Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What the Deputy is suggesting is that we have in place an architecture, but that we do not have the numbers that would allow it to make sense. The architecture the Deputy's colleagues had in place while in government was based on a strength of 11,500 for a three brigade structure. When I entered government and assumed the position of Minister for Defence, there was a strength of 9,500. Therefore, if we are talking about architecture, many of the rooms in that house were empty and did not allow for the flexibility the Deputy suggests. If there was an emergency, we could not suddenly find an extra 2,000 members for the Defence Forces overnight. On the basis of the financial envelope I had inherited from my predecessor, I could not have recruited members to the Defence Forces in 2012 and 2013, as we did. While no study has been completed, I can tell the Deputy from my experience and engagement with officers and enlisted personnel, both at home and on overseas missions, that I am satisfied the organisational changes in the Permanent Defence Force have brought positive improvements in the deployability of personnel and the sustainability of the force.

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