a person would be in receipt of the working family payment. A three-star private who has passed out earns between €28,685 and €39,583 and might be single or in a relationship with one, two three or four children. If the latter is the case, that person may qualify for the working family payment, as do many other people.

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: The Deputy can ask his question when I have finished answering this one.

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: The Deputy asked me a very simple question. I gave him the opportunity to ask a question and I wish to have the opportunity to answer it. A three-star private earns between-----

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: I answered that question earlier. Several claims have been submitted to my Department on a range of issues. We will work with the representative associations and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on those issues. The Deputy raised the issue of pay. A three-star private starts off on €28,685. That can rise to €39,583. A corporal is on between €38,786 and...

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: I am very much in favour of airlift capacity. It would be brilliant to have it. As the Deputy knows, however, it costs a great deal of money. I would be supportive of any Government proposing to buy that capacity. I am delighted to be able to say that during my tenure in the Department we have been able to invest some €265 million in aircraft for the Air Corps. On the pay of...

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: I met the Chief of Staff and the Secretary General of my Department yesterday. Because of the restrictions on rotations, we had planned on sending three officers to replace the officers who were out there, but that rotation will not take place until after 30 June. The Chief of Staff is in discussions with the head of the mission in MONUSCO and we will be rotating. I have asked the Chief of...

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: That decision will be made when I get the reassurances that I have asked the Chief of Staff for. I want to make sure that the safety of all personnel in any of our mission areas is paramount. I am not sure when I will get that from the Chief of Staff, but as soon as I get that we will make a decision on it.

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: I am very sympathetic to the financial issues raised by Deputy Sherlock. I wish it was as simple as me writing a cheque, but it is not. The paymaster is the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, as the Deputy is very well aware given that he served in and understands the workings of government. Any financial issues have to go through the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform....

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: I wish I had the chequebook. I will revert to the Deputy on Kilworth. I know any returning personnel from overseas are given an opportunity to quarantine in a number of barracks. Kilworth is available to the HSE. Thankfully given that the spread of Covid-19 has slowed somewhat I am not sure what the HSE's plans for Kilworth are, but I can get the Deputy a full reply.

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: The Chief of Staff has been tasked with coming up with some options or a discussion paper on this. If we are going to buy such an aircraft we have to ensure that, given that it will be funded by the taxpayers, it will not be used for only 100 days a year. We need to ensure there is due use of this. We need to bring other areas into the discussion as well as the Defence Forces. As I have...

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: A number of claims have been received by my Department regarding people who might have been on leave and who were not able to get back. Those claims have been received from various individuals in varying cases. They state that as a consequence of the travel restrictions on movements back and forth to combat the spread of Covid-19, and specifically UN Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre...

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: Members coming back from Lebanon have the option of quarantining in their own home or in barracks. Personnel deploying to UNIFIL in Lebanon will go into quarantine together two weeks from departure. I understand arrangements are in place and the chief medical officer of the Defence Forces is very much involved in preparing the quarantine of personnel going to UNIFIL. My Department is...

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: There are discussions between PDFORRA and ICTU. This was a recommendation from the recently published C&A scheme, which I recommended at the time. The new C&A scheme is up and running with an independent chair. When the report came out there was a recommendation that the Department would get into discussion with ICTU and discussions are ongoing.

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: Can I get back to the Deputy with the exact state of play on that? My understanding is - I can be corrected on this - there is discussion between PDFORRA and ICTU at this time. However, I do not want to say that is the exact state of play, but I will get back to the Deputy with an absolute, full and frank reply on the issue. There is absolutely no delay on my behalf. These discussions are...

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: Probably, it will not be a decision for this Government, but it will have to be an issue for the new Government. This is a big decision to be made. I do not believe a caretaker Government should be making a decision of this magnitude. The next Government should make this decision. The Deputy can be reassured that if I had been able to get a decision on this one way or the other, I would...

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: As Deputy Peter Burke is very much aware, Columb Barracks, which closed in 2012, is now longer required by the Department of Defence for military purposes. In establishing the Land Development Agency, LDA, at the time, the Government recognised the potential of this site for development as part of meeting housing demand. The LDA has confirmed that Columb Barracks is a key site that is...

Covid-19 (Defence): Statements (3 Jun 2020)

Paul Kehoe: Deputy Ó Snodaigh referred to the plane in which we invested. That was an additional plane; it was not one of the those for which we had planned for last year. It is additional and we decided to invest in it in March.