Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being present to take the matter but I must express my disappointment that the Minister for Defence is not here to listen to our points and give us the basis for his reason to not include the Department of Defence from the terms of reference. When this commission was announced it was good news. It was in the programme for Government and it was something that we in Fianna Fáil had fought for. I am grateful to those who have agreed to serve on the commission and give their time, experience and expertise. However, not including the Department of Defence in the commission's terms of reference was a glaring omission. In all the conversations we have had over the years with Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, and the Wives and Partners of the Defence Forces WPDF, it was always very clear that the Department was a big part of the part of the problem in the workings of the Defence Forces. The commission is examining recruitment and retention along with pay and conditions and the excellent service given by Defence Forces personnel and seeing how that can be promoted, but to not include a review of the role and workings of the Department is quite wrong. It was a very specific request by those in the Defence Forces and was the basis of much of the complaints we have had over the years, such as the Department's oversight, that it is in charge of policy and its control of the purse strings and its refusal to allow the military leadership the appropriate resources or ability to make decisions for the Defence Forces, which is wrong. Senator Chambers and myself are asking the Minister of State to ask the Minister of Defence to reverse this decision.