Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State might be aware that the Reserve Defence Forces Representative Association, RDFRA, appeared before the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, Defence last week. The Minister of State's own Government colleague, Deputy Seán Barrett, said the report they presented to the committee was the most damning one he had seen in his 36 years as a TD.

Maybe the Minister of State is not aware of the current problems facing the Reserve Defence Forces. RDFRA believes that the organisation will struggle to exist within two years on its current trajectory. I have raised the issue of recruitment to the Reserve Defence Forces many times with the Minister of State. This is not a new issue. To put it in context, he keeps talking about the difficulty and challenges of attracting recruits. Last year, there were almost 5,000 applicants to the RDF but fewer than 100 were inducted. The issue is not about attracting recruits, it is about getting them into the organisation. The blockage is with the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces. What will the Minister of State do to address that particular issue? He should stop standing behind the excuse of challenges in attracting people. That is not the problem.

See this speech in context