Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a process going on. I wrote to the Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe and to the Public Service Pay Commission in April of last year. Out of that and the report of May 2017, in October 2017, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, updated the Cabinet and identified the health sector and the Defence Forces as the two priority areas to be dealt with under the Public Service Pay Commission. That was under my instruction. I asked him to prioritise the Defence Forces and he did. That is why we have military and civil management working on a submission at this moment.

In response to Deputy Jack Chambers, I am delighted that Fianna Fáil has a newfound interest in the Defence Forces. In 2011, 2012 and 2013, we continued recruitment and had continuous recruitment into the Defence Forces right through, when the Fianna Fáil spokesperson on justice stood up and said we should stop the recruitment. I hope the Deputy will go back and tell PDFORRA and RACO now that his party tried to stop-----