Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

The Minister will agree that when 40%, over 5,000 members, of a force disappear over a four-year period it is a serious matter, although I accept the point that some of those would be non-effective personnel. What effort has been made to ascertain the reason people left? Was a questionnaire provided, for example, either on a straightforward or confidential basis to ascertain why people left? If that has not been done, will the Minister take up the matter with the Defence Forces? That would be a worthwhile exercise because if the Minister does not know the reason people left, it is difficult to rectify the deficiencies in the current system.

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