Dr. Mark Mellett:

I thank the Deputy for his questions. I have a responsibility to give advice to the Minister and the Government. That applies to the institutions of Government, of which the Public Service Pay Commission is one. There is context only a member of the Defence Forces can provide. It is a context that comes from seeing the men and women of the Defence Forces, who serve in Mali, Syria or the Mediterranean, on the ground delivering defence, security and Government services in very challenging environments. The only person who can articulate that is somebody who has been shoulder to shoulder with the soldiers, sailors and air crew. I sense I have a strong position to bring to bear on what is unique about the Defence Forces in the context of other aspects of the public sector.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh asked how we get to know the Defence Forces better. This forum is an opportunity to do that. It allows the Chief of Staff to set out his stall on why the Defence Forces is a unique institution, why they are critical as the bedrock of the sovereignty of this State and why they contribute so effectively to the institutions of civil society. Sometimes we take it for granted when people are free, the institutions of State function and the vulnerable are-----