Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The implementation of the White Paper has been ongoing since 2015. What tangible projects have been concluded and what impact have they had on the Defence Forces? The Minister of State said there was going to be a report on pilots in this quarter and appeared to refer to the strong argument he had made about them. Did he make recommendations related to them as part of his submission? We know that he did not make recommendations as part of the general submission. Perhaps he might clarify the matter.

On Naval Service patrol day numbers, are more personnel leaving than being recruited? How will the Minister of State address manning levels? Some 1,500 applied this year, which number may yield approximately 350. According to the strategic document, over 10,000 applied in 2012. There are diminishing numbers applying and larger numbers are leaving. The recruitment and retention crisis has reached catastrophic levels in the organisation, but we have yet to see recommendations or progress made in this area. How will the Minister of State address manning levels?

As Senator Craughwell mentioned, the contract for organ transplant flights was outsourced because of the shortage of trained staff. Will there be a contagion effect across other areas of the Air Corps? When does the Minister of State see himself plugging the gap in the context of the diminishing service that can be provided? In addition, safety concerns have been conveyed to him about the experienced personnel leaving the Air Corps. It is a big concern that we are losing very experienced people in that area. There must be progress in dealing with the issue.