Mr. Patrick Mulley:

We approached the Minister two years ago when the internships came up. We were looking at our own RDF members who were unemployed at that stage. Their number has grown considerably since.

On one of the problems that we encountered, I want to adjust what the Minister stated this morning on recruitment. The RDF and the NSR never experienced a problem with recruitment. We were restricted. There is an embargo in place since 2008. In 2007, the then Minister allowed us 700 recruits and the military allowed us 172. It is not because of the recruitment issue that we find ourselves in the situation we are in today.

However, one of the aspects that we looked at in some detail in the RDFRA two years ago was the Tús programme and the internship programme, both of which were coming on stream at the time. We would still contend that those who have a number of years service in the RDF would be ideal candidates for an internship programme with the Defence Forces. My last inquiry to the Department found that it was looking at this quite actively. We stated it is a source where members could be utilised. If the youth of the country could be taken up on those type of schemes, we would welcome that. It would further enhance our training. It would give us another leg-up on the training. If we are to have the same capability as the PDF, we would envisage that if this programme works well we should arrive at a situation in three years' time where the local sergeant major, when he is looking to undertake a duty, could telephone an RDF member to ask if he or she is available for, say, a Wednesday. He or she could be brought in for the duty in the same way that, say, Pennys stores would use their part-time staff.

There is no point in looking at this in a regimented fashion. We need to think outside the box and to have flexibility in the system. As my colleague stated earlier, we need the Defence Forces to embrace the difference that is the RDF. We have embraced the difference that is the PDF since we began. There are differences, but these differences can be exploited to the benefit of the State, the PDF and, certainly, the people of the country.