Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 1452: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of organisations that his Department recognises as being representatives of retired personnel of the Defence Forces; if an organisation outside of the established ones can seek such recognition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29389/06]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The two principal organisations officially recognized by my Department and the Defence Forces as being representatives of retired Defence Forces personnel are: the Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen and Women Teo. (ONET), which represents all ranks of retired Defence Forces personnel and provides support such as sheltered accommodation for ex-service personnel; and the Irish United Nations Veterans Association (IUNVA), which represents all retired military personnel who have served on United Nations duty overseas and celebrates all United Nations commemorative occasions. Her Excellency, An tUachtarán is patron of ONET.

A third organisation, the Association of Retired Commissioned Officers (ARCO), which represents retired commissioned Officers countrywide, although not officially recognised, is very active in supporting the Cadet School as well as other activities.

These organisations have proven themselves to be responsible in their dealings with the Defence Forces, the Department of Defence and other Government Departments and represent their members in a very capable manner. The official recognition of a limited number of organisations greatly facilitates the two-way flow of information between ex-servicemen and women on the one hand and the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces on the other, and prevents needless overlap and duplication.

I have sought the views of the Defence Forces, and the position is that it is considered inadvisable to afford official recognition to a multiplicity of local/regional/specialist organisations as this would create difficulties that would be detrimental to all concerned in the longer term.

I understand from the military authorities that, notwithstanding this, ONET is willing to discuss the affiliation of any other organisations who may wish to represent ex-service personnel from specific geographical areas, or from special service categories or groups. Affiliation would ease the interaction between those being represented and the Department and the Defence Forces, while also allowing the affiliating organization to benefit from the vast experience of ONET.

The existence of a large number of organisations operating independently would be detrimental to maintaining coherent and effective contacts with the Department and Defence Forces over time. A system of affiliation would allow organisations to pursue their own specific aims within the overall ambit of ONET in a more effective manner, using the experience of that umbrella organisation. This course of action has been recommended to a number of organizations that have previously requested official recognition. It is not intended to change this policy.