Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Like my colleague, Senator Mark Daly, I would like to mark the passing of Big Tom. I remember him packing dance halls in Seapoint in Galway when I was a boy and later on when I was a man he was still packing them. Now I am a grandfather and he was packing them up until fairly recently. That is some achievement and he will be sadly missed by many people in Ireland.

The time has come to bring the Taoiseach to this House to discuss the crisis in the Defence Forces. We can no longer continue to keep our heads buried in the sand or pretend nothing is happening. Critical, highly-qualified people are walking out of the Defence Forces on a daily basis. We are finding ourselves struggling. While high-profile missions such as the mission to the Mediterranean and the LÉ Samuel Beckettare laudable and we should be very proud of them, they are at a massive expense. Recently, in the Leader's own county of Cork, the P52 LÉ Niamhsailed with just four able seamen and women on board. It stayed out for a day and had to return.