Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I take the Chief of Staff's point that the Permanent Defence Force, comprising the regular troops, is competing with the private sector when it come to recruitment and retention and that is the same across the world, but our Reserve Defence Force is not and it is still perhaps 60% below strength. You can have a job in the private sector and be a member of the Reserve Defence Force. We had an excellent meeting about two weeks ago with the Civil Defence. It is very easy to get into the Civil Defence and easy to stay in it, but for whatever reason it is almost impossible to get into the Reserve Defence Force. Many people who leave the Permanent Defence Force get in touch with us to say they would love to be in the Reserve Defence Force. They might have retired aged 30 years and be fit and healthy. Where is the blockage? From a legislative point of view, you can transfer from the Permanent Defence Force to the Reserve. From a regulatory point of view it is possible. We have heard of a trickle of people who were allowed transfer from the Permanent Defence Force to the Reserve Defence Force. Where is the blockage and can it be removed?

On recruitment to the Reserve, as I said it is easy to get into the Civil Defence. There are no medical or fitness tests. When I joined the Reserve Defence Force it was easy to do. Have we invented barriers that are unnecessary? Now we do not have enough medical officers to implement the rules we are bringing in. I take the Chief of Staff's point that we are outsourcing induction medicals, but we should be in-sourcing induction medicals because they are so important and we need more medical officers. As a last point on the Reserve Defence Force, it was a success of this committee that personnel from the Reserve are now allowed travel overseas on operations. Has that happened yet? If not, when are we likely to see the first members of the Reserve Defence Force deployed overseas? They travel overseas for training to Oberammergau and to the UK, which is exactly as it should be, but have they been deployed operationally and if not, when are we likely to see that happening?