John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

More than 270 personnel have left the Defence Forces this year alone, a threefold increase on the same period last year, and that is despite all the focus, the commitments and the rhetoric the Minister has been putting forward in the context of addressing all the issues and concerns within the Defence Forces. There has been a serious and concerning escalation in the number of members leaving the Defence Forces. I welcome the capital investment, but it is meaningless unless we have the crews and personnel to use it.

In the immediacy, the lack of personnel and the haemorrhaging thereof is putting this State and its security at grave risk and under serious threat. While the measures are welcome, we need to know exactly when the announcements the Minister has made on the floor, and the one he made yesterday in regard to the €5,000, are going to be implemented. That is what the Defence Forces need to hear.

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