Mr. Conor King:

It is a great question. We do have a great interest in infrastructure and facilities because they are fundamental to the well-being of our members and all members of the Defence Forces. On a more strategic level, there is an ongoing review of medical services that has not been finalised yet, and it should have been finalised for at least a couple of years at this stage. It is one of the recommendations in chapter 8 of the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces that the ongoing review of medical services be concluded without delay and before the end of 2022, and it has not happened yet. The external oversight body for the Defence Forces has it as its mandate at the moment to ensure the implementation of the recommendations of the medical services review among other recommendations in chapter 8.

Moving to more tactical issues as regards proper facilities, it is certainly something we take a great interest in. I compliment not only the engineers but also the Department of Defence and the rest of military management on the manner in which they try to upgrade facilities. We have all seen some of the facilities in the Defence Forces.

There has been a policy of managed decline in some areas such as, for example, the Defence Forces training centre, DFTC, at the Curragh Camp. However, when we get it right, we do a fantastic job and we can get it right. A new facility will be built in Baldonnel, hopefully soon, to replace St. Bricin's hospital. There is a fantastic new facility for student officers in Galway, in the university service administrative complement, USAC,. Barracks are improving throughout the country. We are getting there. We could do with some more married quarters for personnel of all ranks. I think that policy has been discontinued but it proved its worth in the past. When you are proud of the conditions you are living and working in, you do a better job. There is a lesson for all of us in that.