Mr. Ollie O'Connor:

With regard to the membership and why it is low, it is a 21st century problem that people are not joining. All the clubs we remember from when we were young, such as the men's clubs and card clubs, are all gone. People are looking at their tablets or their televisions. People who have left the Defence Forces have worn a uniform for all their time in the Defence Forces. When they join our organisation, and I believe IUNVA might be the same, they do not have to wear a uniform, but they do not really believe that. That is a problem.

As regards women, we are currently developing a diversity and inclusion policy. For the first time, we have two women directors on the board of directors. One was co-opted because of her skills and the other was elected by the membership. We hope to grow our women membership and our membership generally, because we cannot operate without membership. That is a problem.

Regarding something else that was said earlier, the Defence Forces is an institution. Similar to all institutions, the members' behaviours are modified. Then they leave. When I left the Defence Forces, for example, I realised I had to pay for inhalers. All of that had been done previously. The cloak that was around the person previously is no longer there. The vast majority of people who leave the Defence Forces do not have a pension. It is only those who have served 21 years, as it was in my time, and now it is 30 years since the passing of the single pensions Act. We have to get over the perception people have that everyone who leaves the Defence Forces has a pension. People who leave the Defence Forces have the same problems as everyone else in society and they do not always like going to somebody else to try to solve their problems. They have been problem solvers throughout their career in the Defence Forces, and now it is themselves. That is where we come in. It could be for a cup of tea, and a couple of weeks later one finds there is a real problem.