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

I do not doubt that very high standards are set in Custume Barracks. Moreover, I do not doubt the commitment of the personnel there. However, I have also visited counties Westmeath and Roscommon and spoken to people who have been affected by the particular changes made. This change was all the more extraordinary, in that the Minister's predecessor had launched a discussion paper on the future of the Defence Forces, yet at the time he was launching it, he made one of the most fundamental and radical changes that might be made to the entire structure of the Defence Forces. Far from it leading to greater efficiencies, my information is that vastly increased costs are involved in ferrying people around the country in buses that are carrying numbers of personnel in order that necessary duties can be fulfilled. When he speaks to people on the ground, as distinct from speaking to the military authorities who will be careful in what they say to a Minister for Defence, the Minister will find the response may be quite different.

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