Dr. Cathal Berry:

That is an excellent point. If anything has been achieved over the past five years, it is that we have normalised the discussion of the topic of defence. If you brought up the subject five years ago, you were labelled as a warmonger. These hearings before the committee are very important. More informed commentary in the Dáil is also important. The reason that many of the public are misinformed is because we have not had the discussion. While the committee is time constrained at the moment in respect of this legislation, there is no difficulty later in the year or next year having a more broad discussion with testimony from various witnesses, if that would help the public's understanding.