Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is all to do with the same subject. Our responsibility is to ensure that we have adequate numbers in the Defence Forces to carry out the duties and responsibilities required of us. Given the times we live in, and, thankfully, there is more or less full employment, there will be greater strain on personnel leaving and vacancies occurring, but that is something we have to face up to. We have to change our recruitment policy and those who join have an obligation to the State and to others in carrying out those duties.

I get a little confused as who is entitled to leave and on what basis were they taken on originally, for instance, or whether they are on a contract basis for a certain period. What I would like at some future meeting is that we get a paper outlining the policy on recruitment to the Defence Forces and the responsibilities that we have to perform in terms of ensuring that we have adequate numbers of proper personnel to carry out the responsibilities that rest on our shoulders, as the people depend on us to ensure that the Defence Forces tick over efficiently.

There are so many higgledy-piggledy elements that have grown up over the years. I refer to personnel leaving and all the rest of it. If somebody joins up for a given period, in my opinion he or she has a moral responsibility, and a responsibility, to carry out his or her duties for that period of time. One cannot run any organisation without people leaving easily or changes being made. It is time - maybe I am wrong here - that we get a clear vision as to what are the responsibilities and the numbers that are required to carry out those responsibilities and that it is clear to everybody that if one joins up to the Defence Forces, one is obliged to do A, B, C, D and E, and for a certain period of time. That is what I would like, with the Chairman's permission. I would like that at a meeting in the near future to have a discussion about the overall situation in the Defence Forces, the obligations that are on personnel and how those obligations can or cannot be changed.