Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Last week, I called on the Leader to arrange a debate on the Defence Forces' preparedness for Brexit. Two days later I attended the conference of the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, in Cork. Our Defence Forces are in a state of crisis. We heard in Cork about a soldier on parade who wore a non-issued pair of boots. He had to buy them himself because he could not get a pair of boots issued from the central clothing store. There are large stocks of uniforms held in central clothing but they might be the wrong size or whatever. This soldier was not able to get a pair of boots. We also heard about soldiers unable to get clothing when they needed it.

The climate survey carried out for the Defence Forces shows an appalling situation within the latter. On top of that, the attrition rates relating to commissioned officers are at crisis level. Listening to the radio one morning, I heard that the career choice for a commissioned officer above the rank of captain is a move to Aldi. We are talking about the people who defend this country and represent it with honour on behalf of the United Nations - they have been doing so since the late 1950s - yet these young men and women are unable to get clothing. Young officers who go through their training at the Curragh and who are a credit to this country have no career trajectory or options ahead of them. It is time this House held a long debate-----