Thursday, 17 Dec 2015

Written Answers Nos. 297-309

Ministerial Staff

Questions (297)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

297. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Defence the number of political staff working in his Department, including the role and salary of each staff member. [45783/15]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

In my role as Minister for Defence, I have not appointed any political staff to work in my Department.

Legislative Process RIA

Questions (298)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

298. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Defence the number of Bills his Department has published since 9 March 2011; the number and Title of those Bills that included a regulatory impact assessment in advance of publication; the regulatory impact assessments published; the number of promised Bills for publication; the Bills that will include a regulatory impact assessment; the regulatory impact assessments that will be published before publication of the relevant Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45805/15]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

My Department has published the following Bills since 9 March 2011:

1. Defence (Amendment) Act 2011;

2. Civil Defence Act 2012;

3. Defence Forces (Second World War Amnesty and Immunity) Act 2012;

4. Defence (Amendment) Act 2015.

The following proposed Bills are included in the current Government Legislation Programme:

1. Defence Forces (Forensic Evidence) Bill;

2. Red Cross Bill;

3. Defence (Amendment) Bill;

4. Defence (Amendment) (Discipline) Bill.

In general, legislation emanating from the Department of Defence is focused on the Defence Forces only and does not apply to the ordinary citizen or to business. For this reason, it was considered that a formal regulatory impact assessment was not needed in relation to legislation produced by this Department since March 2011. Notwithstanding this, my Department applies the principles set out in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) Guidelines issued by the Department of the Taoiseach where appropriate.

Emergency Planning

Questions (299)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

299. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Defence when the next meeting of the national emergency co-ordination committee will take place; the number of meetings in 2015 to date; the number he chaired; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45816/15]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

I would like to clarify that meetings of the National Emergency Coordination Group (NECG) are convened and chaired by the Lead Government Department. In the case of severe weather events, these meetings are chaired by senior officials of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government as the lead Department and I have been personally briefed by the Chair of the NECG during the recent severe weather. When such NECG meetings are convened, representatives on the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning attend the first meeting and attendance at subsequent meetings is at the discretion of the Lead Government Department, who may also call in additional expertise when required.

Senior officials of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government have continued to chair the meetings of the NECG on Severe Weather in response to Storm Desmond and the associated flooding impacts, which have been held almost daily since the first meeting on 3 December 2015 to date. The NECG on Severe Weather is continuing to regularly brief the Government, Ministers and the relevant Departments and Agencies on the national responses to these impacts. The NECG has also held daily briefings with the media to inform the public of the evolving situation and the whole of Government response to it. It is envisaged that these meetings will continue this week depending on the evolving nature of the flooding situation being experienced and any further impacts the weather may have.

Separate to this severe weather response, I chair the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning, which includes senior officials of Government Departments, senior officers of An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces and officials of other key public authorities, which have a lead or support role in Government emergency planning.

The Government Task Force coordinates and oversees the emergency management policy and activities of all Government Departments and public agencies. It provides political leadership and facilitates coordination of emergency management between Government Departments/agencies on an ongoing basis and is supported by the Office of Emergency Planning within the Department of Defence. The Government Task Force meets on a regular basis throughout the year and the next meeting is planned to take place in early January 2016 given the fact that the National Emergency Coordination Group on Severe Weather has been meeting almost daily since 3 December 2015.

With regard to the previous meetings of the Government Task Force, there have been a total of five meetings held in 2015. I chaired the first meeting on 26 February 2015 and the last meeting held on 12 November 2015, which was followed by the launch of the Government’s “Be Winter Ready” Information Campaign. The other three meetings were held on 30 April 2015, 23 July 2015 and 8 October 2015 and were chaired by senior officials of the Department of Defence. While details of matters discussed at meetings of the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning are confidential, I can confirm that the Task Force continues to examine current risks and supports the coordination arrangements for emergency planning across a “Whole of Government” approach. The Government Task Force is also regularly briefed on matters such as the current security threat, which is provided by An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, as well as receiving regular updates and briefings on topical matters from the relevant lead Government Departments.

