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

If the Minister of State has made no recommendations, what is he doing as Minister of State with responsibility for defence? An element of contagion has crept in. We have seen issues in the Naval Service in recent days. Has the Minister of State received military advice about how the air ambulance service might be reduced or reassessed because of current difficulties in that section of the Defence Forces? Clearly, an element of contagion is growing across the different sectors of the Defence Forces that is not being addressed.

The Minister of State has admitted that he has made no recommendations to the pay commission. He is sitting back, is waiting to see what it comes up with and will defend whatever his Department officials hand him in a script. What we need is political control. The Minister of State needs to set officialdom aside and start dealing with issues and driving morale up in the Defence Forces because there is a recruitment and retention crisis that does not match that of any other sector in the public service. The Defence Forces led by the Minister of State were the last in line when it came to public pay and conditions and he needs to recognise that, make positive recommendations and have a strong input into the pay commission. It is very worrying that he has made no recommendations. It is hard to know what the role of the Department or the Minister of State is if they have made no recommendations.

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