Law to change so father of peacekeeper killed in Lebanon can receive pension
The Government is set to change the law to facilitate the payment of a pension to an 84-year-old man whose son was killed while on peacekeeping duties with the Irish Defence Forces.
John McNeela - the father of Private Michael McNeela, who was shot dead by Israeli-backed militia in Lebanon in 1989, was told by the State that he was not entitled to keep an allowance which was granted to his wife Kathleen - who passed away last year.
The case was highlighted on RTÉ's This Week earlier this month, and raised in the Dáil by the Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú.
At the time Mr McNeela said he felt "very let down" by the decision of the State not to allow the pension to transfer to him.
Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris said this was a "very hard case".
He described it as "mean spirited and unfair" and said he "found it wrong and it needs to be fixed."
He said that following a meeting with the Secretary General of his Department the Government had decided to change the law so that the pension allowance could be paid to Mr McNeela.
"It will require legislative change and that will take a bit of work" he said.
The Tánaiste said his officials are now looking to see if they could introduce the changes with the passing of a larger piece of defence legislation in the weeks ahead.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
2 hours ago
- The Journal
The Tánaiste has published the outline of the Occupied Territories Bill - here's what's in it
TÁNAISTE SIMON HARRIS yesterday published a broad outline of the updated Occupied Territories Bill as he endeavours to soon include services amongst prohibited trade activity. Ireland is the only EU country seeking to pass legislation sanctioning trade with businesses located in Palestinian land that is under the military control of Israel since its declaration of independence in 1967 – otherwise known as the Occupied Territories. These territories include the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights in southwest Syria. Israeli settlements in the territories are illegal under international law, as laid out in Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which stipulates that the transfer by a state of its own citizens into the land of another territory is illegal. This has been happening in the Occupied Palestinian Territories – particularly in the West Bank – for decades. A map of modern Israel showing the Occupied Territories of Palestine (marked by grey and white stripes) United Nations United Nations The Occupied Territories Bill was first introduced by Independent Senator Francis Black in 2018 and proposed making it an offence 'for a person to import or sell goods or services originating in an occupied territory or to extract resources from an occupied territory in certain circumstances'. The slightly amended bill proposed now by the Tánaiste, and formally known as the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill, would make it a crime under the Customs Act 2015 to import goods into Ireland that originate in Israeli settlements built over what is legally recognised as Palestinian land. Advertisement New homes being constructed in the West Bank After the Israeli government approved the expansion of Jewish settlements. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo However, services such as tourism and IT are as of yet excluded in the latest draft of the legislation. An estimated 700,000 Israeli settlers currently live in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which were seized by Israel in during the Six Day War in 1967. At present, Ireland is Israel's second largest trading partner after the US, purchasing €2.9 billion of its total exports, according to data from the Central Statistics Office. What will be included in the Bill? In its current form, the Bill only applies to goods imported from the Occupied Territories. The broad outline published by the Tánaiste yesterday breaks down the proposed terminology. Goods – materials and products, animate or inanimate. Material – indicates ingredients or component parts used to manufacture a good. Product – the good being manufactured, even if intended for use in a later manufacturing process. Importation - the act of bringing goods into the State from outside of the State (as per the Customs Act 2015). Israeli settlement - a city, village or industrial zone located in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. Parties found to be importing goods that are subject to prohibition under the Bill will be subject to punishment as outlined in Section 14(1) of the Customs Act. Will services be included? The Government has faced backlash for not including services in its recent outline of banned imports, with Labour accusing the Taoiseach of instead publishing a 'retreat'. Micheál Martin has commented on the difficulty of incorporating services into the Bill, stating that it is 'genuinely more complex than goods transferring' due to issues over defining where the service originates. However, Simon Harris has vowed to seek their inclusion in an enhanced version of the Bill due to go before an Oireachtas committee for examination. 'Let's not forget one thing before we get into the detail of the legislation, there isn't another country in the European Union that you can visit today and ask a government minister about their Bill to ban trade and the detail of it, because they don't have one,' Harris said. He is also understood to be looking for a second opinion from the Attorney General on the legalities surrounding the inclusion of services before passing it through to the pre-legislative stage. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Diverse and inclusive workforces the ‘most relaxed and happy', says Taoiseach
