Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The Minister indicated in his response that the reports were not completely accurate and that three apprentices had left as opposed to five. What is clear though is that this year alone 270 members of the Defence Forces have left, and there is a problem with retention. Much of that comes down to pay and conditions. I believe the Minister and the State are committed to changing that. We have spoken about the issue at length.

Deputy Brady mentioned that the private sector was impressed by the high standards of the Naval Service recruits. Is that any different from what we also see in the teaching or healthcare professions? Wherever the State steps in and trains people, we do a great job, but the issue is that we cannot retain staff because of the cost of housing, the cost of living and basic pay.

Yesterday, at a committee meeting, I asked the Minister to paint a picture of what Haulbowline would look like next year and the following year and the picture he painted was very positive. Could he take a bit of time now to outline that? The best recruitment we have is word of mouth, and I want there to be a future for the Naval Service and the Defence Forces.

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