Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In a recent interview the general secretary of the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, said that he still thinks the military is undoubtedly an attractive job for many and the role still has many benefits. However, as was mentioned earlier, he also concluded that the Defence Forces cannot recruit itself out of a retention crisis, because no amount of water will fill a leaky bucket. He also conceded that work will need to be done to ensure the organisation is transformed into an employer of choice. To be fair, the Tánaiste referenced that earlier, and the competition is currently running in the labour market. I also heard him mention much of the progress that has been made in terms of attracting new recruits, improving pay and conditions and so on. He said that was being done, and I suppose his priority now is to sustain the numbers that are there. On that basis, how do we fix the aforementioned leaky bucket? My supplementary question was also mentioned by Deputy Stanton, which relates to a specific campaign in the Reserve.

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