Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and his officials. I have a couple of questions. This is the first year the committee has considered Supplementary Estimates relating to Defence Forces' pensions. Has the Department taken steps to increase the amount allocated for pensions next year?

Will the Minister of State outline the number of troops serving overseas and indicate if the number deployed has increased in recent months. I agree with my colleague about the wonderful work being done by the Naval Service. We all wish to be associated with that work and to compliment the personnel involved on the number of lives being saved as a result of the participation of the Naval Service. The Minister of State spoke about increased funding for the fourth new ship for the Naval Service as coming from savings on the pay side. Will he confirm that recruitment to the Defence Forces and the delivery of outputs will not be affected by the reallocation of funds or moneys? Perhaps he could elaborate on this matter. People in Sligo have asked - and they may, perhaps, have been disappointed about the third ship that was launched; the LE William Butler Yeats. Given the connection to Yeats in Sligo, at some stage in the future the Department might consider that the people in Sligo would get an opportunity to visit the ship.