Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It was remiss of me at the beginning not to mention the members of the Defence Forces currently serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, under the most difficult of circumstances. These circumstances are equally difficult for their families back home. I wish to record our thanks for the work they are doing and for continuing what is a very proud tradition of Irish Defence Forces participating in UN peacekeeping missions.

Finally, I wish to make a general point which Ms Sinnamon might respond to about the role of the oversight group. I gather from this exchange it is a report group as opposed to an oversight group. I do not get a sense it is holding feet to the fire in terms of delivery in a number of areas. I offer Ms Sinnamon an opportunity to challenge that assertion. On a number of issues concerning specific implementations, she pointed to Department officials who we could engage with directly if needs be. What I would like to see from an oversight group is a sense of urgency and for it to be conveyed to this committee and the public that there is an independent chair that is dragging the Department, if necessary, and the Defence Forces to where we need to get them.