Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This week during Leaders' Questions in the Dáil the Taoiseach faced a barrage of requests for finance for different things going on in the State. It is most regrettable that he used the phrase "keeping the barbarians from the gates", because lumped in among those demands were the needs of the Defence Forces.I and the Leader's colleague, Senator McFadden, speak frequently in support of the Defence Forces. The first time I spoke on the issue was on 10 October 2014 and I have harped on about it ever since. We have been told to calm down and relax because the Public Service Pay Commission would deal with the issue. Will the Leader explain something? The Department of Defence, the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence and the Minister of State with responsibility for defence have had the Public Service Pay Commission's recommendations for several weeks now. What is going on that they will not release its report? Is it so bad that they are afraid of a mutiny? Families are desperately waiting to see how they are to be treated. Last month, we lost 15 members of the Defence Forces, 13 of whom purchased their way out. They bought out their contracts in order that they could leave and get better jobs. We read in the newspapers in recent days that Naval Service personnel are leaving the Defence Forces to work in Aldi. For God's sake, if the report is available, let us publish it and see what is in it. By holding it back for so long, we are aggravating matters to the point that people are beside themselves. We are being asked all day every day what is going on and why this report is not being released. If I was to tell the Leader tomorrow morning that I was not prepared to give him information pertaining to his position, he would not like it.