Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to be associated with the comments about Aisling Hart and wish her well on her retirement. Her years of service have been incredible and she has played a key role in the functioning of this House and this building. Her service to Leinster House and the country is undeniable. I wish her well on her retirement.

I was going to speak on issues relating to work permits but I cannot help but respond to Senator Andrews's comments on foreign policy, defence and our Defence Forces. I say that respectfully. We have an opportunity next week, when the Tánaiste comes to the Seanad to speak on international relations, trade and future policies, to discuss those matters but we need to be honest about what we are discussing. We will potentially be discussing the triple lock, which is related to peacekeeping missions and not to going into war or sending people into war. We can all come from different viewpoints, which is totally respectful, but we have to be credible in what we are saying. Senator Andrews spoke about our losing our neutrality and possibly joining NATO, but I do not think anyone here is suggesting that.

There was innuendo that, somehow, people in this House make decisions more easily because it might not be their family members or kids. I come from Clonmel. We used to have an awful lot of former Army people who worked in Kickham Barracks, as we still do. They are very proud of the work they do. They do not go into it for financial reasons but because they want to play a role in this country and this State. When the Senator says something to the effect that these decisions are made because people do not have family members in the Defence Forces, it is important to point out that there are two people in this Chamber who are former members of the Defence Forces and one Member in the other Chamber, namely, Deputy Callaghan, who worked as a peacekeeper abroad. The Senator might not have been aware that there are Members of these Houses with family members who are active or former members of the Defence Forces. What he said is not true, and putting forward a case that certain decisions are being made here because we do not have family members in the Defence Forces is not wrong.