Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have the funding. The issue is converting applications into recruitment and then retaining people longer in our service. The policy decision I pushed very strongly for, and secured, was the raising of the retirement age to 60, which is quite a dramatic and significant change. We will even increase it to 62 when the legislation goes through the House. That is important for retention.

I spoke informally yesterday at the PDFORRA conference, where people said to me that the doubling of the patrol duty allowance is already having an impact on the desire and motivation of those crewing ships. There was also an issue around the methodology of recruitment. That is why we brought in an external company in the human resources area to analyse whether the Naval Service or Defence Forces are recruiting properly by using modern, up-to-date recruitment practices. We learned a lot from that. Change is occurring there as well.

The working time directive has been agreed. We had very constructive engagement with PDFORRA, RACO and military management. It is now with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment because that is the Department that will have to legislate. We will proactively work with that Department to get this delivered. It is key priority of mine. I have pushed it very strongly since I became Minister and am determined to get it over the line. Very significant progress has been made on that.

There is no issue as regards capital. On primary radar, for example, the first thing to do in respect of capital acquisition is to beef up and strengthen procurement capacities, which were never at a level that envisaged the type of capital investment over the next decade the Commission on the Defence Forces signposted and the Government accepted. We are making considerable progress on some of the big ticket items contained within that commission's report.

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