Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has said that he has no proof of the Defence Forces not being able to deliver on aid to the civil power. I know for a fact that there are occasions when the Defence Forces cannot deliver under aid to the civil power. We have discussed this before. If the air ambulance service, for example, requests to transfer children for operations in England, the Defence Forces cannot in any way, shape or form deliver on the full requirements. We have admitted that, and the Minister of State has admitted that. Search and rescue operations were taken off the Defence Forces in the past because it could not commit to being able to deliver fully. With fisheries we know for a fact that there are vessels that are not on fisheries protection duty. Just because they are anchored off Haulbowline or somewhere does not mean the vessels are on full duty. If we had flooding in the morning, as we had before, the required equipment and staffing levels to deliver a comprehensive aid to the civil power are not the same as previously. Nobody is saying that the members of the Defence Forces or the authorities in the Defence Forces are not willing to give their last ounce of strength or last ounce of equipment. That is not the point. The point is that because of the crisis in the Defence Forces, it cannot deliver on the same commitment it did before.

The word has gone out from the Department that one should not officially ask for help because it might not be able to deliver, and that instead one should ask what it can deliver and ask for that. It is a case of not asking for too much because it will not be available.