Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

That would be it. I know my facts fairly well. Is the Minister aware that people are lining up to leave this year? Is he sure that the number of people who will be allowed to be recruited will be equal to the sum of the number of people who have left already, thereby bringing the figure below 10,000, and the number of people who are getting ready to leave? Does he have any indication of the numbers who will be retiring from the Defence Forces over the next 12 months? Is that information available to the Minister? I get the impression that many people who are under pressure because of what is happening will shortly decide whether to stay or leave.

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