Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the chance to speak on some of aspects of the Bill. During the general election when we were all on the canvass trail, I met and spoke to many Defence Forces personnel in Dublin West and in every single case they said to me that they were proud to serve and to be a member of the Defence Forces. However, they all had disappointing stories to tell of how they were treated in terms of their pay, conditions and retirement entitlements.

Having committed their lives to the Defence Forces and, in some cases, risked their lives on UN missions in war-torn countries, they feel let down by successive Governments and Ministers for Defence. This Dáil term is an opportunity to right some of those wrongs. That will not always be possible because some people have left the Defence Forces, but for those who are still in the Defence Forces and those who intend to join there is an opportunity to address the matter. A significant number of Deputies have spoken about this and the message is very clear.

The measure of the pride of those to whom I spoke was their willingness to rejoin and play their part during the Covid crisis. Like all employees, all personnel in the Defence Forces must be treated with respect and fairness.

The very fact that we had a call for people to come back into the Defence Forces shows that there is a real need for a certain skill set within the Defence Forces. The option to enlist should be attractive. I hope that will bring an end to highly qualified officers leaving their posts at a personal cost of €60,000 or more, as I have heard in some cases. There is an urgent need for the Government to establish a full commission on the future of the Defence Forces and an independent pay review body. Ireland's Defence Forces are recognised worldwide for their humanitarian work in strife-torn corners of the world and are highly respected where they are based.

Finally, our neutrality is something that has allowed our Defence Forces to go to some of the most dangerous places in the world. I urge the Minister to ensure this is protected at all costs because we will continue to ask our Defence Forces to go on UN peacekeeping missions to very dangerous places. If we do not protect our neutrality, we will not be protecting the members of our Defence Forces.

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