Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Commandant King and his team for his very candid testimony today. It is very tough to listen to. It is very sad that an organisation that gives so much to the State is getting so little in return.

I have two very brief questions because I am conscious that Deputy Clarke wants to come in. I am sure Commandant King and his team can detect that this committee is on their side. We are very keen to assist them. This is a cross-party parliamentary oversight committee. Is there anything we can do, from a political point of view, to assist? For instance, we know the Commission on the Defence Forces will report in December. Do the witnesses see a role for this committee in the implementation piece? They mentioned that implementation is a major issue. We have had lovely reports over the past five years but very little implementation. Does the RACO team believe it would be a worthwhile endeavour for this committee to bring before it members of whatever implementation entity is created to provide some kind of forensic scrutiny of the implementation of the commission's recommendations? Perhaps, this committee could have a standing meeting every six months with the implementation body for the Commission on the Defence Forces.

The issue of the dilapidation of the Curragh Camp mentioned by Commandant King has also been raised by the Chair in the past. I see it for myself when I drive through it. It is the most derelict town in Ireland. Commandant King also stated that only 0.3% of Ireland's GDP, or less, goes towards defence. The defence budget is very limited. The ideal scenario would be an increase in that budget but, at least in the short term, what are the witnesses' thoughts on individual buildings being identified and other Departments being mobilised regarding them? For instance, if building X in the Curragh Camp was given to the Office of Public Works, OPW, for renovation, or if the Departments of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Housing, Heritage and Local Government or Rural and Community Affairs could look after a particular building, would that be useful in mobilising further budgets beyond the defence budget to address the terrible dereliction that is currently ongoing in the Curragh Camp?