Ms Julie Sinnamon:

I will start with the head count issue the Deputy raised. It is a substantial issue. That is why, in order to reverse it the recruitment side needs to be stepped up and more changes will be needed in addition to those made to date. In terms of the positioning, we must ensure people are aware of the total package and that it is not just about the finances but all of the reasons why people will join either the Defence Forces or any other career. Some progress has been made on the presentation of that, that is one focus. Then there is the retention issue; the package of measures in this commission report are really essential and the implementation of those as quickly as possible is critical. The work that will also be undertaken by the external oversight body set up in response to the independent review group, IRG, will also support the retention issues, as well as the financial side. As the Deputy noted and acknowledged some progress has been made, but there are 130 recommendations. Some of those, for example, the long service increments etc., will need further evaluation before implementation and those are things that will be part of that plan in order to progress it.

The defence attachés point the Deputy made is not something I have picked up to date in my engagement on this. I can take his comments on board and revert to him. I cannot answer that any more specifically at this stage. The patrol duty allowances are again not one of the immediate actions which have been prioritised or that we have made progress on. Those are issues that will need further evaluation and implementation. I am happy to have heard the Deputy's inputs today and we can feed those back to the system.

I have not met any of the representatives of PDFORRA to date. It would be useful to have that engagement. To date I have focused on the members of the Defence Forces and the Department of Defence, and reading myself into a new world. I have not met any of those representative bodies but that is something I intend to do.