Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin supports the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2015, which seeks to provide for the commissioned rank of Vice Admiral in the Defence Forces. The rank of Vice Admiral is the naval equivalent of the Army rank of Lieutenant General, a rank whose holder traditionally has assumed the role of Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces. The Government has brought forward this Bill to ensure Rear Admiral Mark Mellett, who has been working as deputy Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces since November 2013, can take over as Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces when Lieutenant General Conor O'Boyle retires in September. I wish him well in his retirement.

As Rear Admiral Mellett will be the first Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces to be selected from outside the Army, it is necessary to create the new Vice Admiral post. When Rear Admiral Mellett was promoted to deputy Chief of Staff and began his role as a Rear Admiral, it was the first time the three military wings of the Army, the Naval Service and the Air Corps held the top three jobs in the Defence Forces. It is welcome and important that the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps are represented in the general staff of the Defence Forces and that, for the first time, the Chief of Staff will be selected from outside the Army.

On behalf of Sinn Féin, I wish Rear Admiral Mellett all the best in his promotion. From all I have heard, he is an extremely acclaimed and impressive individual. Since he joined the Naval Service in 1976, he has had a distinguished career and he was awarded the distinguished service medal in 1994 in recognition of the role of his ship, the LE Orla, in detaining the Brimedrug smuggling yacht. His appointment signals the importance of the Naval Service to this country and island nation. This can be most clearly seen in the fantastic work that the LE Eithne, a ship which Rear Admiral Mellett once commanded, is doing in the Mediterranean. It has saved almost 3,400 migrants, is now on its way back to Ireland and will be replaced by the LE Niamh, which has already set sail from Ireland. I commend the work of all those who work on board those ships.

However, Rear Admiral Mark Mellett is taking over at a time of change as this Government plans to launch its White Paper on defence. The Defence Forces are of critical importance to this State and for our society. Sinn Féin made clear in its submission to the White Paper on defence that we feel that Irish neutrality is under severe threat. Indeed, it has been corroded significantly in recent years, particularly with the use of Shannon Airport. More must be done to secure Ireland's position as a neutral state. I hope the Minister will include strong positive neutrality provisions in this White Paper in order that when Rear Admiral Mellett becomes Vice Admiral Mellett and Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, it will be tasked with upholding historic Irish neutrality, which remains of huge importance for and benefit to this country.

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