Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will not need five minutes. I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for the work he is doing. All of us are immensely proud of the Defence Forces. As Senator Nash said, it is not an ordinary job. What the Government has done in respect of the opening of recruitment and the allocation of extra capital expenditure for the Defence Forces is welcome. I commend all who serve in the Defence Forces, be it in the Army, the Naval Service, the Reserve Defence Force or the Civil Defence.

There is a responsibility on us in a recovering economy to ensure that the focus is on pay restoration. The Minister of State referred to that in his statement and he is doing that in his work. It is important. The reason I speak in this debate is not only to express my commendation of the Defence Forces but also to point out that I have met service members, their families and ex-service members who have expressed their concerns about the pay and conditions. It would be remiss not to acknowledge that issue. That said, however, we have the Public Service Pay Commission and the Minister of State has established a different forum to examine pay and conditions. Equally, the White Paper on Defence is very much about ensuring that resourcing is high for that.

There is another matter regarding the Defence Forces that should be mentioned and acknowledged. I commend Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, Chief of Staff, and Sergeant Richard Muldarry on the way in which they walked in Dublin Pride Parade. It raised the profile of the Defence Forces and showed them to be diverse and inclusive.

My comments are about advocating and imploring for an improvement in the pay and conditions and ensuring that in a recovering economy we allocate resources not only for expenditure on pay but also for capital expenditure in terms of buildings and equipment. I commend our men and women who serve abroad. I am aware that the Minister of State signed off today on an extension of the mission in Mali. We can take justifiable pride in our Defence Forces, but I was anxious to make my few other remarks.