Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Again, I did not raise a concern about purchasing equipment. I welcome that; we need the equipment. However, our people are our most valuable asset in the Defence Forces. We are currently losing them at an alarming rate and the private sector is benefitting enormously. We pay to train them but we are not doing enough to keep them in the Defence Forces. To state simply that we have always had a high turnover does not justify the problem continuing to exist. We must endeavour to tackle the problem now and ensure we retain those people in so far as we can. Reports indicate that the Naval Service is short of marine engineers and electrical engineers. It can take up to five years to train officers. Many officers in the Air Corps who have amassed significant experience are being headhunted. We are aware this is happening. It is due to the fact that pay and conditions are not good enough to retain those people. In addition, the loss of the western brigade has led to greater relocation of officers on a more regular basis, leading to less family-friendly working conditions. Again, this is a contributing factor.

We can and must take measures to address this. I am not advocating that we do not spend money on equipment. We must have equipment to ensure that people can work safely in their jobs. However, we must invest in our people and ensure that we retain them after spending a great deal of money training them to bring them to the very high standard the Minister mentioned. We should keep them in our Defence Forces.

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