Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the authors of this report for their thoroughly comprehensive body of work and recommendations. The report sets out, in very clear manner, the current state of our Defence Forces and points to various paths that lie ahead for the future of the military, depending on how we in this House and as a society react to the analysis and the warnings contained therein.

We must implement systemic changes within the Defence Forces and the kind of changes required will impact on every aspect of the work they do. Members of the Defence Forces are professionals and are dedicated to the cause of the protection of the nation. However, for too long they have been left without the resources they need to grow and develop into a modern military service. As a result, and as demonstrated in this report, we now have a force that is not fit for purpose.

It is clear that we must make continued investment in our Defence Forces across the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps. Crumbling barracks, aging equipment and deteriorating vehicles limit the ability of our military to respond to an emergency at home or abroad and limit the potential of the professionals working within the service. As I have mentioned in this House many times, we must also be aware of the urgent need for primary radar to be in operation, something that is long overdue. This has been mentioned by several Deputies today.

We need real reforms from the Government and the Defence Forces themselves to tackle the issue of morale. This will require improvements to pay and conditions, long term investment and importantly, clear career development pathways. Without these reforms we will continue to see the loss of our best and brightest whose expertise will not be easily replaced. The Defence Forces must also change from within. Increasing diversity across the three arms of the service will benefit the entirety of the force. It is also vital that the masculine culture identified in the commission's report is changed utterly and that a culture of gender equality is rapidly developed. This is among the most pressing actions within the report, in my view, and one which the Defence Forces can begin in the short time ahead. As we have seen in recent weeks and as women have known since their early years, Ireland has a long road to travel with regard to gender equality and eliminating casual, everyday sexism from within our society. To tackle this issue we cannot accept that it can be done sector by sector. It must be done across the board in every home, business and organisation in Ireland and it must begin today. Just as our society has changed over time, so too must the arms of the State change and reflect the modern society we are continually striving to become.

As one part of the solution, a robust and effective complaints mechanism for personnel must be put in place. The current situation has given rise to fears of reprisals or of complaints negatively impacting on an individual's career progression. This is neither healthy nor sustainable. A gendered system is present within the military and it must change. This has been driven by a lack of appropriate equipment for female members, inappropriate fitness regimes and an overall patriarchal approach, as identified within the report. As a result, women make up just 7% of the Defence Forces and while I welcome the target of increasing this number to 35%, such an ambitious increase must be backed by clarity of mission and resourcing.

One of the most significant aspects of national security to which we must pay particular attention is the spectre of cyberwarfare. We live in a world that is no longer bound by conventional weapons or geographic borders. An adversary at home or abroad can strike at the heart of the nation's infrastructure from anywhere in the world and wreak havoc on the functions of the State. This is an increasingly common weapon used by criminal groups and rogue states that we cannot ignore. We simply have not invested enough resources or skills into building a comprehensive cybersecurity network. We have seen in our own country, in the aftermath of the HSE cyberattack, the damaging knock-on effects an attack can have. In the last few weeks we have seen significant cyberattacks on the Ukrainian military and Ukrainian banks, the Portuguese Vodafone service and the International Red Cross. The reality is that these attacks are happening all of the time, all over the world. The enhancement of our cybersecurity infrastructure is an essential investment in our future because cyberattacks have the ability to cripple the nation.

It is very clear that we do not want a Defence Forces that is neglected or under-resourced and that cannot adequately protect our citizens. We do not want a force of women and men who do not adequately reflect the diverse society we have now become. We must invest in our women and men in uniform and provide them with the tools to complete their mission, wherever and whatever that might be. I very much look forward to the comprehensive evaluation of this report being presented to these Houses in the autumn for further discussion.

See this speech in context