Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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100.To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 157 of 9 May 2023, if he will revisit the supports provided by his Department to family members of former Defence Forces personnel, including funeral costs for family members as an additional benefit, to aid recruitment and retention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24628/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As outlined in my response to Parliamentary Question No. 157 of 9 May 2023, my Department provides support to two recognised Veterans Associations which represent all former personnel of the Defence Forces, namely the Organisation of National Ex-Service Personnel (ONE), and the Irish United Nations Veterans Association (IUNVA). My Department engages on an ongoing basis with these associations and has entered into Service Level Agreements with them. An annual grant of €130,000 is paid to ONE and a grant of €30,000 is paid to IUNVA to assist with their overheads. As a further means of assistance, my Department has secured a total of €900,000 from the Dormant Accounts Fund since 2021 in order to assist ONE and IUNVA with specific special projects.

Funeral costs for family members of former Defence Forces personnel are not funded by the Exchequer. I am informed that the Defence Forces Benevolent Fund, which is funded from contributions of serving Defence Forces personnel, may make a contribution to funeral expenses on a case-by-case basis.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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101.To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he is aware of any military event that took place recently in the University of Galway, wherein uniformed foreign soldiers were seen walking around the campus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24629/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The wearing of military uniforms in the State is governed by Section 317 of the Defence Act 1954 which prohibits the wearing of a foreign military uniform without Ministerial permission.

Requests for persons to enter the State wearing any foreign uniform are dealt with by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Such requests are forwarded to the Department of Defence for observations and information purposes.

Foreign military personnel enter the State from time to time in order to attend official meetings, seminars, courses and various diplomatic and other social functions. This is, in general, standard international military custom and practice. Visits of foreign Naval vessels are also arranged through the Department of Foreign Affairs. Such arrangements generally include the wearing of uniforms ashore as part of the routine protocol arrangements.

The Irish iteration of the Combined Joint European Exercise (CJEX) 2024 was conducted in the University of Galway from 13 to 22 May 2023. The CJEX is a common exercise between five EU Defence Colleges established after the signature of the EU Headline Goal in 1999.

Defence Forces students of the Joint Command & Staff Course (JCSC) undertake a period of training alongside students from Sweden, Portugal, The Netherlands and Belgium in a joint and multinational exercise environment in order to promote a better understanding of the challenges involved in planning and coordinating a complex, multinational Peace Support Operation (PSO). There have been 21 iterations of CJEX to date (which was suspended during COVID). CJEX takes place annually in all the inviting Colleges’ chosen locations simultaneously. There were 32 participants (27 international and 5 Irish) from all five participating nations.