Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister says the Government is committed to maintaining a stabilised force and to achieving a number of 9,500 but this is not the first time I have asked him what he is doing to achieve that figure. We are now at 9,025, which is considerably below the figure of 9,500 at which we should be and that is the minimum. The Government launched a recruitment drive back in April but we have not yet seen the fruits of that. Does the Minister not accept that just above 9,000 is way too few for the Permanent Defence Force to maintain its capabilities and to continue to do the fantastic work it does in ensuring we care for our sovereignty and maintain our borders? I see no real movement on these figures. Instead, there seems to be a constant downward trajectory and something radical needs to happen. What the Minister is doing is not enough to get up to the figure at which we need to be.

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