Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have many issues with this motion regarding PESCO. The most pressing, which is directly related yet unaddressed, is the absolutely abysmal timing and the disregard for more urgent issues relating to the Defence Forces at this time.

It would be significantly more appropriate and beneficial to debate the Government's proposals on the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. That report needs, as a matter of urgency, to come back from Cabinet with a definitive and clear commitment from the Government in respect of it before any commitment to other projects is sought from this House. That report is gathering dust while two Ministers are reportedly bickering over funding.

This debate on PESCO involvement is taking place at a time when there is disregard for the Defence Forces being under strength and overtasked. That anyone would presume to expand overseas involvement, at a time when members of our Defence Forces are undertaking free work and are exhausted as they conduct their duties on land, at sea and in the air from a position that is far off that phantom establishment of 9,500 members, is simply not good enough. They are underpaid and denied basic employment rights. The figures speak for themselves: we are losing members hand over fist. The Minister has acknowledged the recruitment and retention problems in all areas of the Defence Forces but the priority seems to be discussing this motion. That is not where our focus needs to be. The priority for any Minister with responsibility for defence should be to ensure the Defence Forces are fit for purpose, that its members receive appropriate remuneration, that they are equipped to a high standard and that being a member of the Defence Forces is an attractive career for men and women. We all know, unfortunately, that is not the case because of the inability of successive Governments to adequately resource or plan effectively. If the Minister continues to run before he walks, the Defence Forces will remain in that state. That is a desperately sad indictment, not only of this Government but of those which preceded it, and it is a failure to appreciate those who protect this State.

The Minister cherry-picked the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces when he referenced a single line regarding the potential to fully explore other issues in the context of PESCO. He has managed to get one sentence to the floor of the House. Will he please confirm when the Government's response to the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces will actually be discussed? When will we see that? The Defence Forces want to see it. There is a commitment in the membership and among veterans to ensure our Defence Forces can and will be better, and will develop into something that is fit for this era of military activity. As I informed the Minister at last week's meeting of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, he has categorically put the cart before the horse.

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