Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Lisa Chambers asked about service medals and Jadotville in particular. In recognition of the mission in Jadotville and the contribution that members of the Irish Defence Forces made, I made this a priority when I came into the Department. This issue has gone on for many years and has been dealt with by many Ministers. I have asked the Chief of Staff to see what records there are relating to the battle of Jadotville in order to discover if we can recognise the soldiers' work and commitment during their mission.

Deputy Chambers will be well aware as a former member of the Reserve Defence Force of the regulations around medals and that has to be respected also. I assure the Deputy that this matter is ongoing within my own Department and within the Defence Forces. We will continue to examine whether they can be awarded some form of medal. Personally, I would not like to see just three or four people getting medals. We have to recognise all the members who made a contribution to Jadotville because they all made a huge contribution in their own way.

On Brexit, colleagues will be aware that the Prime Minister of the UK said she will trigger Article 50 shortly, although I am not sure if that will happen because of events yesterday. That is a matter for the British Government. Let me assure the Deputy that I have assigned a senior person within my Department to deal with all Brexit-related matters. This person is supported by a number of others in all branches within the Department and the Defence Forces. The managing board is also acting as a clearing house for Brexit and maintains oversight of all issues that are arising at present. I and senior officials within my Department have had a number of meetings with the Department of the Taoiseach. Once Article 50 is moved upon and the negotiations begin, we will be very much involved and will be ready.

Regarding the issues around the Air Corps, as the Deputy well knows and as I have stated on numerous occasions, there is a shortage of pilots. That is an issue I am trying to address but it cannot be addressed overnight. We have eight cadets going through at the moment and pilots coming on each year. It takes five years before a pilot is fully trained up and qualified to fly any form of aircraft. I am addressing the issue but it will take quite some time to get back to full strength. That is the reason there has been a lowering of flying hours within the Air Corps.

On the Reserve Defence Force, as I stated to Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan before she left, this a priority for me in 2017. I know Deputy Chambers asked for specifics around training days, the spending of the budget, the gratuity payment and so on. One thing I do not want to lose is the whole voluntary ethos around the Reserve Defence Force. People join for the right reasons when they join as volunteers. I do not want people to lose that special ethos. I will look at the issues the Deputy raised around the gratuity.

On the number of training days, during 2016, a total of 1,298 Reserve personnel undertook paid training days and a total of 19,710 training man days were used up. Similarly to the years 2013 to 2015, inclusive, not all of the allocation of 2016 was used up. This is reflected in an underspend of €582,000 in the Reserve budget in 2016. The Deputy raised specific issues about whether we can use up the underspend or savings. I will examine the matter. I have spoken to senior people in my Department, the Chief of Staff and the Deputy Chief of Staff about how we can improve the terms and conditions, recruitment and everything relating to the Reserve. I want to make sure this is prioritised in 2017. Even though we have a great number of people applying for the Reserve, when it comes to having the medical exams and things like that, many people fall off. I want to find out if the process is taking so long that we are losing people. I am not sure what the issues are in that regard.