Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I would not agree with Deputy O'Shea that there has been a fall-off of 40% in strict numbers terms. I have some figures in that regard. It may be 40% but the recent emphasis on taking non-active people, those who do not turn up for training on a regular basis, off the rolls has played a major part. Efforts were made to find out the reason people left. The Reserve Defence Force implementation group did a detailed survey on the reason people left and it was the results of that survey that informed the plan it has put forward. Some of the reasons it found were insufficiency of training, the financial rewards and alternative activities for people to do. It also found that the way the process was structured and organised in different locations throughout the country was not done to best effect. There is a detailed report on that which I can supply to Deputy O'Shea should he so wish. As a result of that investigation the group has made those recommendations. They are to be developed in two phases. We have substantially delivered on the first phase and we are now moving on to the second phase.

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