Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the commission for such a comprehensive report. Casement aerodrome in Baldonnel is in my constituency and from there women and men protect and defend our island nation and carry out life-saving missions. They provide assistance to An Garda Síochána and Civil Defence Ireland in search and rescue missions. They provide support to the HSE in providing urgent medical care. They assist our county councils in dealing with natural disasters like storms and gorse fires, including in Northern Ireland. During Covid, our Defence Forces were there when we needed their help, whether that was with vaccine administration or the delivery of PPE and vaccines. What our servicemen and servicewomen do is incredible and they deserve our full gratitude and support.

That is why the Minister's mission to radically reform our Defence Forces is so welcome. It is clear how seriously that reform is being taken when we see the scope, breadth and detail of the report having considered more than 500 submissions and so many site visits carried out. Overall the report is very ambitious. It seeks significant increases in funding. That is a conversation that I welcome and one that we must have.

The report sets out three scenarios or ambition levels for consideration. A common thread is the desire to increase personnel and equipment so that we can bolster our forces. These need to be examined in the context of our overarching defence strategy and the constraints of our national budgets.

The public was quite concerned by headlines that said Ireland was inadequately equipped to defend itself should it need to. Without the report and this information we cannot do anything about that because knowledge is power. Therefore, I welcome the light the report sheds on the matter. People are our greatest key strategic resource. We need to ensure the Defence Forces is an attractive career as well as a safe, diverse and an inclusive workplace. Much has been said recently about the culture in the Defence Forces. That culture is threaded throughout the report. I know that it is something that the Minister is committed to modernising. One recommendation that I was particularly interested in was the target of 35% female participation. Prior to Covid I had the pleasure of attending an Air Corps women's network event where I had the opportunity to meet many of the service women, and indeed servicemen, who are based in Baldonnel who play a crucial role in supporting communities across the island. I heard first-hand their pitch for how we can make the Air Corps a more attractive career to young people and especially young women and what the Minister can do to support women who take on this career. Their gender should not be a barrier for them. I know the Minister agrees with me on that. At that event we also heard from Lieutenant General Seán Clancy, who was then brigadier general, who is now Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces. I wish him the very best in his role. I ask him to continue to bring his focus on diversity and inclusion within the force to the fore.

I thank all members of every arm of our Defence Forces for their service to our nation, including those who work in my constituency in Baldonnel. I understand it may be rebranded as the Irish airforce. However uncomfortable or troubling, some of the findings in the report may be, I welcome the knowledge and recommendations it gives us. They are recommendations which we can act on to further improve the Irish Defence Forces.

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