Results 1,881-1,900 of 49,960 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: The military authorities have advised me that as of 31 August 2024, the latest date for which such information is available, the strength of the Permanent Defence Force stood at 7,426. A table containing the requested induction and discharges figures for each year from 2020 to 2024 will be provided to the Deputy. I have acknowledged in the past the recruitment and retention challenges in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Funding (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Defence Vote group comprises of two Votes: Vote 35 - Army pensions and Vote 36 - defence. The 2023 Vote 36 – defence net surplus surrendered to the Exchequer was €18.1 million. This figure includes surplus appropriations-in-aid of €9.1 million, which, as the Deputy will be aware, cannot be used to fund additional expenditure and must be surrendered to the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Funding (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: We have actually expanded expenditure. The bottom line is, in terms of capital expenditure, procurement is an issue in terms of the time it can take to procure, particularly C295s. The bottom line is we are committing to a lot of expenditure, which will come on stream. It does not necessarily fall in any given 12 months. I do not accept the Deputy's characterisation of the budgetary...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Funding (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: Every year it is put to good use. That is the point I made in my reply. In 2023, it was put to good use. It was used elsewhere across the Vote. That happens all of the time. We are down now to €9 million out of a budget that is close to €1 billion. We need to a sense of perspective here in all of this. I discussed the appropriations-in-aid, which is receipts that come...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, as it allows me to touch, on a high level, on the role of intelligence gathering for and on behalf of the State. As the Deputy will appreciate given the sensitive nature of such matters, I will not be commenting on recent media reports nor would it be appropriate for me to disclose the various briefings I receive as the Minister for Defence from...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: The Defence Forces have advised that there are sufficient supplies of both water and food in Camp Shamrock as well as the availability of contingency food packs, and that further deliveries were made to Camp Shamrock over the last weekend. This is in addition to a contingency supply chain that is in place to allow all of UNIFIL to remain in place for up to 30 days. These contingency...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: There is a fundamental issue in terms of Israel's approach to the United Nations more generally. We might remember that UNIFIL is there as a result of the UN Security Council. In my view, Israel cannot continue to undermine UN agencies. We see what is happening in the Knesset in respect of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, for...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: In respect of the mandate more generally, the international community has put pressure on Israel in respect of the attacks and the firing on UN outposts. That is having some impact, and that needs to have impact, although, again, the Deputy made some important and valid points. What is happening in northern Gaza is quite shocking and reprehensible in respect of the ordering of 400,000...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I also take this opportunity to pay a very warm tribute to our soldiers in Lebanon for their professionalism, resilience and commitment to their peacekeeping role in Lebanon. Peacekeeping is the most noble work one can pursue and our soldiers are doing it in an exemplary manner. The safety and security of Ireland’s Defence Forces’ personnel stationed in Lebanon remain of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: It is a very serious situation. It is incomprehensible that Israel or the IDF would put UN peacekeepers generally in harm's way and in some incidents, as the Deputy outlined, UN peacekeepers were injured as a result of such activity. We will work in consort with the UN, with the force commander of UNIFIL in Lebanon. We will co-ordinate our approach. I believe that the international...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I wish to reassure the Deputy that, as Minister of Defence, I am fully committed to the removal of the blanket exemption which currently applies to the Defence Forces in the 1997 Organisation of Working Time Act. As the Deputy is aware, working time legislation falls under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE), Peter Burke. Following my...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Properties (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: Since 1998, my Department has been engaged in an ongoing disposal programme for a range of properties that were identified as surplus to military requirements. The majority of these disposals in that period have occurred as a result of the re-organisation of the Defence Forces. Once surplus properties are identified, my department is required to determine if the Land Development Agency,...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: At the outset I have to state that, in the time available, it has not been possible for me to get a definitive list of functions formally performed by members of the Defence Forces which have been outsourced since 2020. I have requested this information from the Defence Forces and will revert to the Deputy with a response once the information is available to me. I am aware however of a...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 16 together. As Minister, I am deeply committed to the transformation of the Defence Forces into a modern fit for purpose organisation to defend the State and meet the challenges of today and the future. The Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government, and its report was published on the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: In line with the target set down in Action 28 of the Strategic Framework which I published last year, a final management position on the implementation of the Working Time Directive across the Defence Forces, was submitted to me last December. Following interactions with civilian-military management and the Representative Associations, I subsequently approved that position. As the Deputy...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: Since the events of 14th December 2022, in which Private Seán Rooney was killed and a number of his colleagues from the 121st Battalion were injured, I have consistently expressed both my and the Government's determination that all of the facts and circumstances of the incident are fully established and that no stone is left unturned to ensure that those responsible are brought to...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 20 together. As I informed Deputies earlier, the military authorities have advised that as at 31 August 2024, the latest date for which such data is available, the strength of the Permanent Defence Force stood at 7,426 personnel. In terms of recruitment targets and plans for 2025, Budget 2025 has provided a record €1.35 billion for the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: Retention, of course, as the Deputy will be aware, is not influenced by a single factor, but rather that there are multiple, interconnected factors, which are responsible for retaining people in any organisation. In common with other international militaries and while in a buoyant economy, the Defence Forces is facing a challenging environment at present. Pension entitlements cannot be...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Official Engagements (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I welcomed the opportunity to attend and speak at RACO's Annual Delegate Conference (ADC) on 3 October last. At the Conference, I acknowledged the ongoing serious situation in Lebanon and the wider region, which remains very tense and unpredictable. I outlined the Government’s commitment to continually monitor the situation closely, along with our partners in the UN and the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: EU Bodies (17 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: On the 17th September last, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced Mr. Andrius Kubilius as the EU Commissioner-designate for Defence and Space. All of the Commissioners-designate will have a confirmation hearing with one, or more, of the European Parliament's committees. In the case of the Defence and Space portfolio, that confirmation hearing will be with...