His comments come as US President Donald Trump has clamped down on American taxpayer spending on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) programmes, branding them a waste of money. He was speaking in an interview with Adam Long, board director of the National LGBT Federation (NXF) ahead of this weekend's Pride parade in Dublin. 'Companies will tell you that a diversity inclusive model is the most productive workforce and the most relaxed and happy place,' said the Taoiseach. 'When you go to the Googles of this world or you go to the major companies we have, be it digital companies or pharma, it is really a diverse workforce and a happy one as a result.' He said he visited LinkedIn recently which had a diverse workforce and staff were 'really happy' and 'in their space and in themselves'. The Cork TD said he is 'very anti' culture wars, saying they are rampant in the UK and the US. He said Ireland should 'avoid' it. 'There's too many activists in the UK on this stuff and Ireland should just avoid it. We have our ways of doing things, we should keep on the direction of travel that we began two decades ago or more,' he said. The Taoiseach said recent media interest over his comments in 2021 on how Irish people 'never were a homogenous group' is an example of how issues can get 'distorted'. He made the comments in an opening address to the Glucksman conference, which Independent Ireland TD Ken O'Flynn recently called to be clarified after the remarks were shared widely on social media. 'No one said a word for four years,' said the Taoiseach. 'We are in a space where there is distortion, where there is misinformation.' The Taoiseach affirmed support for LGBT+ people, saying on transgender people: 'Nobody should ever feel like they don't belong.' The Government is now facing legal action from the EU if it doesn't enforce European laws on hate speech and cyber security in the coming months. The Government last year decided to separate out controversial hate crime and hate speech legislation and drop the section on hate speech laws. The Taoiseach disagreed with the EU Commission, saying existing laws already go beyond the proposed EU laws. 'My understanding is the Minister [for Justicer Jim O'Callaghan] believes the Commission isn't quite accurate but it's a matter and we have to work out and deal with the Commission. We want to be in compliance with the European framework,' he said. 'In our common law provisions, we have moved much further than the Commission recognises.' He said the current hate speech laws, first enacted in 1989, were very 'far seeing' when they were implemented at the time. Mr Martin also said the Government and the Attorney General is currently considering a ban on conversion therapy, which the last Government also promised to ban.
Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Taoiseach says Europe's inability to put pressure on Israel 'incomprehensible'
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that it is 'incomprehensible that Europe does not seem to be in a position to put pressure and leverage on Israel to stop this war in Gaza'. He also suggested that Europe needed to follow other countries' steps to sanction individual ministers, noting that the UK, Norway and Canada had further sanctions against settlers in the West Bank and against Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. He made the comments ahead of an EU Council Meeting in Brussels on Thursday, where it was expected that some countries would block Ireland's attempts to sanction Israel. Mr Martin said that there must be European action to try and stop the war. He said: 'The people of Europe find it incomprehensible that Europe does not seem to be in a position to put pressure on Israel and leverage on Israel to stop this war in Gaza, to stop the continuing slaughter of children and innocent civilians. 'The war must stop. There must be a humanitarian response and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, an end to the blockade. 'I understand there are historical reasons why some member states have a particular perspective on this, in terms of the Middle East issue. 'But from a humanitarian perspective, it is incomprehensible what is going on, what continues to go on and Europe needs to really articulate that in the strongest possible way. We will be seeking to pursue mechanisms to ensure that this war stops and that humanitarian aid gets in urgently to Gaza.' Mr Martin said he will call on his counterparts to consider the EU-Israel Association Agreement and any further actions that can be taken against Israel. A review of the agreement found indications that Israel had breached human rights obligations contained within the deal. Benjamin Neyenyahu's Government has criticised the Government, with the Taoiseach criticising this in turn. He said: 'Israel needs to stop denouncing every report that comes out using objective criteria to describe the situation in Gaza. 'It's not an outrage, the review. The review, in some respects, is quite, some could argue, a modest document that seeks to objectively present the facts in relation to Gaza, but it avoids emotional language and so on like that. 'I think that that kind of tactic and pattern of undermining those who would even question what's happening in Gaza, that also has to stop. I passionately believe in the reassertion of the United Nations within the Middle East, the primacy of UN agencies. 'The European Union has an association agreement with Israel. Israel should respect all clauses of that agreement, including the Human Rights clauses. 'There are differences of opinion across the European Union table. I acknowledge that. 'But I think there are other areas, for example, the United Kingdom, Norway and other countries, Canada, have now issued further sanctions against settlers in the West Bank and against Israeli ministers, Minister Ben-Gvir and Minister Smotrich. 'These are issues that the European Union should look at, as well as the Association Agreement and aspects of the Association Agreement.' The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
