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

I fully accept that this may not have been a specific recommendation of the Commission on the Future of Defence Forces. This, however, should have been the perfect opportunity for the development of such a doctrine. Without that necessary framework being in place, my concern is that we are not looking in the exact areas that the Air Corps need to be and wants to be looking. No matter which way one looks at this State, we may be 30% land and 70% water, but we are 100% air, and that is why a doctrine such as this is of such importance. Without that comprehensive military air doctrine being in place, I fear that there will be a lack of cohesion between each element of the Defence Forces where we have not clearly identified what the State's ask is of each arm of the Defence Forces individually, which then feed back into that larger policy of the overall Defence Forces, which the Minister has referred to in the White Paper.

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