Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If the Minister of State had his head buried in the sand, we would not have had the White Paper or the evolutionary change we see in the Defence Forces. He is well aware of the needs of members of the Defence Forces, as we all are from our constituencies. We are very fortunate and we should commend the men and women of our Defence Forces on the extraordinary work they do both at home and abroad.

The issue of the blind pension and hearing loss is not one to which I have an answer at my fingertips. Perhaps Senator Craughwell would get a more judicious and expeditious reply if he raised it as a Commencement matter, but I would be happy to work with him on it.