Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

It is a welcome change to have the Minister of State at the Department of Defence, Deputy Kitt, standing in for the Minister. I look forward to eliciting much more information than we are accustomed to getting from the Minister.

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. However, the Minister for Defence stated earlier in the summer he hoped to bring proposals to Cabinet by the end of September and to make an announcement on the situation. It is important there is movement on Ireland's commitment to participate in EU battle groups because we will otherwise be left behind. Fine Gael supports the concept. Will the Minister of State indicate when these reports or their recommendations will be made public and what the Minister's view is on the matter?

The Minister said the report would review the involvement of personnel overseas in general. The Minister stated at the RACO conference that we may have to cut back on the number of officers serving overseas, but that would be a retrograde step. If there is a difficulty — I do not believe there is — we should consider restructuring our home commitments. It is important we maintain our overseas commitment.

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