Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will speak very briefly and then hand over to my colleague. I welcome the Bill. I believe this is the first Bill the Minister has brought to the House since returning to the defence portfolio. It is an extremely welcome appointment and I wish him well. Given the two briefs he now holds as a Cabinet Minister, he is a glutton for punishment but this is certainly something that is well-suited to his skill set and vast knowledge of the area.

I want to talk about the specifics of the Bill. The first point I wish to speak to is the powers and abilities of force commander. Deputy Howlin spoke very eloquently about the three areas which are key for maintaining that retention and indeed attraction in recruitment. I would like to add a crucial fourth area: purpose. What is the purpose of our Defence Forces going forward? What is their role domestically, and crucially, what is it internationally? I was very disappointed to hear Deputy Brady talk about the notion of an EU army. It seems to be a very quick thing that is casually thrown in. However if we are serious about the role of our Defence Forces and the role of our country in the world, we have to look at the international partnerships that our Defence Forces undertake, particularly our international peacekeeping role that was so vital in securing a seat on the UN Security Council in an effort led by the Minister himself. We must look also at the role within the EU, the role in the Mediterranean and the role within the permanent structured co-operation, PESCO. That ability and purpose, through all members of our Defence Forces in each and every branch, is so vitally important.

It is so important that the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been incorporated properly. As someone who, unfortunately, in a previous life worked with former child soldiers as part of a rehabilitative process in Africa, I know how scarring it is and how aware we have to be within our own Defence Forces, as well as in our work with other defence forces and in the most difficult situations to protect all children when it comes to conflict.

Finally, one area of the Bill that has gone through already and which has been mentioned, is retention and re-enlistment. This is a great missed opportunity, not in regard to the 17 people who have re-enlisted as was said by other Deputies. There is another way we can do this and I ask the Minister to perhaps look at a later stage at what the role of the Reserve, formerly An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil. We are missing a really clear opportunity to bring back people who have left the Defence Forces for very many reasons - not always pay and conditions - which I hope will be properly looked at. How do we maintain access to their talent and their skill set and how is that done in other jurisdictions? We all know of former Vice President Biden's late son Joseph Biden Jr., who enlisted and played a very important role in the US Army National Guard. Members of Parliament in the UK, with whom the Minister and I deal regularly, maintain a connection with the British armed forces and can use the skill set they acquired there while performing a very different role. I believe our commitment to Óglaigh na hÉireann - the only Óglaigh na hÉireann we have ever had in this State - comes through not just our capital investment but our human investment. This technical Bill achieves that in so many ways. I wish the Minister well and look forward to speaking at further stages.

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