Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for his statement. I send my best wishes to our 342 personnel in Camp Shamrock in south Lebanon. I am sure there are contingency plans to get them out in the event of a real emergency, but they are well-trained soldiers and one would hope they are having a stabilising influence on the region. How many of the soldiers stationed in south Lebanon are on their first, second or third overseas deployment? A great deal of important knowledge about the local culture and geography is picked up on overseas missions.

Does the Tánaiste have an update on the terms and conditions of the IRG report?

I went through the Tánaiste’s opening statement last night and “transformation” was mentioned at least ten times. I might have missed one. Regarding the budget, something that struck me and many members of the Defence Forces – there are many of them in Kildare where I live – was the lack of attention paid to the Defence Forces. Many of them referred to the working time directive. The one paragraph of his opening statement that the Tánaiste did not read out goes: “To this end, I can confirm that Defence Forces management is progressing the introduction of an interim time and attendance system on a pilot basis which will inform future systems.” I do not blame him for not reading it out.