Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is no problem. Will the Minister of State come back to it?

A question was asked about the Chief of Staff being the Accounting Office of the Defence Forces. The Minister of State did not answer it. I asked the question in the Dáil on the last occasion and he did not answer. I want a clear reason from him as to why the Chief of Staff cannot be the Accounting Officer for the Defence Forces. That is the solution for the Defence Forces. The Garda Commissioner is the Accounting Officer for the Garda Síochána. I am led to believe the Chief of Staff cannot spend one red cent without going back to the Department for approval. I want the Minister of State to address this clearly.

I welcome Mr. Mooney today. He is newly appointed. He has strategic responsibility for human resources in the Defence Forces. Will the Minister of State outline what exactly Mr. Mooney's role is? I will not go over the pay and conditions of the Defence Forces. It is an absolute disgrace that members of the Defence Forces are protesting on our streets over their conditions. We are all very proud of the Defence Forces. The Minister of State referred to the family. Many members of the Defence Forces are on the working family payment but there is no member of An Garda Síochána on it. What is happening is a disgrace. Over the weekend of the Pope's visit, members of An Garda were paid €30 per hour in overtime. All the members of the Defence Forces got after tax was €67. That needs to be addressed.

I want the Minister of State to answer my question on the view that no civilian is involved in recruitment. Why can the Chief of Staff not be the Accounting Officer? Why is he looking over his shoulder when has to make a decision on Defence Forces expenditure? Could the Minister of State give a clear reason as to why the Chief of Staff cannot be the chief Accounting Officer in the same way as the Garda Commissioner?