Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to find the Leader in good spirits again today. I wish to refer again to the Defence Forces. I read this morning that the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, has 30 cases lined up for the courts with respect to the working time directive and there will be many more such cases. There are also High Court cases pending related to the use of Lariam, a drug which is given to other ranks troops who are travelling overseas. Is it the case that the Department of Defence has such deep pockets that it can afford to run every single case through the courts, knowing it is going to lose? The Department has lost every working time directive case it has fought thus far. It has been told to implement the working time directive. However, we all know that in order to do so, it will have to increase the strength of the Defence Forces to around 13,000 but it cannot even recruit enough personnel to fill the current establishment of 9,500. The Defence Forces strength is below 9,000 at the moment, at approximately 8,800.

I am a bit like a long playing record in here with respect to the Defence Forces but the people to whom I refer are in the Leader's constituency. We are hearing stories about soldiers being sent to Haulbowline to do non-naval and shore duties. If this sort of thing is happening, is it any wonder that people are walking out by the new time? We have been told that as many as 2,000 troops have been recruited in recent years but new recruits cannot fill the posts of experienced personnel. The working time directive is about respecting peoples' lives and prior arrangements and about not dropping things on them at the last moment, like the Government is trying to do in this House today. A little bit of respect goes a long way.

My main point is that public money is being spent by the Department fighting cases even though it knows that it cannot win them. When are we going to wise up and stop this behaviour?