Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Minister to take on board what is contained in page 146 of the report that refers to the fact that, "During the course of its work, the Commission encountered significant scepticism from military personnel, representative associations and concerned members of the public about the likelihood of the recommendations of this report being fully implemented." The Minister is the only person who can answer that scepticism and convince the members of the commission and the public this is going to be different. There have been reports that have simply gathered dust on shelves. There is a complete recognition now, and not just as a result of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia but also in terms of an objective assessment of Ireland's military capacity, that we need to do more. We need to strengthen our Defence Forces and we need to do it in a variety of ways, as recommended by the commission.

On the point of neutrality, I do not believe we should necessarily integrate both topics into the one debate, but neutrality does not mean as a country that we are neutered. We have strong political opinions in this country and it is important our Government expresses them. The Minister has expressed it. We need to condemn continually the illegal, unlawful and brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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