I am here this evening to address the current cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. It is the latest tragic chapter in a long, brutal and inhumane conflict that has taken an unspeakable human toll. Let me start by expressing my deep concern at the shocking levels of violence over the past week in Gaza, the West Bank and across Israel. Now is the time for de-escalation, before even more lives are lost. We must encourage all efforts to reach a ceasefire and beyond that, we must find a way to put an end…

I thank all Senators for their remarks. I share their condemnation of the civilian deaths over the past week and, in particular, the child casualties. Senators have raised several points that I would like to address but first I must say that it is clear that the more than 2 million people living in the Gaza Strip cannot endure another war. They have suffered far too much for too long already. The years of the illegal blockade have resulted in extreme hardship, including poverty and food insecurity. Repeated cycles …

I do not accept the assertion in the question that the reviews of service limits for enlisted personnel, which have taken place since 1994, have impacted negatively on retention in the Defence Forces. In fact, the outcome from the reviews has enabled such personnel to stay in service longer than originally envisaged. Military life places unique demands on individuals and it is necessary that Defence Forces personnel are prepared to meet the challenges of all military operations. To this end, it is vital that the ag…

There is a very detailed written response to this and I do not have time to read all of it. I believe it answers many of the questions the Deputy has raised. In 2019, for example, a further agreement was reached with PDFORRA whereby all privates and corporals recruited after 1994 would be allowed to continue in service until 31 December 2022, or until they reached the age of 50, provided these personnel met certain criteria during the interim period, including medical grades and fitness tests. This agreement was su…

We must also make sure that people in the Defence Forces are capable of doing the job we ask them to do in the context of fitness and physical health.

The Deputy is linking a number of issues that are not necessarily connected, with respect. There is an ongoing review on retirement age in the Defence Forces for officers and enlisted personnel. It is under way. We continue to discuss with representative bodies what is appropriate in trying to ensure we maintain and protect capability within the Defence Forces while at the same time trying to do everything we can to recognise some of the concerns raised by the Deputy relating to fitness potential in later life, imp…

I thank the Deputy for the question. The strategic dialogue phase of what is called the strategic compass is ongoing, with thematic discussions taking place in different fora focusing on specific topics within the four clusters of the compass, which is essentially the debate on the future of defence matters in the European Union. These clusters are crisis management, resilience, capability development and partnerships. The strategic compass is a two-year process that aims to provide strategic reflection on Europe's…

The Deputy stated "given the current state of our military" and mentioned numbers and morale. If he asked people in the military forces if they want to be involved in collective crisis management with other EU countries, the vast majority of them would say "Yes". People join the Defence Forces because they want to act. They want to use their skill sets to save lives as peacekeepers and people who intervene to prevent conflict. They want to be able to intervene in a humanitarian crisis. The Naval Service wanted to g…

I take that point but the Irish Defence Forces are really good at what they do. I am very proud of them. It is why we are constantly exploring how the Defence Forces can contribute more to international affairs through peace building, peacemaking, peace interventions and so on. I reassure the House that we are not part of a creeping militarisation policy in the European Union. We have never been part of that kind of thinking and we are still not part of it. Before Irish troops are sent anywhere abroad, they need to…

I want to be very clear that no discussions have taken place regarding the further militarisation of the EU or the creation of an European army. Defence and security remains a national competence, with any decision to deepen EU defence co-operation requiring unanimity. There is no provision in EU treaties for the creation of an EU army and no proposal has been set out to change this. Any such proposal would require treaty change and no such change has been proposed. The protocol on the concerns of the Irish people …

The Deputy continues to raise these issues and I hope I continue to provide reassurance. As somebody who is very much involved in foreign policy and defence policy, let me reassure him that Ireland is not in the space of being part of a more militarised EU. We are in the space of co-operating with other EU countries when we can be a force for good in different parts of the world. That is what we are trying to do now in Mali, for example, where a number of our Defence Forces personnel are working in the EU operation…

I ask the Deputy to read a little bit about what is happening in Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, where there have been terrorist attacks and people have been killed. It is important that the EU supports Mozambique to ensure that terrorist forces do not destabilise parts of the country and that we can protect civilians and a democratic system. There are no plans for Ireland to be part of any Common Security and Defence Policy, CSDP, mission in Mozambique. I certainly defend the right of Portugal and other count…

As the Deputy will be aware, the report to the Public Service Pay Commission on recruitment and retention in the Defence Forces was published on 4 July 2019. The report was accepted in full by the Government at the time. To facilitate implementation, a high-level plan entitled Strengthening our Defence Forces – Phase One was also agreed and published on the same date. The high-level plan provided for actions or projects to be undertaken to deliver on the Public Service Pay Commission recommendations. It also propos…

The Deputy has made some very fair points. That is why I am anxious to conclude this issue, to have the report finalised and published and to stay in close contact with the representative bodies throughout that process. However, the Deputy will also know that I do not make all the calls on pensions. In fact, I do not make very many of them at all, even for the Defence Forces in my capacity as Minister for Defence. Pensions policy and any changes relating to it, even for the Defence Forces in a niche area, are matte…

I can understand why the Deputy wants to put his points on the record. If one speaks to officers who have joined after a certain time, it is a big issue for them in terms of planning their careers, particularly the latter parts of their careers as leaders and officers within the Defence forces. That is one of the reasons we are having a review in this area. As I have said, however, we are going to have to wait for clarity from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in respect of the pensions issues that ha…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 16 together. The issue of awarding of military medals for gallantry and distinguished service medals to personnel who served at Jadotville in September 1961 has been considered on a number of occasions over the years and a number of actions have taken place to give due recognition to the courage and bravery of all the members of "A" Company, 35th Infantry Battalion, who were stationed in Jadotville in 1961. Notwithstanding the actions that have been undertaken to date, I have …

I have been involved in a number of debates on this issue and I know the strength of feeling on it in this House and in Seanad Éireann. The Quinlan family have been very strong advocates for full recognition of the contribution that Irish Defence Forces serving personnel made in what were extraordinarily testing and difficult circumstances during the Battle of Jadotville. It is important that the awarding of medals is a military process and not a political one. What we are trying to do with this review by the indep…

I know the strength of feeling here. We have seen a whole series of local authorities around the country pass motions on Jadotville and we have seen schools getting involved in advocacy and doing projects on Jadotville. This is something that has caught the interest of many people across the country. It is a story of heroism, professionalism and extraordinary human endeavour. There are many other stories of heroism and extraordinary bravery linked to the Defence Forces too, which is why we have a medals system with…

I hope Members will accept the sincerity of my motivation here. We have set up a review process involving people who are taking it extraordinarily seriously. I have been assured that this process will be very robust. It will take into account an extraordinary volume of archival and historical material and will make recommendations on the back of all of that, in consultation with the families and many others. I hope that by the middle of next month, a report with recommendations will be presented to the Chief of Sta…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 10, 12, 15, 30, 41 and 43 together. The programme for Government committed to establishing an independent commission to undertake a comprehensive review of the Defence Forces and include the following matters: arrangements for the effective defence of the country on land, in the air and at sea; the structure and size of the Defence Forces, encompassing capabilities, structures and staffing; appropriate governance and high-level command and control; pay and allowances structures; …