Defence Forces Strength

Questions (300)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

300. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Defence the up-to-date figures for the strength of the Permanent Defence Force, by each of the three services, by rank and by gender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45817/15]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

The following tables set out the strength of the Permanent Defence Force as of 31 October, 2015, the latest date for which figures are available, across all three services and ranks, broken down by gender. The figures provided are for whole time equivalent posts.

Army

Rank	Male	Female	Total
Lieutenant General	1	0	1
Major General	2	0	2
Brigadier General	6	0	6
Colonel	33	0	33
Lieutenant Colonel	102	3	105
Commandant	231	28	259
Captain	226	40	266
Lieutenant	154	30	184
Sergeant Major	29	0	29
Battalion Quartermaster Sergeant	32	0	32
Company Sergeant	103	1	104
Company Quartermaster Sergeant	161	2	163
Sergeant	858	58	916
Corporal	1,194	114	1,308
Private	3,701	187	3,888
Cadets	45	4	49
Total	6,878	467	7,345

Air Corps

Rank	Male	Female	Total
Brigadier General	1	0	1
Colonel	2	0	2
Lieutenant Colonel	14	0	14
Commandant	30	1	31
Captain	54	6	60
Lieutenant	16	0	16
Sergeant Major	7	1	8
Battalion Quartermaster Sergeant	4	0	4
Company Sergeant	54	0	54
Company Quartermaster Sergeant	13	1	14
Sergeant	119	5	124
Corporal	143	8	151
Private	239	10	249
Cadets	28	0	28
Total	724	32	756

Naval Service

Rank	Male	Female	Total
Brigadier General	1	0	1
Colonel	2	0	2
Lieutenant Colonel	13	0	13
Commandant	46	5	51
Captain	3 5	16	51
Lieutenant	29	3	32
Sergeant Major	6	0	6
Battalion Quartermaster Sergeant	7	0	7
Company Sergeant	75	0	75
Company Quartermaster Sergeant	15	0	15
Sergeant	183	6	189
Corporal	132	8	140
Private	439	18	457
Cadets	12	3	15
Total	995	59	1,054

The whole time equivalent strength on the 31 October, 2015, was 9,155. The overall establishment figure set for the Defence Forces is 9,500 and it is the Government’s intention that ongoing recruitment campaigns will strive to maintain the serving strength at or close to this figure.

Defence Forces Reserve Strength

Questions (301)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

301. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Defence the up-to-date figures for the strength of the Reserve Defence Force, by gender. [45818/15]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

The following tables set out the effective strength of the Reserve Defence Force as of 31 October, 2015, the latest date for which figures are available, in both the Army Reserve and the Naval Service Reserve broken down by rank and gender.

Army Reserve

Rank	Male	Female	Total
Lieutenant Colonel	5	0	5
Commandant	48	0	48
Captain	53	3	56
Lieutenant	171	30	201
Sergeant Major	6	0	6
Battalion Quartermaster Sergeant	7	0	7
Company Sergeant	57	0	57
Company Quartermaster Sergeant	62	3	65
Sergeant	281	19	300
Corporal	342	81	423
Private	849	171	1,020
Total	1,881	307	2,188

Naval Reserve

Rank	Male	Female	Total
Lieutenant Commander	4	0	4
Lieutenant	4	0	4
Sub-Lieutenant	5	1	6
Senior Chief Petty Officer	1	0	1
Chief Petty Officer	9	0	9
Petty Officer	11	1	12
Leading Seaman	22	4	26
Sea Man	59	20	79
Total	115	26	141

I believe that the Reserve Defence Force is an important asset to the State. I value the contribution of all of its members who volunteer their time and service so willingly and I am fully committed to its ongoing and future development.

