Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I extend a warm welcome to Deputy O'Dea to this House on his first occasion as a member of the Cabinet and Minister for Defence. I welcome also the staff from his Department to deal with Second Stage of the Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002. The Minister has served as a Deputy for the constituency of Limerick for some time. As far as I am aware, he has been a Member of the House for 22 years and as such has gleaned tremendous experience as a public representative. His qualification as a barrister and other qualifications make him suitable for appointment by the President on the recommendation of the Taoiseach.

The Minister follows in the steps of an extremely capable and confident Deputy Michael Smith who took on difficult issues during his term as Minister in the last Government, particularly in terms of the Army deafness claims. The Minister now has a clear mandate from Government on the Defence Forces. Like Senator Cummins, I wish to declare an interest in this issue. I, too, was nominated by PDFORRA and RACO through the Irish Conference of Professional and Services Associations of which they are composite members. PDFORRA and RACO exercise their nomination rights with great discretion. In that regard, I am interested in the legislation and in defence issues as is our spokesperson, Senator Moylan. I have free association and contact with those organisations on issues related to their work with the Defence Forces and in that regard was anxious that the Bill be dealt with today. The Minister will attend the annual PDFORRA conference in Letterkenny tomorrow. We will not be able to attend the annual dinner in Letterkenny tonight because this Bill is going through the House but it is more important that the Minister is here on its behalf to pass this Bill. I have taken the liberty of faxing the Minister's speech to Letterkenny to let the organisation know that he has brought the Bill to the House and inform it of the Minister's great work.

Both RACO and PDFORRA were involved with this Bill and they are delighted it has reached this point. Before the summer recess, it was planned that the Bill would be completed in this House last week but it was not possible to achieve that because of the reshuffle. It is now here and next week Committee and Report Stages will be taken as quickly as possible. The Bill has already been passed in the Dáil, where the former Minister accepted amendments. I know from the new Minister's experience of legislation that if any area of the Bill can be improved, he will not hesitate to table an amendment in this House.

There are 10,500 members of the Permanent Defence Force, of whom 1,200 are officers, with 930 members of the Air Corps and a further number serving in the Naval Service. That is a strong force with many people to work with, placing a tremendous responsibility on the Minister. Few Ministers, however, in their first week in office would hand away so much power. It reminds me of the late Seán Flanagan, who proposed the abolition of the Land Commission just as he had been appointed to it. The Minister, however, has a lot of work to do in the Defence Forces and this disciplinary work should be given over to an ombudsman.

There are 12,000 people in the Reserve Defence Force, 7,000 of whom are very active. The Reserve Defence Force is being reorganised. I brought delegations from Boyle in County Roscommon to discuss that reorganisation and I ask the Minister to look at the reports on this issue. It is important that there are offices for the Reserve Defence Force in Roscommon town, Castlerea, Boyle and Strokestown. The force plays a key part in civic ceremonies, marching for pride at events such as the Easter and St. Patrick's Day parades. Involving local people in the Defence Forces creates credibility and goodwill.

Since I became a public representative in 1977, I have found there is a high regard for the Defence Forces. I had the pleasure of working in Bosnia Herzegovina in 1998 with the OSCE to monitor elections. I was very impressed by the ability and training of the Irish Defence Forces compared to any other army in western Europe involved in those events. They were extremely well trained and disciplined; the Minister is taking over an extremely competent force. They are lean and well equipped, and they will be better equipped after the Minister's tenure in office because he will bring a new and refreshing approach to this task. It is interesting that the Minister's first portfolio is defence, the first of many. Over the next three years I have no doubt he will make a success of that job.

This House appreciates the contribution of the Defence Forces in UN peacekeeping missions and the sacrifices made by those men who have died in the cause of peace. They sacrificed their lives for the people of this State and we owe them a great debt of gratitude, particularly for their defence of the realm.

PDFORRA headquarters are named in honour of John Lucey. I met him in 2002 when I was canvassing for the nomination to the Seanad and I regret his demise. He was a marvellous advocate for PDFORRA, as is Gerry Rooney, the current general secretary, and Commandant Brian O'Keeffe, general secretary of RACO.

I wish the Minister well in his portfolio and his visit to Letterkenny. He will get a tremendous welcome and the issues raised by Senator O'Rourke will be looked at afresh. Deputy O'Dea's appointment is a marvellous step forward. I recall the election in 1989. That was a very difficult period and the genuine issues raised were resolved by the incoming Government. I hope to see the Minister in this House on many occasions dealing with issues on behalf of the Defence Forces. His is a well-deserved appointment and the Defence Forces are delighted with it.