Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

On that issue of instructors, the policy practised over the last number of years has run the Defence Forces into the ground. We are now in a position where we need to recruit both in RDF and PDF. It is fair to say that there is a significant interest among recruits who want to be a part of either the RDF or PDF. However, one of the problems we are now running into is we cannot take in the recruits because we do not have instructors to train them. The opportunity to expand the Defence Forces and meet the targets laid down by the Government have been hampered by virtue of the policy that has concentrated on recruiting rather than retention. Retention is twice as important as recruiting and if the RDF is left with a limited number of instructors, then it can only take in a very limited number of recruits. The same applies to the PDF and I think that should find its way into any report we make.