John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)

And the husbands. I apologise to the Leader. It is imperative that we ensure there is proper support for the families and that we keep that to the fore.

I wish my former colleagues in the Defence Force every success on this mission. I also wish them Godspeed and hope they will be safe because there is no doubt they are going into a dangerous theatre. The people and the Defence Forces are proud of our troops, as politicians and Members of the Oireachtas, should be. I congratulate the Minister on his role over the past years in bringing us to a situation where we can put a fully equipped and well trained force into such a theatre of operations with a degree of confidence we did not have before.