Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I read this morning of a partnership between Queen’s University Belfast and the Royal Air Force. The Leader will recall that the Royal Air Force protects our skies because we cannot do that ourselves. It is depressing that the Royal Air Force is investing in cybersecurity innovation systems in Northern Ireland and our Minister for Defence lives looking over at Haulbowline where seven out of nine ships are frequently tied up.Deputy Simon Coveney is a fantastic Minister for Foreign Affairs and I would never take away from that but right now, in the view of many people in uniform, he is a useless Minister for Defence. We have a junior Minister we never hear from. As I said, we have ships tied at Haulbowline and Army barracks are falling apart all over the country. We have men in uniform screaming at me about needing an adjudicator in the conciliation and arbitration scheme. It is a part-time job and at a recent conference the Minister said he could not appoint the person because the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform had to sanction it. Where are we going in this country that a Cabinet Minister cannot make an appointment to a part-time job?

We have grown a monster with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. It was needed after 2008 when we needed to get to get this country back on its feet but when the Department is putting its finger in the micromanagement of another Department, we have a serious problem on our hands. Every single Minister coming before us now tells us the Department of Expenditure and Reform must approve this or that. Even in trying to look after secretarial pay here, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform must sanction it. Where are we going? It is time to rein in the power of that Department. It was not very good at controlling the salary of its former Secretary General when he moved to the Department of Health.

Maybe it is time for the Government to step back and look at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform because the reform side is not working. There is a Minister for Defence who is, for all intents and purposes, nothing but a shadow. I take much pain in saying that because I like Deputy Simon Coveney. He is a decent guy who works really hard in the foreign affairs area.

Every Department has recently sought additional funding for various different things. We heard the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, the other day looking for it. There is absolutely nothing for defence. Somebody must wake up in this country because defence is key to foreign direct investment. We have no ships minding our seas or sight of what is going on under the water. The Royal Air Force, meanwhile, is minding our sky. It is a really bad day for Ireland.