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

I have also spoken to the Tánaiste about the Secretary General being an ex officio member. We had great engagement with the external oversight group when it was before the committee, as we did with the other stakeholders. The Tánaiste says he wants the Secretary General to be there as some kind of conduit between the Minister for Defence and the external oversight group. That is his reasoning. He already said that RACO, PDFORRA and the Reserve Defence Force Representative Association, RDFRA, are professional bodies he respects. If the Secretary General is there in an ex officio capacity, they should be as well. Why can they not be there as a conduit to their members? Their involvement might increase buy-in from members of the Defence Forces for the recommendations made by the group. It would also show them some respect. We have spoken about this before.