Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The consolidation was an attempt to get the full capacity out of those in the Defence Forces. However, it has cut many people to the bone. They have hardship and significant travel times, which undermine their ability to be at home with their families. The 2015 University of Limerick report highlighted these outcomes and feelings within the Defence Forces. Instead of cutting them to the bone and making them work with reduced allowances, the Minister of State should have looked at organisational capacity across the country. It is a constant theme. I accept there was a lack of strength in different barracks. That was due to the lack of a retention policy within the Defence Forces. Instead of consolidation and the reduction of numbers, the Minister of State should seek to increase the White Paper target beyond the 9,500 complement, which is a target he cannot meet anyway.

It should not have been about cutting people to the bone or undermining their lives. It also should not have led to neglecting the security of the State across a large spread of the country. We have lost, for example, corporate knowledge at the Border and elsewhere. It is important that the Minister of State reviews that in the context of increasing numbers in the future to ensure increased strength across the country.

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