Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The first priority is to ensure people get a rewarding return from their career in the Defence Forces. That means constant development of skill sets. It means certainty of income. It means adventure, which is what many people join the Defence Forces for. It means serving their country with pride. Of course, if people want to leave the Defence Forces having served there for a period of time we want to ensure we can help them in the transition back to civilian life. Some of them are tempted out of the Defence Forces because of offers they are given and that is a reflection of how highly thought of our Defence Forces are, as far as training, standards, discipline, work rate, fitness, skill set and so on are concerned. I assure the Deputy it is a priority to ensure that when people make the decision to leave or when they are required to retire but may still want to work in other sectors, they are given all the support needed to do that.

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