Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome everyone back.I see the Leader is in good form today. I am glad to be back. Today, outside Leinster House, the families of our Defence Forces are being forced to withstand gale force winds in order to be heard, as they seek respect for their loved ones. Today all of us here must give our support to the Defence Forces, along with proper pay and respect. They protect us, rescue us and save us but what do we do for them? Very little.

The Defence Forces are the poorest paid in the public sector. They are salaried. They are not paid by the hour and many are on family income supplement because they cannot support their families on that salary. They are not provided with free accommodation or married quarters. They have to pay for school books and uniforms. Like every family, they must put food on the table as well as pay their mortgage. It is time the State recognised these men and women for what they do for us here and abroad. We applaud them and must show them the respect they deserve. I was proud to stand beside those families outside and to call this Government out for the appalling way it is treating them.

During the recent Papal visit, members of the Defence Forces slept on camp beds, were away from home for three days and received no extra pay, only an allowance. That is not good enough. I call on the Taoiseach to outline how he intends to support his Defence Forces in the upcoming budget.

I also raise the policing report. It is very important and I have listened to people speaking on it. We know the members of An Garda Síochána work extremely hard which we must respect. The biggest issue is resources. We need more gardaí and to give them more funding. Community policing is the biggest area that must be addressed. I am glad this report has been received. We must say well done. The gardaí are under a great deal of pressure and we need more of them.