Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I accept that the operational needs of the Defence Forces are primary but in an international comparison, we are looking at forced retirement between 39 years and the early 40s, compared to Malta at 55 years of age; Belgium, 56 years; Finland, 55 years; and Australia, 60 years of age. No one wants to go back to the period when we had a style of Dad's army. We are talking about retaining people in the service of the State who are physically capable of carrying out the duties assigned to them.

The Defence Forces has some of the best trained technicians in the country. They have been trained over a four-year period at a cost of €200,000 to the Exchequer. To cast them to the wind has profound implications for the Department of Defence and its budget.

I hope there will be some flexibility on the Minister's part in how he approaches the negotiations on the individuals in question.

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