Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I concur with everything that has been said about CE schemes. I just wish that we would have treated the supervisors much better. These people do an amazing job in local communities, but we have treated them badly.

The part-time Minister for Defence has agreed to place the Defence Forces at the disposal of a private company at Dublin Airport. If Supermac's or McDonald's was stuck for staff tomorrow morning, would we put the Defence Forces in with them as well? What is happening is becoming a pain. Today, I read that we were likely to lose another ship because of crew shortages. Engineers are walking out. The report of the Commission on the Defence Forces has been sitting around for more than five months. Why did we put the commission together if we were not going to listen to its recommendations? How much work is involved in following through on them? We have bought two new ships but are about to lose one. We are the only country in the EU that does not have a dedicated Minister for Defence. It is tiresome that we are dealing with a part-timer who spends most of his time elsewhere in the world and not in this country. It is just not on. The fact of the matter, with respect-----