Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join the Deputy Leader in asking the Leader to facilitate a debate on the Defence Forces. This is a very positive day for the Defence Forces. I commend my colleague and friend, the Minister for Foreign Affairs on his pioneering work regarding the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces. As Senator Chambers rightly said, there is a proposal to increase spending from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion and to attract additional staff via a recruitment campaign, which will place Defence Forces on a steady and solid footing. It is important, as we remember last weekend and the National Day of Commemoration, that we thank the men and women who serve in the Defence Forces. We pay tribute to them. It is important that we commend and congratulate the Minister for Foreign Affairs on his recommendation to Government and ensure that a debate on the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces takes place in this House.It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the work done by the former Minister of State, Deputy Paul Kehoe, when he was in the Department. I also recognise the advocacy and championing from former Senator Gabrielle McFadden in this House. She was a very strong champion of the Defence Forces. We should salute her and the work she did in being that voice for the Defence Forces.

It is a pity we cannot have this debate before the summer recess but it would be appropriate to have the Minister for Health come to the House for a debate on the risk Covid-19 still presents in our community and our workplaces. Over the last number of weeks, Aer Lingus flights in particular have been decimated. That is why it is important to have a debate on both health and transport. I ask that we have a debate in the autumn before the budget, during the first week back.

The summer economic statement has been published and the budget has been brought forward to 27 September. Today in the Lower House, a cynical motion is being brought forward by the main Opposition party. This is a party that stands for only one thing - to divide and conquer. If a general election were called today, we would have no budget and no cost-of-living measures for the people this party claims it wants to see looked after. It would all be put to one side and put on the back burner. Yet this Government has put €2.4 billion on the table for those hard-pressed citizens we all know, represent and advocate for. I hope that in the autumn we will have a debate on the budget and the summer economic statement and the import they will have for us as a country.

Today is a day to salute the men and women of our Defence Forces on the allocation of €1.5 billion and the new recruitment campaign. It is important that we stand with our men and women in the Defence Forces. We salute them.