Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)

I appreciate the Tánaiste's candour in terms of the numbers going up, but we may not be able to meet the establishment figure. I hope that we will and we really need to strive for it. The Russian shadow fleet as a huge threat anda our undersea cables are very vulnerable. Our neutrality is best served by being able to stand on our own two feet and to engage with our allies on our terms rather than having to rely on the likes of British armed forces or the Royal Air Force in our skies. This is where we need to get to and we can only do that through investment, recruitment and offering a career that is financially rewarding and rewarding on a skills level so that people feel they are part of something bigger, which our Defence Forces actually offer. However, we are still far behind where we need to be. A lot of the improvements will come from actions that have been outlined and more. We also need to be framing this differently at a political level to attract people into the Naval Service.

See this speech in context