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

There has been no interest in this initiative. It reveals the hollow words that we constantly hear from the Government concerning the crisis in our Defence Forces. The attempt to fill the gap in the Air Corps has resulted in more people leaving. The Defence Forces are haemorrhaging numbers to the point where overseas missions are now in jeopardy and naval vessels cannot go to sea. Using figures from the Department of Defence, the Taoiseach claimed in the Dáil that allowing ex-personnel to return would be an effective measure to address the retention crisis. We now know that to have been empty rhetoric. The Taoiseach's waffle about a re-entry scheme diverts from the systemic retention crisis over which the Minister of State presides. Not only has this policy not seen anyone return to the Defence Forces, there appears to be no interest in such a scheme at all, as the Minister of State has put on the record. It seems to be a tactic to cloud the Government's disregard for Defence Forces personnel. The Government needs to address the real issues at the heart of the retention and recruitment crisis, for example, decent pay and working conditions, so that the Defence Forces can be an attractive career option. These are the facts and figures. Interest can be measured in single digits, never mind how many people have actually re-entered. In the context of the ongoing crisis, the Minister of State's words are hollow.

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