Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Tánaiste. It occurs to me that it is a bit artificial that the Cabinet should be organising significant changes to the structure of the Defence Forces and here we are discussing a Bill that has some bearing on those matters and we do not have a complete picture of what is proposed. I appreciate that the Tánaiste said he intends to bring his proposals through the normal legislative process, but the Cabinet must have agreed something. The Cabinet must have agreed a memorandum of some kind. The terms of the memorandum should be made available to everyone to see at this stage. They cannot really be secret if the Government has decided to authorise the Tánaiste to prepare legislation along those lines. Could it not be that we would have a full explanation or, indeed, simply a circulation of the Cabinet memorandum minus whatever is confidential so that we could see precisely what the Government has agreed and committed itself to doing rather than the old phrase about a submarine without a periscope? Here we are debating the future of the Defence Forces to some extent and knowing that there is a plan already being hatched, the substance of which has not been completely revealed to the Members of the Oireachtas in either House as far as I can see.