I will get another chance to have a go.

I might be sent overseas.

There is a bit of a difference between the categories.

Will the Minister address the commencement of the Bill?

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for bringing up the issue of the rangers. Her strong support for the Defence Forces is noted always. It is a little sad that we are talking about the Army rangers and the work they did in Afghanistan when the unit is falling apart for want of new recruits. We have a new Chief of Staff coming on board now and a new Secretary General in the Department. We also have a Minister who says he is committed to the Defence Forces and, therefore, it is my hope that we will see a tremendous improveme…

I second the amendment.

Senator Martin probably made the best contribution today, so far, apart from my colleague, Senator Boyhan. I do not know what it is about the current state of Government that it seems almost paralysed by the legislation it brings before this House. I am not speaking about the Minister personally, but the Government has rammed through legislation using the guillotine procedure. It has a massive majority in this House and the Lower House. It takes no cognisance whatsoever of anything any Member of the Opposition has …

The Minister should take it on board. He should be a man, stand over it and take it back to the Dáil.

You stopped doing that in the 1970s.

As I start, I want to acknowledge the role the Minister played in bringing an independent review group about. I acknowledge the work of his Department in the support it gave in every way. However, the brave men of Jadotville, along with their families and loved ones have been dishonoured and treated abominably for 60 years by the Defence Forces in Ireland. Nothing in this report of the independent review group on Jadotville published today addresses, seeks to undo or redresses the wrong. Shamefully, it piles furthe…

I am not going to name anybody.

I hope the Cathaoirleach will add on time for me.

Commissioned officers have close military friendships with their cadets and classmates, while undergoing officer training in the military college. Even within these special friendships, there are always deeper friendships between a small number of fellow classmates. The 44th cadet class of 1969 to 1971 was no different in this. I must state that within the 44th cadet class, one of these deepest personal friendships was, and remains, between the son of the aforementioned Irish force commander in the Congo, and the c…

I have not named anybody.

I will try.

A Chathaoirligh, I am obliged at this stage to point out that I have spoken to the son of one of the actors in Jadotville. He asked the chairman of the board to recuse himself, based on the relationships that exist. I am bound to point that out. I-----

Okay. The process of investigating recommendations for the awarding, or declining of the award, of military medals falls exclusively within the statutory responsibility of the Defence Forces' leadership. It is notable that the independent review group was not mandated or formed within the remit of the said Defence Forces regulations on the award of military medals. It was a process that was ultimately brought about by the intervention of politicians. It is risible, then, to note that unworthy comment in the report …

I am sorry.

I am blue in the face speaking about the search and rescue contract over the past 12 or 18 months. That contract is likely to go to tender over the summer so this is probably my last attempt to say anything on it. We were told in 2010 by the then Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, that Ireland had signed a contract for a fleet of new Sikorsky S-92s. In 2014, the then Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar, announced that the new helicopters, which come at a retail price of €40 million eac…

Finally, I thank the Cathaoirleach, the Leader and staff of the Seanad as we head into the summer recess. Senator Doherty has been a very good Leader and responsive to anything I have asked of her and I wish her well for the summer. I also wish Cathaoirleach and his staff and Martin Groves and his staff well.