Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I managed to get my hands on some of the figures that I requested. I had not realised that my party had submitted a Parliamentary Question on the issue not so long ago. The response received indicates that funding for the Reserve Defence Force reached a peak in 2006, when the allocation was just over €13 million. The latest figures for 2011 indicate that the funding had dropped to €4.386 million, which is almost a third of the level in 2006. Those figures do not lie. It is clear that there has been, sadly, an incremental erosion of the role of the Reserve and the funding for them. The phrase "value for money" is a most unfortunate one because often what it means, when one strips away the varnish, is straightforward, simple cutbacks.

I have spoken to members of the Reserve Defence Force, as I am sure the Minister has, not just in Donegal but elsewhere and have asked them about their impression over the last number of years. They are very saddened by what is happening because the Reserve Defence Force are a link of patriotism between our Defence Force, of which we are immensely proud, particularly for their peace-keeping role around the world, and our local communities. This is particularly the case for young people. I represent Donegal North East and was told that at a Reserve Defence Force open day in a local secondary school, over 100 young people expressed an interest in joining. However, due to the restructuring, that is not going to be practically possible for many of them because the training facilities are now centralised and are a considerable distance away from places like north Inishowen. In many rural parts of Ireland it will no longer be practical for young people to participate in the Reserve Defence Force and to give, in their own way, patriotic service, not just to the Defence Forces, but to their local communities.

I am afraid that the figures do not lie. We need to be honest about what has been happening in recent times.

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