Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister will agree that the nursing component of the Defence Forces is very important, given its scope of practice and the particular skill set and mindset that nurses bring to proceedings, particularly from an overseas point of view. It would be unusual among the EU 27 for a military not to have an army nursing service. Thankfully, we have not had a casualty overseas in 16 or 17 years, but we are on borrowed time. If we recruit nurses, we should be able to deploy them overseas like any normal military does. That is important, as we must de-risk our overseas operations. We must prevent our next casualty from becoming our next fatality. Having a functioning, well-resourced and well-staffed Army Nursing Service is crucial in that regard.

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