Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief because I am aware there are more amendments to get to.

My amendments did not relate to individual members. My proposed subsection (3)(a) explicitly states, "for a contingent, rather than an individual member, of the Permanent Defence Force". It was explicitly about contingents, not individual members. It is unfortunate that the response still reflects the same argument made on Committee Stage when, in fact, the amendment is trying to address something quite different.

It is good that there is a discussion on secondments. I hope there will be a more detailed one. Unfortunately, the parliamentary question system is not available to us in the Seanad – that should be rectified but I will leave that aside for now – and that is one of the reasons we seek clarity and more information.

With absolute respect for the Minister of State, I took on board the various concerns, including on the training of individual members. My amendments do not relate to individuals; they relate only to contingents.