Kehoe, Paul

Defence Forces (Evidence) Bill 2019: Order for Second Stage

I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

Defence Forces (Evidence) Bill 2019: Second Stage

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to present this Bill to the House this evening. This is technical but important legislation which will be of major assistance to the Military Police Corps in its investigations. Th...

The investigative capabilities of the military police, which may need to be exercised outside the jurisdiction of the State when military personnel are on overseas service or on State ships, are ...

This Bill closely follows the provisions outlined in the Act of 2014 but with adaptations, where required, to take account of the military environment. For example, there was no requirement in t...

I now come to the detailed provisions of the Bill. The Bill is divided into 12 parts. Part 1, the preliminary and general part, includes standard provisions relating to the Short Title, sets ou...

Part 2 deals with the taking of samples from persons in the custody of the military police for entry onto the military police DNA database system, as well as the taking of intimate and non-intima...

Section 10 provides for the taking of an intimate sample, while section 11 provides for the taking of a non-intimate sample. The results of the forensic testing of a sample taken under these sec...

Defence Forces (Evidence) Bill 2019: Second Stage (Continued)

In addition, and due to the nature of an intimate sample, the consent of the person in service custody must be obtained before any such sample is taken. Section 13 of the Bill deals with the infer...

Section 15 allows for the use of reasonable force in the taking of a non-intimate sample. However, the use of this power is subject to a number of safeguards as specified in this section. Speci...

Part 3 provides for the taking, by the military police, of samples from Defence Forces personnel and other persons to ascertain whether such persons have contaminated a crime scene sample. This ...

Part 4 provides that the military police may request a person to allow a DNA sample to be taken from him or her for the purpose of generating a DNA profile with regard to the investigation of a p...

Part 5 provides for the establishment by the director of Forensic Science Ireland, FSI, of a DNA database system. The system, which will be similar to the DNA database system established under t...

Part 6 outlines the powers of members of military police in respect of the collection of evidence other than evidence collected under Part 2 of this Bill for the purposes of DNA testing, from a p...

Defence Forces Reserve

With regard to Parliamentary Question No. 20 of 6 September 2019, I undertook to reply with the information requested relating to plans to amend Defence Forces regulation R5, particularly regarding...

Defence Forces Recruitment

The Working Group on Direct Entry was established to consider issues and make recommendations relating to Direct Entry as a method of recruitment for specialist posts at enlisted and officer ranks....

The Working Group has met twice since its inception and is in the process of establishing and examining the current entry requirements, aptitudes and training overheads in a number of specialist ...

More recently I have established a Review Group to review recruitment methods in the Defence Forces which will now also incorporate the relevant recommendations of the Public Service Pay Commissi...

Defence Forces Operations

Preliminary work has been undertaken on a Gap Analysis of skill sets within the PDF, to identify the frequency of gaps and appropriate measures to address them. The scope of the project is under co...

A project to identify individuals in the First Line Reserve, Army Reserve and Naval Service Reserve with relevant professional qualifications and their potential availability, was paused pending ...

The work undertaken on these projects will also now inform and complement relevant projects of Phase One of the High Level Implementation Plan for the recommendations of the Public Service Pay Co...

Military Aircraft

My priority as Minister with Responsibility for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Defence Forces is maintained to the greatest extent possible so as to enable the Defence ...

The White Paper on Defence provides for the replacement of the two CASA 235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft with consideration of their replacement with larger more capable aircraft, which would enhance...

A public tender competition for the replacement of the CASA Maritime Patrol Aircraft has recently been completed, and a preferred bidder has been identified.  The tender competition has been carr...

It would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this stage as the procurement process has not yet been completed and the terms of the contract are being negotiated. 

In accordance with the National Development Plan, the capital allocation for Defence has been increased to €106 million for 2019, an increase of €29 million. The NDP provides for a total of €541 ...

Capital Expenditure Programme

The level of capital funding allocated to my Department allows the Defence Organisation to undertake a programme of sustained equipment replacement and infrastructure development across the Army, A...

Schools Building Projects Status

Asked the Minister for Education and Skills: the status of a building project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.