Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is correct in pointing out that many initiatives taken by the Defence Forces are cost neutral. The Defence Forces have introduced a number of initiatives to improve family life for personnel, for example.

Probably one of the biggest is the rotation of personnel abroad where they can do a three-month tour of duty instead of a six-month tour. That was one of the initiatives to help families and often young families, fathers and mothers who were separating themselves from their sons and daughters.

I wish to meet with the representative organisations, which are the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers and the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association. I met both organisations recently and my officials and I had a discussion with them to find out what their feelings were following the publication of the climate survey. I will continue to interact with the organisations because they are the representatives of the people on the ground and if there is a message to come forward, it comes from the bottom up

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