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

That is a fair point. Much of this will be about getting this done as opposed to the cost of getting it done. It is about getting it done through the various procurement processes. Some requests are far more complex than one may think. People go through this in great detail on the military side to get the assessment right and so on. It is important we do that when such large sums of money are being spent. What worries me is the maintenance and servicing of much of the newer equipment we are purchasing, as well as the training of personnel to operate the new equipment. That comes back to recruitment and retention, training in the technical grades and technicians and so on. As Deputy Craughwell pointed out, part of the challenge is that the private sector is poaching highly qualified people from the military. That is not just happening here; it is happening all over the world in a very tight employment situation. In some cases, the private sector is buying people out. In terms of those starting, the situation has improved significantly. That needs to be acknowledged, as I stated.

We are constantly looking at ways to improve. The healthcare announcement is part of that improvement. We recently approved an allowance that was arbitrated at conciliation and arbitration for Army Rangers, for example. There is a military service allowance, as the Deputy is aware, which is pensionable and is designed to compensate for the real and special disadvantages, to which reference was made, that are associated with military life, such as long and unsocial hours. That allowance is paid to all ranks up to the level of colonel because we recognise the role of the Defence Forces is different from that of other parts of the public service.