Ms Jo McCarthy:

It can be very difficult, being a person from a town in west Cork. Twenty-five years ago, there was a unit in the town, but when the barracks were closed, everything went to Cork city. There was the likes of Cork city and then all the way down to Castletownbere, where it was very difficult to recruit. There is maybe a two-hour drive. so it is difficult.

One of the best things about Ireland is that it is rural and that is probably what saved us during Covid because we were not so apart from one another. That was the gift of the Reserve many years ago and now it has affected us badly where, rather than focusing on recruitment in the communities, we are now focusing on colleges. Many of the recruits at present are in their 30s rather than their late teens.