Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State began his reply by stating that he acknowledges the challenges faced. However, the view on this side of the House is that he is not dealing with reality. He referred to changes within the system but we know that personnel are leaving and that recruitment and retention have become almost impossible due to poor pay and repeated cuts to allowances, as well as poor working conditions. There are also challenges relating to accommodation for personnel.

There is a big problem with morale and while the Minister of State may be addressing the conferences, he is saying nothing that will bolster that. I would argue that the Government has created this crisis itself.

Radical and urgent solutions are needed. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform assessed the long-term turnover rate in the Defence Forces to be 6.4%. Even using the Government's own optimistic predictions, it will not reach establishment strength of 9,500 until 2026. According to RACO, however, the real turnover rate is 10.3%. Is RACO wrong? What the Minister of State is saying here does not add up. He is giving a glossy message that everything will be sorted but the reality on the ground and coming from the conferences is quite different.

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