Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

The reserve has, more or less, been abandoned by the Government. The Minister has tried to explain the declining numbers, but the current figures fall far short of the projected 12,000 and the revised figure of just over 9,000. It is less than 8,000 and declining rapidly. Does the Minister agree that there may be a correlation between this and the decline in the reserve's funding? In 2007, funding was at €13 million. In 2008, it was at €10.45 million. It will be further reduced to approximately €10 million. Not enough resources and funding are being invested in the RDF to encourage people to join.

What is the proposed RDF training budget for 2009? What was the man day expenditure in 2008 as opposed to what was budgeted for it? These are important questions.

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