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

-----as opposed to having to meet the standard on day one, which is a sensible and welcome change. The Chief of Staff and his team are very alert to this and I have certainly articulated the kind of points articulated by the Deputy to them. Objectively, and as lay people watching, we have to be conscious of the wider field of recruitment out there with full employment. The idea of bringing someone up to a standard as opposed to saying to them, "You are not at the standard, so you are not even going to get considered", is a step forward.

Some people swear by psychometric testing as being key - Deputy Berry might enlighten us on that later - but others do not. Psychometric testing for the Naval Service paused in June 2023 on a pilot basis for six months and that was subsequently extended for a further six months. We increased the maximum age to 29 for general service recruits. We have to shift to a model that brings people in and tries to get them battle-ready then, so to speak. That is my view.

We have more or less done most of the changes people were looking for in terms of income and so on. The next piece will be retention and I expect news on that shortly from the Minister with responsibility for public expenditure. This will be critical in terms of retirement issues and so on.