Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Táim cinnte go bhfanfaidh mé laistigh den am. I thank my colleague, Deputy Jack Chambers, and my other colleagues in Fianna Fáil for tabling this important motion. Fundamentally it shows up a lack of respect on the part of Government for the Defence Forces. That is what people feel and that is what is biting people about this particular issue. The lack of sympathy and empathy from the Government is not shared by the general population. I was contacted by a constituent this morning. He was in a public house last night and said that this issue was the talk of the place. He said people are annoyed about this issue, first, because of their sympathy for the plights of individual members of the Defence Forces and, second and most important, because of the honour the Defence Forces have brought to this country throughout our history. We are an independent, sovereign, neutral country and that neutrality has allowed our Defence Forces to prosper and to gain an unbelievably proud reputation for fairness, even-handedness, and efficiency around the world.

The Government has shown a distinct lack of respect for the Defence Forces, as exemplified by the lack of a Cabinet Minister for defence other than the Taoiseach, which Deputy Ó Cuív and others have pointed out. The attitude towards the Defence Forces seems to be, "I do not care". People are discharging themselves at unprecedented levels. Numbers are down. This must be the only area of the public sector in which numbers are down. There are issues with equipment and missions are difficult to accomplish. All of this is happening at a time soldiers, sailors, and other members of the Defence Forces are being sought out to provide help in difficult situations all over the world, as they have done in the past.

It is worth recalling that members of the Defence Forces have given their lives for this country and for the projects, peacekeeping, and peace enforcement in which they have been involved over the years. This is a difficult job and it is made all the more difficult by the financial and material circumstances in which the Government has left our soldiers. I believe there is a certain amount of embarrassment on the Government side of the House. I appeal to the Government to seriously examine this issue and to think of these soldiers and of the good they do on behalf of this country around the world.

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