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

The Tánaiste indicated that he does not think the Defence Forces are ambitious enough in their targets. I would make the same charge of the Government. In budget 2023, funding was provided to allow the recruitment of an additional 400 personnel, but that did not happen. In fact, as I said, the numbers actually went down further. This year, however, the funding provided in 2024 provides for the exact same target - an additional 400 people. I presume that is a net figure.

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