Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I concur with my party colleagues. We support much of what is in the legislation and we all want the Defence Forces to be fit for purpose, but issues have been laid out by Deputies Cronin and Ward, the latter of whom spoke about his family’s connection to the Defence Forces and the fact pay and conditions have always been an issue. It is dreadful that we have not yet dealt with that, and it is a considerable factor in why we are still dealing with a recruitment and retention problem. There are 7,504 members and there should be 9,600, while on LOA 2, the target is 11,500. We have to deal with those issues across the board.

There is still room for manoeuvre in dealing with these issues, whether by amendments from the Opposition or, as Deputy Cronin suggested, with an element of active listening. Many stakeholders are worried. We all welcome the idea of an external oversight body but there are worries about having a Secretary General in an ex officio capacity without including representatives from the representative organisations and there have been moves to almost curtail them in their actions. Many senior civil servants, not least those in defence, are already constrained and civil servants have to maintain an element of neutrality on political matters, which is all fine.

It cannot be beyond us to find a solution to these circumstances. We all know the issues that are coming down the line and I would imagine that every Deputy who is going to speak during this debate, especially on this side of the House, is going to speak about the worries people have regarding our Defence Forces and the idea of neutrality, to which the people are still wedded, and non-alignment. We are deeply worried about any moves in respect of the triple lock. The big worry is it is only a first step in something that is happening throughout Europe. We have heard from Ursula von der Leyen and others about the direction in which they want to go, which is the antithesis of where the Irish people would seek to be.

I have engaged with the Tánaiste numerous times following the murder of Private Seán Rooney. I would like to think we would honour the sacrifice that has been made by many in the Defence Forces over many years. We are seen as trusted players on the international stage because of our non-alignment, our independent foreign policy and our policy of neutrality, and we need to make sure that does not change. The Tánaiste and the Government should maintain their engagement and communication with the family, especially his mother, Natasha, and make sure no stone is left unturned in delivering justice. We all await what will happen on 7 June, the next court date in Lebanon, but we need to make sure we will maintain communication with not just the family but also the Lebanese authorities and the UN.

Finally, a constituent of mine spent many years in the Defence Forces and was trained by the National Ambulance Service as an advanced paramedic. She has since left the Defence Forces and joined the National Ambulance Service but the time she served is not being recognised in the context of grades, status and pay points. There is an issue with this not being credited. Even beyond that, the HSE has sought certification, and while she has had numerous items of correspondence from the Defence Forces, none of this has been sufficient for the HSE. I have engaged with the Tánaiste's office on this and I would like to think we could deal with it but there is a wider issue relating to people who have served many years in the Defence Forces. It cannot be beyond us to deal with these interdepartmental issues.

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