Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I refer the Deputy to my earlier comments. On the recruitment side there are two issues. The more immediate one is retention. Retention is one of the key areas, as Deputy Berry has said, that could give us an immediate dividend of holding onto people and reducing the exit from the Defence Forces more generally. While we did recruit last year we lost nearly double the number of people we recruited. If we can reduce the number we lose and keep on recruiting, we will get into a better position.