Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Chairman is looking very fit still. The new policy thinking is around the concept of a single force. This means, in effect, we will see a much tighter relationship in the future between the Permanent Defence Force and the Reserve Defence Force in terms of training and so on. It is one of the major changes we plan to implement in order that the two organisations can work together in a much more cohesive way. That is what members of the reserve want. The more interaction they have with the Permanent Defence Force, the more effective they will be in their own roles.