Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy can rest assured that I will be making the strongest case possible as I have done to date. I spoke at length yesterday at Cabinet on this and personally to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. This is part two of the replacement of the Lansdowne Road agreement. It is up for the public pay talks. PDFORRA and RACO will be invited to those talks where they can put their case. I will continue to make the case heard for the Irish Defence Forces. There are 57,000 families supported through FIS, not just in the Irish Defence Forces but across a variety of other sectors. That is why the FIS was put in place, to support families who are not earning enough to support themselves. Over 9,000 people applied recently when the Defence Forces advertised to recruit enlisted personnel and cadets. There are many young, energetic men and women willing and able to join the Irish Defence Forces.

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