Gabrielle McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I apologise for being late. I was on quorum duty and, unfortunately, I do not yet have the powers of bilocation, although I am trying.

As a Deputy from a garrison town, I am very proud of the Defence Forces and all their members, both serving and retired, as is nearly everybody in my town. We have a very proud history with the Defence Forces. When I was elected in the by-election last year, one of the pictures that had been on the wall in my late dear sister's office when I came in was a lovely one of her with the UN veterans who had visited her in 2007. It is the only picture I stole back out of the box and put up on my wall and it is still on it. I am happy to say the UN veterans from Athlone are coming to visit me here in January and I will have a picture taken with them which I will cherish.

One of the things about which I am pleased from the White Paper and the day of the symposium in Farmleigh is that the ARCO and all of the organisations were named in the White Paper. We will lobby the Minister to make sure it is not just a policy issue but that we make them a priority. I will be very happy to wear the fuchsia in July, regardless of whether I am a Deputy at the time.

I am very concerned about the Westmeath County Council grant for ONE. While I acknowledge the allocation of capital funding, I am very concerned about a grant of €0.39 per night. How much does it actually cost per night for a bed in Athlone?

As I am helping a few ex-servicemen, I am very conscious of post-traumatic stress disorder. Is there a bigger picture about which I do not know? I have a couple of people for whom I am looking out. How widespread is it among ex-servicemen and are they getting the support they need?

Rather than talking about the broad difficulties, are there specific things we could do as elected representatives to help the delegates?