Overseas Missions

Questions (302)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

302. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Defence the number of overseas missions in which the Defence Forces are involved and the number of personnel involved in each mission. [45819/15]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

As of 1 December 2015, Ireland is contributing 493 Defence Forces personnel to 12 different missions throughout the world.

The main overseas missions in which Defence Forces personnel are currently deployed are the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with 198 personnel, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Syria with 149 personnel, and the Naval Service humanitarian mission in the Mediterranean with 59 personnel. L.É. Samuel Beckett will return home today, 17 December 2015.

Full details of all personnel currently serving overseas are as follows:

Members of the Permanent Defence Force Serving Overseas

As of 1 st December 2015

1.	UN MISSIONS
(i) UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) HQ	9
UNIFIL 51st Infantry Group	185
UNIFIL Sector West HQ	4
(ii) UNTSO (United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation) Israel and Syria	13
(iii) MINURSO (United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara)	3
(iv) MONUSCO (United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo)	4
(v) UNOCI (United Nations Mission in Ivory Coast)	2
(vi) UNDOF (United Nations Disengagement Observer Force) HQ, Golan Heights, Syria	8
UNDOF 50th Infantry Group	141
TOTAL	369
UN MANDATED MISSIONS
(vii) EUFOR (EU-led Operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina)	7
(viii) EUTM Mali (EU-Led Training Mission)	9
(ix) KFOR (International Security Presence in Kosovo) HQ	12
(x) RSM (Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan)	7
TOTAL NUMBER OF PERSONNEL SERVING WITH UN MISSIONS	404

2. OTHER DEPLOYMENTS
Naval Service in Mediterranean L.É. Samuel Beckett	59
TOTAL NUMBER	59

3. ORGANISATION FOR SECURITY AND CO-OPERATION IN EUROPE (OSCE)
(i) OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina	1
(ii) Staff Officer, High Level Planning Group, Vienna	1
TOTAL NUMBER OF PERSONNEL SERVING WITH OSCE	2

4. EU MILITARY STAFF
Brussels	3

5. EU BATTLE GROUP
German-led Battle Group 2016 - HQ, STRASBOURG	10
UK-led Battle Group 2016, UK	5

6. MILITARY REPRESENTATIVES/ADVISERS/STAFF
(i) Military Adviser, Permanent Mission to UN, New York	1
(ii) Military Adviser, Irish Delegation to OSCE, Vienna	1
(iii) Military Representative to EU (Brussels)	4
(iv) Liaison Officer of Ireland, NATO/PfP (Brussels)	2
(v) EU OHQ Operation Althea, Mons, Belgium	1
(vi) Irish Liaison Officer to SHAPE and Military Co-Op Division, Mons, Belgium	1

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEFENCE FORCES PERSONNEL SERVING OVERSEAS

493

Defence Forces Records

Questions (303)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

303. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Defence the number of recruits the Defence Forces have taken on in 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45820/15]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

The Government is committed to maintaining the establishment of at least 9,500 in the Permanent Defence Force, comprising of 7,520 Army, 886 Air Corps and 1,094 Naval Service as stated in the 2015 White Paper on Defence.

The manpower requirement of the Defence Forces is monitored on an ongoing basis in accordance with the operational requirements of each of the three services. As there is significant turnover of personnel in the Permanent Defence Force, targeted recruitment has been and is currently taking place so as to maintain the agreed strength levels.

To date in 2015, a total of 201 recruits have been inducted into the Army and 43 recruits into the Naval Service. Recruits were drawn from the panels formed from the General Service recruitment competition that was launched in March 2014, and the Naval Service campaign launched in March 2015. A General Service recruitment campaign was launched on 4 August 2015 and the selection process for this competition is progressing. It is planned that a further platoon of 40 Army recruits and a class of 40 Naval Service recruits will be inducted before the end of December 2015.

With the support of the Chief of Staff and within the resources available, it is intended to retain the capacity of the Defence Forces to operate effectively across all roles and to undertake the tasks laid down by Government both at home and overseas.

