Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will be brief, recognising the time constraints. I join Deputy Farrell in complimenting everybody in the Naval Service on the work that is being done in the Mediterranean. It is quite extraordinary and the Irish people at large are appreciative and proud of what their Naval Service is doing there. Is the Minister confident the Government will agree to extend that activity beyond November?

In addition to the valuable work being done there, can we do more in our international role in addressing the asylum and refugee issue? We can let it be known that along with what we are doing here indigenously to accommodate refugees, we are also very active daily in a way many other countries are not in this rescue mission. Some of us are conscious of that but I do not know whether the message has gone abroad that we are daily doing something about that problem. Does the Minister envisage any position in which our naval personnel can do something of a systematic nature to address human trafficking and abuse?

I am glad the Minister mentioned the reserves and he has made some very positive statements since taking office about the reserves and their role. None the less, when I speak to reservists, they tell me their practical experience on an ongoing basis is one of impediments being put in their way, with recruitment falling short because of practical obstacles. It was suggested to me recently that a group of people who passed the various tests which are correctly posed to those seeking to enter the reserves did not get in because the required Garda clearance for the group - there are 100 people - was not sent to the Garda authorities in time. Neither the potential reservists nor the Garda have control over this and this would not suggest a very positive or proactive approach to recruitment on the part of the authorities with direct responsibility. I ask that we bring in representatives of the reservists to hear directly from them, given that we had a very useful meeting with them some time ago.

I look forward to a further opportunity to debate with the Minister on the capital investment programme. I commend the purchasing of naval vessels and the value for money in that respect. What the Minister outlined today in that case is perfectly acceptable. The Minister spoke about the peace support and leadership training for the Curragh, and I made a submission on that in the Green Paper. Our party is very strongly committed to that. I am conscious that 100,000 personnel are deployed by the United Nations at any given time, which is a lot of personnel in need of training. Our expertise in peace support, leadership and military diplomacy gives us a capacity to meet a particular demand. I would love to hear from the Minister at a later date about how ambitious he is for that initiative and how he sees it developing.

I note the Minister has achieved further savings. The Department of Defence has been outstanding in this regard and I salute all the officials there in how they have achieved savings. Nevertheless, those savings are being achieved against a background where we are told continually that the people serving in our Defence Forces are heavily dependent on family income supplement and they contend with very poor pay and conditions. Given the savings, does the Minister accept something substantial must be done in terms of pay and conditions for serving members?