Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's response appears to be that money has been spent on equipment, that recruitment has continued, albeit that it has clearly not been effective enough to reach the required personnel numbers, and that equipment has been provided for the Naval Service. All of that is very much appreciated but my question was about the retention of personnel. The Minister talked about recruiting personnel to bridge the gap but that is not prevention. It is a cure for the numbers who have already left. How do we keep the personnel we have, the people we have spent a great deal of money training? There is great concern that the early departure of many personnel could affect our Defence Forces' capabilities and operations.

The exodus of officers from the Defence Forces could seriously affect our capabilities. According to the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, 48 applications are being processed this year in addition to the more than 90 vacancies that already exist. Last year, 76 officers left the Defence Forces. This flight of talent was highlighted by RACO's magazine, Signal, with the general secretary saying that management has disappointingly failed to engage or constructively respond to issues and concerns raised at RACO's conference last year. He also highlighted the pressing requirement to address family-friendly practices and policies to support officers who are continually being re-located. Clearly, the abolition of the western brigade has contributed to that also.

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