Defence Forces Operations

Questions (304)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

304. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Defence the number of suspect devices the Army disposal unit dealt with, by county, in 2015 to date, in tabular form. [45821/15]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

The Department of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána have primary responsibility for the internal security of the State. Among the roles assigned to the Defence Forces in the White Paper on Defence is the provision of Aid to the Civil Power (ATCP) which, in practice, means to assist An Garda Síochána when requested to do so.

The Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams respond when a request for assistance is made by An Garda Síochána in dealing with a suspect device. Following post operation analysis these callouts are then categorised and this would include viable devices, hoaxes, false alarms, post-blast analysis and the removal of unstable chemicals in laboratories.

The numbers of EOD call outs and the numbers of viable devices dealt with up to 17 December 2015, by county, are set out in the following table.

County	Total	Viable Devices
Cavan	2	2
Clare	1	0
Cork	12	3
Donegal	3	1
Dublin	41	13
Galway	7	0
Kerry	1	0
Kildare	5	2
Kilkenny	1	0
Laois	1	0
Leitrim	3	4
Limerick	10	5
Longford	4	2
Louth	12	2
Mayo	1	0
Meath	3	0
Monaghan	3	0
Offaly	1	1
Sligo	2	1
Tipperary	3	0
Waterford	4	0
Westmeath	2	1
Wexford	6	1
Wicklow	8	1
Total	136	39

Ministerial Correspondence

Questions (305)

Clare Daly

Question:

305. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Defence why he has not contacted a person or that person's solicitor (details supplied) regarding the findings of a report from the Attorney General, a matter which he indicated he would act on some considerable time ago; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45899/15]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

I can advise you that I have contacted the representatives of the individual in question regarding procedural issues and await a response from him. I would hope that as soon as I receive his response I can progress the matter further.

Flood Relief Schemes

Questions (306)

Denis Naughten

Question:

306. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Defence if he will review the criteria of the small business compensation fund to include landlords of commercial and residential premises who were unable to secure flood insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45995/15]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

The Government have approved the allocation of €5m to be distributed as emergency humanitarian support to small businesses, which through no fault of their own have been unable to secure flood insurance and have been flooded recently. The Irish Red Cross Society have agreed to administer the scheme on behalf of the Government.

The objective of the scheme is to provide a once-off ex-gratia contribution to the costs of damage incurred by those small businesses which were unable to secure flood insurance and were flooded arising from the impact of Storm Desmond within the period 4 December 2015 to 17 December 2015. The scheme is intended as an emergency humanitarian assistance contribution rather than compensation for loss or a replacement for the cover provided by insurance.

The scheme is targeted at trading businesses rather than landlords. It is anticipated that this will address the vast majority of businesses affected. However, where particular circumstances arise, each case will be dealt with on an individual basis.

Appointments to State Boards

Questions (307, 308)

Robert Troy

Question:

307. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Defence the number of appointments to State boards under the aegis of his Department and the number of appointments that have been advertised on his Department’s website since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46251/15]

Robert Troy

Question:

308. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Defence the number of chairpersons appointed to State boards under the aegis of his Department who have appeared before the relevant joint Oireachtas committee since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46266/15]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

I propose to take Questions Nos. 307 and 308 together.

The State Boards under the aegis of the Department of Defence in March 2011 were the Civil Defence Board, the Board of Coiste an Asgard and the Army Pensions Board.

The only State body currently under the aegis of the Department of Defence is the Army Pensions Board. The Army Pensions Board is an independent statutory body established under the Army Pensions Act 1927. The Act specifies that the Board shall consist of a chairman and two ordinary members. The two ordinary members must be qualified medical practitioners of whom one must be an officer of the Army Medical Corps. The chairman and the non military ordinary member are appointed by the Minister for Defence with the concurrence of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The Army Medical Corps ordinary member is appointed by the Minister for Defence on the recommendation of the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces.

