Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Fine Gael Party has something against the Army. It destroyed a wonderful tradition in Clonmel, County Tipperary. For generations - for centuries - there was an Army barracks in Clonmel, but Fine Gael just wiped it away, as it did with many other things. I will fast-forward to Fine Gael's current treatment of the Defence Forces. I note that it will have received the reports on the Defence Forces by now. We have seen another programme for Government with a promise to establish an independent commission. The Minister knows well the situation with the Army and he was at the fore of the talks on the programme for Government. If he had any interest in the Army, he should have ensured it got proper respect, acknowledgement and, above all, pay and conditions.

He knows well the two fiascos that occurred earlier this year when the return of troops who had spent six months serving abroad was delayed by a month and subsequently delayed by another couple of weeks. A similar situation occurred three years ago. The Government stated that it was a paperwork problem. The soldiers' families and loved ones, be they wives or husbands, were awaiting their return. First communions and other family events were delayed. That had never happened previously in the history of the State. We have a proud tradition of recognition of Army service that goes back to our troops serving in the Congo and elsewhere in the world on United Nations duties, but serving soldiers have been abandoned abroad three times in recent years. We did not even have a plane to bring them home. I think the Taoiseach stated that there was no carrier to bring them home. That is a Dad's Army situation. The way Fine Gael treated the Army is disgraceful. I know it is the party of the big shots and the landed gentry, but few would have thought it would treat members of the Army, people on whom we depend, in such a manner.

I recently got a call from the HSE about an outbreak at Walsh Mushrooms in Golden. Who were the first people on the scene? The Garda, assisted by the Army, were the first there to put up Army camps and tents in which to carry out testing. The Defence Forces are called on for floods, as Deputy O'Donoghue stated, as well as storms and snow storms. While I was involved with the Army in Clonmel there were many occasions when it cleared snow and brought help to people or rescued them from floods. The town was flooded often enough.

The Government does not respect the Army. The former Minister of State with responsibility for defence, Deputy Kehoe, ridiculed members of the Defence Forces and made little of them. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, heard the figures referred to by Deputy O'Donoghue. I remember reading a report that members of the Defence Forces were treated like refugees while they were minding President Trump on his visit to Ireland last year. They did not even have enough to eat. That is shocking. Their pay, compared with that of gardaí, is downright disgraceful. It all stems from a lack of respect for Óglaigh na hÉireann, our proud Defence Forces. The Government has seen what it has done. It has just divided and conquered. It moved some of the troops who were stationed in Clonmel to Kilkenny and others to Limerick. More of the troops left the Army. The number of members who are leaving is staggering.

I wish to offer my sincere congratulations to Tipperary woman Roberta O'Brien, whom I am sure the Minister knows well. She is the first woman in the history of the Naval Service to achieve the rank of commander. It is a wonderful achievement for her. I know her personally, and I wish her and her family well. It is a credit to the entire family, including her father, William, and her late mother, that this powerful woman from the famed Glen of Aherlow, has gone on to achieve what she has achieved. She has given sterling service in the process.

However, as the Minister is aware, we cannot even man the naval vessels that we have. He has been told that by PDFORRA and others. We do not have the personnel to man the vessels. A staggering 82% of those who left the Army in the past year did so because of conditions and disrespect. Of course, those who served at the Battle of Jadotville in the Congo have not been recognised for that.

The Government does not respect the Army but we may need it very soon. We do not know the day or the hour when we will need it. The members of the Defence Forces need equipment, proper training and all the other resources they should have. They are not looking for anything out of the ordinary. They are expected to be ready, willing and able when they are needed. Thankfully, they are always available to serve.

I refer to the strength of the Defence Forces. Young men used to join the Army as a career. I heard a radio programme recently which reported on members of the Defence Forces who are leaving in order to try to get into other sections of the public service because they cannot survive. The women have come up here many times. I refer to the housewives and homemakers - I am not being sexist - who have begged us to treat our troops with respect. Members of the Army cannot lobby on their own behalf.

I am glad that Deputy Berry is here because he is an excellent advocate for the Army. Its members need to be advocated for. Any Government that has treated them with such total disrespect should hang its head in shame. Big Phil the enforcer - where is he now? - wiped away our barracks in Clonmel and many other things as well. He forced through Irish Water, Uisce Éireann, which is another disaster. The people of Clonmel, elsewhere in south Tipperary and beyond will not forgive the Government for a long time. Fine Gael has not got a Deputy elected in the area in the past two elections. Why would a Fine Gael candidate be elected there? Fine Gael destroyed the dignified and well-earned respect that those soldiers had. One could eat one's dinner off the ground in any part of the barracks complex but now there are weeds, bushes and briars growing all around it. It is a sad sight in the middle of our town. Its gates are locked. When the alarms on the barracks go off at night, they can ring for a fortnight. We cannot get the builder or whoever owns it or the security company responsible for its maintenance to turn them off. It is a sad state of affairs.

We would see the tricolour flying proudly there and the Army drilling and going up the Nire Valley for scheduled training, but now it is closed and covered in cobwebs and dirt. Above all, the Government should respect the Army personnel and recruit the proper numbers so that we will have a proper Army. The Minister should look into that immediately, and not talk about another commission.

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