Defence Forces: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-21
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Patricia Stephenson (SD), Labour Panel

I welcome the Minister, Deputy McEntee, in her new role. It is historic to have a woman in this position for the first time and I congratulate her on that. I welcome this motion and that successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments have finally seen fit to fix their absolute bungling of Defence Forces funding, recruitment and retention of personnel and infrastructure. They have stood over the atrophy of the Irish Defence Forces for the past 20 years, to the point that the ability of our Defence Forces to man ships, monitor our skies and do their jobs safely has been placed under serious threat.
The stance of the Social Democrats has been clear: we need urgent investment in the Defence Forces. We need ships in the water, we need recruits being trained and we need to put an end to the decades of underinvestment by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil that has left the people who risk everything for this country on the breadline with their families. We are faced with a recruitment crisis at a time when we need our Defence Forces to provide national-level defence and to support humanitarian missions.
We had the longest unbroken peacekeeping record in the world, yet we pulled out of the Golan Heights - not due to a lack of a UN mandate or because of neutrality, but because we simply did not have the numbers and we chose to prioritise an EU battle group instead. That humanitarian peacekeeping is the beating heart of our Defence Forces. It is what we do best and it drives recruitment. When the Irish Naval Service engaged in humanitarian missions in the Mediterranean and was saving lives daily, applications to the Defence Forces increased. When we decided to pivot away from search and rescue, many decided their time in our Naval Service was done.
Issues around pay and conditions, the gutting of the Defence Forces pension and cultural issues meant that good women and men chose not to stick around past their obligatory period of duty. This trend, which was caused by problems we have seen fester over decades, means we all lose out as a nation. The pay and conditions afforded to members up to this point show a complete underappreciation of the role the Defence Forces played for Ireland, both internationally and at home.
I particularly welcome Senator Clonan's amendment calling for an end to the sexual violence and bullying that has persisted in the Defence Forces. Sexual violence must be stamped out in all spaces and women and men who choose to serve must have dignity and safety within the workplace.
Across Ireland, people rightly take pride in the Defence Forces. We are proud of the international reputation we have as peacekeepers, with men and women in the Defence Forces acting with honour, bravery and integrity to protect others. However, the simple fact is that the underinvestment and underfunding of the Defence Forces which we have seen for decades has left them on their knees. It really should not be like this any more. That is why I welcome the Fianna Fáil Senators bringing this motion forward.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-21