Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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The presentation was very interesting and those serious concerns made for grim reading. In my previous life as a secondary teacher in Dublin, Defence Forces representatives used to come in and speak to the girls. There was always great interest due to the way in which the benefits of getting involved were presented. I am glad to say that some of them subsequently did.

As I listened to the presentation, I thought there was obviously something wrong with the culture, but Mr. Richardson made that point himself. Can he elaborate on that a little bit? He said there is a more positive engagement with the military authorities, yet he does not see that with the Naval Service Reserve, so I would like to hear about that. On what basis did the very few numbers make it through, while others were rejected?

Does Mr. Richardson have examples of international best practice in similar reserve forces? We know their value and benefit, but are there procedural, funding or resource issues that other countries have and from which we could learn? From what Mr. Richardson is saying, there seems to be a dumbing down. I think it is something that we can pursue.