Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

It is the necessary way to go. However, we have to listen a lot more because there is a feeling morale is low in the Defence Forces. The three brigade structure has not worked. There is a belief it was totally dysfunctional and misguided. Troops from Finner Camp are coming to Dublin to carry out duties. Military police officers are being sent from Athlone to carry out duties in Leinster House. This does not make any sense. While this legislation is to facilitate the making of a promotion, we should also look at promotions through the ranks. An important challenge for the new Chief of Staff will be to listen more to personnel on the ground. The role of the Defence Forces Ombudsman has been contentious in some aspects because previous Chiefs of Staff sometimes ignored the recommendations and rulings of the ombudsman. There is also a belief the ombudsman has not been able to fulfil his functions completely properly because the position is held by a former military judge and is somewhat of a part-time position. I hope that in assuming his duties the new Chief of Staff will not go down that road and will pay heed to the recommendations and rulings of the Defence Forces Ombudsman.

It is appropriate, given that we are talking about the appointment of the first naval officer as Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, that we look at the role of the Naval Service. Like Deputy Peadar Tóibín, I will refer to the role of the LE Eithne. I very much welcome genuine participation by Defence Forces personnel, or anybody else for that matter, in intervening in the horrendous migrant crisis in the Mediterranean. We last discussed the issue at Question Time a number of weeks ago when we referred to the fact that Frontex, the border security organisation, was involved not in a humanitarian search and rescue operation but in border management. This claim was studiously denied by the Minister when he said Ireland's efforts were purely motivated by humanitarian concerns. Of course, subsequent to our last discussion documents came to light through the "This Week" programme on RTE which revealed clearly that the Government was actually opposed to search and rescue operations. When we were tabling important Topical Issues about the ending of the Mare Nostrum Italian search and rescue operation and the devastating impact this would have, little did we know that Irish Government Ministers in attending European meetings had been ordered to stay schtum, to make no contribution and to say absolutely nothing. They had been advised that if they had to say something, they should talk about the 300 people already here.

See this speech in context