Mr. Conor King:

I thank the Deputies for their questions. Deputy Berry spoke about oversight and the potential for the committee to be an inter-party oversight committee with a role in implementing the work of the commission on the Defence Forces. It is absolutely fundamental that there be oversight of the plan. The proof of the pudding is in the eating when it comes to the high-level implementation plan. There is a full page in the document dedicated to oversight. There is reference to a strategic HR group. The document states:

All updates on the implementation Plan will be channelled through the Cabinet Committee F Senior Officials' Group which is chaired by a senior official in the Department of the Taoiseach. As part of their role, the Chair of the Senior Officials' Group will liaise closely with the nominated coordinators in the Defence Forces and the Departments of Defence and Public Expenditure and Reform on the individual actions contained in the Plan, and monitor implementation timelines.

Two years into this one-year plan, one cannot really say other than that there has been a loss of oversight. The eye is off the ball somewhere, whether in the Defence Forces, the Department of Defence, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, at higher levels of government or in more centralised government. This plan, which was to save and strengthen the Defence Forces and make them an employer of choice, as referenced on nearly every page of the document, has not been faithfully adhered to. The strength figures, which continue to decline, are proof of that. We had some 82 discharges in the month of May and we are seeing an upward trend in discharges for the year, which is extremely worrying for our members.

The same goes for the commission on the Defence Forces as well. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Our members signed up to the high-level implementation plan in good faith. We believed we were going to be treated fairly in pay talks and we went in with our heart in a hat. Now we are fully participating in the commission on the Defence Forces. No matter what recommendations come out of it, and we hope they will be strong, if they are not adequately overseen then it is a wasted exercise.

Deputy Berry spoke about the Curragh Camp, which is in his constituency, and whether we would see a benefit in different Departments taking responsibility for individual buildings there. We certainly do see a benefit in that. There is potential for the Military College, for example, to be accredited as a university campus. Why not? There is a new Department overseeing further and higher education. Why should that facility not be leveraged? There are many public buildings in the Curragh Camp that the Office of Public Works or the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government could look at as potential amenities. There are houses there that are boarded up because people do not want to let them to Defence Forces personnel. I know there was a problem with over-holders, etc. but that was due to lack of oversight. It can be easily fixed if the Department or the Defence Forces were adequately resourced to do the oversight of military accommodation or if that area were overseen by another Department. Leaving the buildings derelict is not good enough.

Deputy Clarke spoke about the exit survey and change processes. It is very important that an organisation should know what it wants to be. The Deputy referred to the 2012 reorganisation. Even the most uninterested person would know that reorganisation was done on a budgetary line, not a strategic line. The work of the commission on the Defence Forces is an example of where we need to ask ourselves what the Defence Forces are about and what the State wants us to do.

I have spoken about black swan events and a robust national insurance policy. Mr. Priestley might comment briefly on the work of the Defence Forces during the pandemic, after which I will come back to the Deputy's other questions. It is very important that we recognise and acknowledge what is being done in this area.