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

Since the White Paper was published, I have engaged through a number of parliamentary questions. I find the way the White Paper is laid out strange. There is no harm in it. If one reads through it, one will just about find what the tasks and targets are. The Minister of State mentioned 95. We were originally told it was 88. There is no list within the White Paper itself so sometimes it is very difficult to judge. Most other documents of that scale have the target, purpose and timeframe in which it is hoped that goals will be achieved at the end. I know the Minister of State has supplied some of that material to me since. It makes it difficult for people looking in to gauge whether the Minister of State, Department or military authorities are successful in achieving what has been set out. It is quite obvious that we are not achieving some goals.

There is a chapter on retention of soldiers. Recruitment is being achieved. We have seen people being recruited and cadets being sworn in recently. I congratulate them. There is a dilemma that we have discussed in the committee, of recruitment and retention and the problems that creates for military authorities while trying to plan for the future. If one has a cohort of older, more experienced soldiers leaving and newer recruits, it makes it difficult to plan major events, overseas operations, fisheries protection operations or for whatever skills are then missing. In recent years, air ambulances have not been able to provide the full cover that is expected of the Defence Forces by the public. It is conditional on their availability but the public has, or at least had, a view that the Defence Forces are available as an aid to the civil power. The military authorities can only do that if they have the personnel and equipment required. We have seen a number of occasions where they have been constrained or where it has created difficulties relating to a lack of soldiers or equipment.

An issue I have with regard to the role of the Defence Forces is that there should be greater concentration on preparing the Defence Forces for more operations abroad, such as disaster relief and infrastructural works. They have shown in Ireland that they can do that. They have been quite good if a bridge goes down, for example.

The change to a two brigade system meant the loss of one of the engineering units and a lack of equipment for disaster and humanitarian relief. I have a different view to most recent Governments, which seem to have embraced the EU battlegroup role for the Irish Defence Forces rather than peacekeeping and helping in disaster zones around the country.

My criticism of the review is that the White Paper should be made more accessible. The Minister of State set out the 95 targets or tasks so that when the cyclical reviews come up, it is easier for people on the outside to comment and say that they want there to be more focus on certain matters. Brexit has really changed much of what was set out in the White Paper. The Minister of State is here this week and it is a pity that it is not next month, since we might have some surety about it then. That will impact on the call on the Defence Forces relating to Border duties. There are stories about gardaí being trained. There is a plan already in place to put some of the new recruits in the Border region in preparation for a possible hard border. We saw the issue of fisheries last week. That will become a greater problem or duty for the Defence Forces in the near future if we do not have the agreement that we intend. The Defence Forces and the Department, when preparing the White Paper, would not have been aware of Brexit coming down the track. They would not have been focusing as much on that aspect of security. While I know it has been done, that suggests a need to continually review the security situation as the Brexit issue develops.

I have raised this issue before so it is more of a comment than a question. The first duty of the military authorities and the Department is to respect and protect the members of the Defence Forces and to enhance morale. There are a number of issues and events that have happened in recent years which are contributing to lowering that morale. I have not heard any problem with regard to protection of soldiers. I think they are happy with the protection. Respect for soldiers has been brought into question by the lack of proper wages and proper health and safety standards in the past.