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

I thank the Minister for his response. We must first consider the profile of those who are being discharged under the 21 year rule. They are largely young men and women aged in their late 30s and early 40s who are carrying heavy mortgages and have considerable family responsibilities arising from the overall costs of day-to-day life. These individuals are to be discharged into an economy in which full employment remains some way off. The Minister has invested considerable time, political capital and energy in trying to address the crisis in the beef sector, which is appropriate. I put it to him, however, that this issue is at least as important to the Defence Forces as is the critical circumstances in the beef sector are to farmers. For this reason, I ask him to invest the same level of effort and political capital and energy in efforts to resolve this matter.

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