Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On Deputy Grealish's point, if any such request comes our way, we absolutely will consider it. We have never left the Irish population in need of anything.

On Deputy Barrett's point on Brexit, I assure him that I have instructed my Secretary General and his officials to make sure they are involved in all aspects of the conversation and deliberations about Brexit. I would be the first to acknowledge that there are huge consequences for the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces in this regard. The Deputy can be assured that at every MinMAC meeting between my office and the senior officials in my Department, Brexit is discussed as a standing item on the agenda. This occurs on a bimonthly basis to make sure we get an update each month.

Regarding Deputy Chambers's comments on the recruitment process for 2017, I have spoken to the Chief of Staff and the Defence Forces about different ideas and told him that I can assist him with such. If anyone has any ideas to contribute, I am absolutely open to them and would be delighted to take them on board. The recruitment campaigns can be quite difficult. If a class of recruits is being inducted in Galway, attempts are made to have as many people from that region as possible in the class. Similarly, if a class is being recruited in Cork, attempts are made to have many people from the region of Cork in that class. The same applies to Limerick or Kilkenny. The point is to avoid someone from Kilkenny being obliged to travel to Galway, someone from Donegal being obliged to travel to Dublin or someone from Dublin being obliged to go to Cork. There are ways and means in this regard. I absolutely take on board the Deputy's point that quite a number of people are travelling. Travel is part and parcel of joining the Defence Forces. Someone who has been used to being in a barracks quite close to his or her home sometimes will have to shift somewhere else. The relocation process can take quite some time. With the reorganisation, it took at least 12 to 18 months to relocate people to a barracks while considering their personal circumstances and so on. This has settled down but it is a huge issue for officers because the nature of their responsibility means they may have to travel quite a lot. I have asked, with the new recruits for 2017 and into the future, that we cater for them as much as possible in that they are located as closely to home as possible. The cadets are trained in the training college in the Curragh and can be located anywhere after that. When people enter the Defence Forces, especially cadets, they accept that they might not go back to the barracks closest to their home and that they can go anywhere in the country. Deputy Chambers spoke about the social benefits in the context of the RDF. I absolutely agree with her. I encourage as many people to enter the RDF as possible.

I will give the committee an interesting story. The Sunday before last, I was in a barracks in Wexford. A Polish man of 28 or 29 years of age had joined the RDF there. Fair play to someone from outside of Ireland having such an interest. He wants to give something back to Ireland and felt the only way he would do so was by joining the RDF. There are many other such people. Deputy Chambers is right in saying that at the start of the year, if quite a number of people put their names forward for the RDF and must wait for six, seven, eight or nine months for Garda clearance and vetting and our own security checks within the Defence Forces, they can get fed up and leave. I want to streamline this more so that we try to retain the people who put their names forward. It might only be people submitting expressions of interest, but I want to make sure that they are given every opportunity to become members of the RDF.