Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for mentioning Gena Heraty. It gives me an opportunity to pay tribute to her. I had the honour of speaking to her on the phone a while back. She is the closest thing I have ever encountered to a living saint. In Westport, County Mayo, and right across Ireland, there is great relief that Gena has been released from captivity. I thank her for the incredible work she does. I think of her family, who went through such a torrid time, but I am really glad Gena is doing well. I send her my very best.

The office of veterans' affairs is an important recommendation. It was included in the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. We put it in our programme for Government. I have made it a priority that we get it up and running. We are consulting with the veteran associations to get it established as quickly as possible. I want to see it established in some form this year. We need to consider its role, responsibility and the required resources, but we should get it up and running, even if we get it up and running and then have to grow it in the time ahead. To date, consultation meetings have been held with ONE and the Association of Retired Commissioned Officers, ARCO. We are scheduling meetings with the other two representative associations I mentioned.

The Deputy mentioned the specific issue of mental health supports to veterans. This is an important point. As with other members of society, former members of the Permanent Defence Force can, of course, experience difficulties. They can often find themselves in unique circumstances relative to the rest of our population. In such circumstances, there is access to supports, including through ONE, an organisation we fund. It has services, including critical incident stress management services. There is a 24-hour confidential counselling, referral and support helpline and primary medical care from a dedicated team of Defence Forces medical officers and contracted civilian GPs, but there is much more we need to do in this area.

Other countries have done a lot in this space. Many countries have a dedicated minister of state for veteran affairs. That is a natural progression we should see over time, with a greater focus on the work done by the men and women who have served on peacekeeping missions. The establishment of this office is an important step. It is a priority. I expect good progress on it this year and to build on it in 2026.

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