Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I see it as a holding measure. I hope that, over time, these matters can be better dealt with through pay policy, particularly if we are successful in building up the number of our personnel who are involved in this really important work. To give the Deputy a bit of information regarding the number of people using the relief at the moment, 189 enlisted personnel and 35 officers availed of it in 2021. With regard to the broader work that needs to be done to make a difference to the number of people who are available to our State to protect our sea waters, this issue was dealt with in the report of the Commission of the Defence Forces recently published by the Government. The report contained 130 different recommendations, all of which will require an awful lot of time to consider and implement. I envisage maintaining this credit throughout the period in which these recommendations are being implemented.