Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There are huge swathes of the country now where there is no visible evidence of a Reserve being in place at all. That is systematic and I would argue it is getting to the point where it is existential in terms of the crisis that is being faced. The representative body the Tánaiste mentioned told a previous member of the Oireachtas committee that the next few years may see the last elements of the Reserve disappear completely unless we take fundamental action. One of those actions, of course, is the issue of employment protection for RDF members who deploy on a voluntary basis. The Tánaiste's answer is far too familiar and similar to other answers: it is with another Department, it is premature to start dealing with it. There is no sense of urgency at all on the issues that are affecting the Reserve. I am asking again if the Tánaiste will inject that badly needed sense of urgency into these matters.

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