119. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence her proposals to remove the triple lock neutrality protection; when she plans to bring forward a Bill; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43733/26]
Sentiment score: 0.04
I understand the Government's proposal to remove the triple lock neutrality protection was discussed at Cabinet today. I believe a Bill was brought forward. Will this Bill be published in the coming days? When will that come to Second Stage? When will it be debated and what are the plans in that regard?
Sentiment score: 0.00
The defence Acts exist in Irish legislation and state clearly the circumstances this Legislature has decided is the threshold that should be met if we are to send Irish personnel - men and women - on peacekeeping missions. That is a decision that was made here and nowhere else. We need to be clear and honest about that. There were a number of key points in the pre-legislative scrutiny report, one of which was that it did not recommend the removal of the triple lock neutrality protection. It called for a number of safeguards. There was a considerable amount of discussion. I am surprised that there seemed to be a Whip on members to try to rush it. I am not sure what the need for it was. We could have gotten a bit more time to scrutinise it. I would like to know if the Minister has taken on board any of the points from that report.
Sentiment score: 0.20
This is one of those pieces that come up in this debate. I deeply regret the end of UNIFIL. It is very worrying for the region. However, there is no UN mission afterwards. It is not that we are not participating in a UN mission. UNIFIL will end. It will be gone. There will be no more UNIFIL. That is a shame, but there is no UN mission to which other countries' troops will be deployed but that Ireland will be prevented from taking part in. There is a question I have been asking for a while now. There is a need for the UN to be reformed. We have brought forward propositions in that regard. There are 11 or 12 existing peacekeeping missions outside of UNIFIL. It is true that we need our peacekeepers to go on peacekeeping missions to ensure their experience is developed. It does not seem as if this Government has been actively seeking out alternative deployments with existing UN peacekeeping missions. I have seen no evidence of that. I have been asking that question and I ask the Minister the question again.
Sentiment score: -0.02
121. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence further to recent Dáil Éireann debates, her views on past health and safety measures in the Air Corps; the actions she plans to take to support former aircraft maintenance and ancillary personnel; whether she intends to ensure their medical needs are met; and the other supports that can be offered to the category affected as a whole. [43734/26]
Sentiment score: 0.29
Our last exchange on this issue was one of the most frustrating exchanges I have had on this particular topic since I started raising it about a year and a half ago. Every attempt at diversion was sought. I am asking this question very clearly. There are concerns in relation to the State Claims Agency and so on, and perhaps we can get into that some other time. What I asked the Minister for the last time and am asking for again is an update on the approach the Government proposes to take in relation to the whole category of people affected by chemical exposure in the Air Corps in terms of an examination of health outcomes and medical supports.
Sentiment score: 0.04
I have never asked the Minister or her predecessor to do that and I would not do so because it would be a waste of time. I would never ask about ongoing court cases because I know it would be completely pointless. I have never asked about that because I know the Minister cannot say that in this place. The equivalent of what the Minister is saying is that when more and more attention started being brought to bear on abuse in industrial schools or the treatment of women in the Magdalen laundries, the Minister for education or for children, or whoever was responsible for the issue at the time, would come forward and say that he or she could not do anything about that because people have a right to take a court case, that there were a number of court cases and the Minister could do nothing about that. That was not true then and it is not true now. In that instance, commissions of inquiry, redress schemes and things like Caranua were set up. None of those were prevented by the court cases. People continued to retain their entitlement to take court cases. That continued and people did take court cases but the Government was able, separate from the court process, to put in place measures for redress. The same thing should be happening here. The Government should be doing a health audit. None of that is prevented by the court cases. The Government should be looking at forms of redress and at health protections. None of that is prevented by court cases.
Sentiment score: -0.07
It is not procedurally different at all.
Sentiment score: 0.00
What I am interpreting from what the Minister is saying - perhaps she can clarify it because she has not said it explicitly - is that she received advice from her officials, engaged with the Attorney General and the State Claims Agency and effectively, on foot of that, there is no policy solution to this. Ultimately, it is all through the courts. Contrary to what the Minister has said, her strategy or proposal is that the court is the only route here. She is not offering any policy solution. Of course, in terms of the substance of the issue, it is very different from any of the examples I just gave. However, in terms of the principle, the Minister does not have to step into the court cases or interfere with them in order to do right by the whole category. The Air Corps chemical abuse survivors have counted up to 130 deaths that they consider to be premature. I am not a clinician. I cannot go through each of those cases and identify that. What I am and have been asking for, and what Deputy Micheál Martin asked for when he was in opposition, is an assessment of those people, with patterns identified. We need to make sure they are looked after and that there is an inquiry into it. None of that is prevented by the court cases. Not a bit of it.
Sentiment score: 0.06
The Government is not doing anything outside of the courts.
Sentiment score: 0.00
123. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence her views on the matter of entry-level cadet pay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43735/26]
Sentiment score: 0.02
I raised this issue with the Minister a little over a month ago but unfortunately we have seen no progress. It is an issue of enormous concern for cadets and their representative organisation, RACO. It potentially creates problems for our ability to recruit and retain people of quality. We need to see this addressed. The Minister promised to address it. She is seven or eight months in her role now but, as yet, we have seen no progress.
Sentiment score: 0.08
The Minister is committed to trying to increase those numbers but is she committed to addressing this discrepancy? Is the Minister committed? That is what I want to know. Cadet pay is one of the lowest in the Defence Forces at €503 per week compared with €550 for a recruit, which rises to €627 after 12 weeks. In the first year they earn 40.7% less than their enlisted counterparts. I cannot speak for every category of cadet that is coming through but there have been issues in the past where groups have come out of training in the Defence Forces and a large number of them have ended up in the private sector because the terms and conditions are more attractive. If we are putting in the money and putting in the effort in respect of people who are dedicated and committed and who want to serve their country in the Defence Forces, we should be trying to keep them. Particularly with the current cost of living, this pay is nowhere near adequate. It is below the national minimum wage for the hours they work, which are quite considerable.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I have said before that sometimes I get a bit worried in that while I am not against local bargaining per se, it worries me when the holy world and all is going to be fixed through local bargaining. It comes up time and again that it will fix this, that and the other. Ultimately, it comes down to 1% of the payroll in an individual pay deal. I believe what cadets want to hear is that the Minister is committed to doing this and that she will address this. The Minister has said that she will try to progress it but we need to see a clearer commitment in that regard. In the time I have left I will briefly raise another issue on the welfare of Defence Forces personnel in the context of the tribunal process. The Women of Honour group has raised the issue of the absence of interim funding for representation. This will constrain them considerably in their ability to participate in the tribunal particularly given that the State obviously is well funded with resources for its representation. The Minister might consider that also.
Sentiment score: 0.17