John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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I acknowledge the efforts by the Minister and the Department in bringing forward the Estimates. I agree and fully support the comments by the Minister about the fantastic work by all members of the Defence Forces, and especially those on overseas missions and those engaged in efforts to tackle the Covid pandemic. I say a big well done to all members of the Defence Forces who actively participated in all of that.

The key issue affecting the Defence Forces is recruitment and retention. While the issue of pay and conditions are central to recruitment and retention, the financial answer to that question must be preceded by a political solution, namely, the freedom to associate with ICTU and the restoration of allowances. I spoke to the Minister in the Chamber last week on the issue of the 1994 service contracts. As we head into this debate, the number of members in the Defence Forces continues to drop. The 2019 to 2020 numbers have decreased again, which emphasises the problem and the huge issue of retention and recruitment. The ongoing under-staffing of the Naval Service and the Army remains a massive concern. I heard what the Minister said about the huge work the commission has embarked on, with more than 500 submissions. The commission will ultimately make its recommendations on all the matters that have been identified and that fit within the terms of reference. I am not entirely sure that we can hold our breath, however, and hope the political will that is required will actually follow to implement the recommendations that come. I hope to be proved wrong on that but we will have to wait and see.

Within the Naval Service, we have seen a 40% reduction in the number of patrols carried out since 2018. This is alongside a 12% reduction in the number of inductions to the Permanent Defence Force in the same period. Those issues are a major concern that need to be addressed.

I want to touch on the issue of cybersecurity. It must be said that the Defence Forces are playing a key role in the State's efforts to defeat hacking attempts of key systems. Over the past week we have seen how important all of that work is and the impact it is having on our health service. The Communications and Information Services Corps is the unit with responsibility for this and is supplying the HSE with a specialist team from within that it. Will the Minister respond to the claim put out that the unit has been subject to massive cuts over the past years? It has been suggested that it included the loss of a whole company of 50 personnel and that the unit is currently one third below strength. It has also been suggested that these cuts have savagely undermined the capacity within the Defence Forces to assist in the defence of our country against these types of cyberattacks. These cuts, along with the failure of the Government to introduce the necessary measures to retain the key skilled personnel, are absolutely devastating. This is despite agreeing in 2019 to introduce technical pay for the specially trained members of the forces, such as those in the Communications and Information Services Corps. Will the Minister clarify what provisions will be made to bring this unit back up to full strength to ensure it can play the critical role it is supposed to play?

I turn now to the measures to ensure there is gender equality within the Defence Forces and to the need to recruit more women into the Defence Forces. I congratulate Chief of Staff, Mark Mellet, and his team on the immense amount of work they have done on the issue. I congratulate also Lieutenant Aoife Campbell who last month replaced Commandant Gillian Collins as the new gender equality and diversity adviser to the Defence Forces. We, as a country, and the Government have identified women, peace and security as a key area for the duration of Ireland's membership of the UN Security Council, which must be commended. It is a fact that the more women involved in peacekeeping missions the greater the chances of maintaining peace. I raised this last week with the Minister in the context of Mali and the key role played by women who participate in those peace negotiations and agreements. It is critical. By achieving a figure of 35% involved in peacekeeping missions we can see tangible transformation. What measures are contained in the Government's plans to increase female members within the Defence Forces and overseas missions to allow them to build on the already fantastic contributions in combat roles and peacekeeping missions?