Mr. Conor King:

If used correctly, the first-line Reserve and the second-line Reserve would be a fantastic tool to augment the Defence Forces and to ensure the skills, knowledge and capabilities that have been built up over a number of years are not lost to the organisation. The first-line Reserve withered on the vine somewhat over recent years. I know the Naval Service used it and maybe Lieutenant Commander O’Mearain can expand on that in a minute. However, I also know that many of our recently retired members who applied for the first-line Reserve had not heard anything back from it. To the credit of the Department of Defence, once we got involved and started making queries, the application process did speed up. We should up our game as an organisation in relation to exit interviews and exit surveys to find out why people are leaving and what would entice them to stay. At the point of retirement - the exit point - the option of signing up for the first-line Reserve should absolutely be put on the table, if it has not been already. I am not sure whether it has. Does Lieutenant Commander O’Mearain want to talk about the first-line Reserve for the Naval Service?