There have been 5 appointments to the Army Pensions Board since March 2011. Commandant Adam Lagun was appointed to the position of Army Medical Corps member of the Board in December 2011. This position became vacant in October 2014 due to Commandant Lagun being deployed overseas. On the recommendation of the Chief of Staff, the temporary appointment of Commandant Syed Shah to the Board, from 16 October 2014 to 31 May 2015, was made to cover Commandant Lagun’s absence. Commandant Lagun resumed as Ordinary member of the Board in June 2015. The position became vacant again in September 2015 with the deployment overseas of Commandant Lagun. On the recommendation of the Chief of Staff Commandant Zdenek Osecky was appointed temporarily to cover this temporary vacant position, from 10 September 2015 to 30 June 2016.

As the Army Pensions Act 1927 specifies that one of the ordinary members must be an officer of the Army Medical Corps, the positions outlined above were not publicly advertised on either occasion. Details of these appointments to the Army Pensions Board were published in the Iris Oifigiúil.

A civilian doctor, Dr. Loretta Nolan, was appointed as ordinary member of the Army Pensions Board in November 2013. The civilian doctor vacancy was advertised on the Department of Defence website and the Public Appointments Service website. A number of expressions of interest in the position were received and an appointment to the Board was made on foot of this public advertisement process.

The Civil Defence Board was identified in the Public Service Reform Plan as a body to be abolished. Against this backdrop, in July 2011, the then Minister for Defence appointed a 14 person interim Board as a temporary measure. In this context, none of the positions were advertised, nor was the chairperson interviewed by an Oireachtas committee. Legislation to dissolve the Board was passed by the Oireachtas in December 2012. Its functions have now transferred back to the Department of Defence. The membership of the interim Board appointed in July 2011 is set out in the following table.

Name	Nominating Bodies
Civil Defence Board Chairperson
Mr. Brian Spain, Director, Department of Defence	Nominated by the Minister for Defence
Civil Defence Board Members
Mr. Cathal Duffy, Principal, Department of Defence	Nominated by the Minister for Defence
Ms. Clare Tiernan, Principal, Department of Defence	Nominated by the Minister for Defence
Mr. Robert Mooney, Principal, Department of Defence	Nominated by the Minister for Defence
Mr. Bill Smith, Director General, Civil Defence Board	Appointed as Director General, Civil Defence Board
Mr. Ned Gleeson, County Manager, Limerick City Council	Nominated by County and City Managers’ Association
Mr. Keith Leonard, Assistant Fire Advisor	Nominated by the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government
Dr. Barbara Rafferty	Nominated by the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland
Mr. Becci Cantrell	Nominated by the Environmental Protection Agency
Ms. Veronica Forde, Assistant Civil Defence Officer	Nominated by the Civil Defence Officers’ Association
Lt. Col. Tony Kelly, SSO, Defence Forces	Nominated by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces
Chief Superintendent Orla Mc Partlin, An Garda Síochána	Nominated by the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána
Mr. Fergal Conroy	Elected volunteer member of Civil Defence
Ms. Eileen Joyce	Elected staff member of the Civil Defence Board

There were no appointments to the Board of Coiste an Asgard from 2009. In the context of settling the Estimates for the Department of Defence for 2010, the Government decided that the national sail training scheme operated by Coiste an Asgard would be discontinued as recommended in the Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure. The formal wind up of the Company, including voluntary strike off with the Companies Registration Office, was completed in early 2013.

All appointments to Boards under the aegis of my Department are made in accordance with the relevant legislation or regulations.

Commencement of Legislation

Questions (309)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

309. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Defence the details of the Acts currently in force for which he has lead responsibility and that have parts or sections yet to be formally commenced, including the purpose of same, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46281/15]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

There are no Acts currently in force under my Ministerial area of responsibility which have parts or sections yet to be formally commenced.