Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No, I will not forward it to anybody. I must still consider the report myself. I will consider it over the coming weeks and I assure the Deputy I will not rush into publishing the report until I consider every part of it. Something in which I have a general interest is with regard to the welfare and well-being of all members of the Defence Forces, from the newest recruit to the Chief of Staff. I will consider this. The Deputy can be assured that I will consult PDFORRA and RACO on the issues. I have asked that both organisations, along with myself, will get a briefing presentation from UL on how exactly the climate survey was carried out. I will not make any further comment on it until I have the full report myself in my own hands.

I was involved in the initial stages of Dr. Eileen Doyle's review and I want to get an exact up-to-date position on where we are with it. It is all about bullying and harassment. I will get it in the coming weeks. I have not received every report and I have only been in the position for the past six weeks. It is an issue I want to get a handle on to see where we are with regard to the recommendations in Dr. Eileen Doyle's report.

On the White Paper, as I stated, it contains 88 projects. We have a civil person and a military person working on the White Paper and its implementation. If either of the two organisations has any issues during the implementation of any of the projects, I have no issue whatsoever in speaking to it and taking its views into account. It is very important that we involve the full defence organisation. Implementation of the White Paper will involve and affect every member of the Defence Forces, so it is very important that they are involved in its implementation. I assure the committee there will be a consultative process on all projects on the civil and military sides. At our monthly meetings I will receive an update on the implementation of the White Paper and the consultative process with every facet of the organisation. I have been informed by my officials that a roadshow is going to all barracks informing members about the White Paper and involving them as much as possible in the process of implementation. The 88 projects in the White Paper have not been separately costed, but I will obtain as much information as possible on this and will forward it to the committee.

There are no funding deficits in the recruitment of officers. I do not have a list of the vacancies with me. There are 1,170 whole-time equivalent officers and we have 1,107 at present. We will take in 75 cadets in September or October between the Army, the Air Corps and the Naval Service. There will be 50 going to the Army, 15 to the Naval Service and ten to the Air Corps. This is a major increase on recent years. I understand the point made that we cannot depend on the recruitment of new cadets and I take this on board. An issue on my radar is to see why we are shedding so many officers. There are a number of issues, but it is on my radar. There is an exit survey whereby those leaving are asked for their reasons for doing so. I hope to feed in this research to try to stop officers from leaving, because we depend on officers. I assure the Deputy there are no funding issues.

What was Deputy Chambers's question on the organisational structure?