That is why we set up the office, specifically following the recommendation from the Commission on the Defence Forces to establish an Office of Reserve Affairs. That was a recognition that over the years, the level of urgency and attention to this was not what it should have been. Early on, after I became Minister, I had a specific meeting on this issue. The office has been established and is developing a regeneration plan. I want action parallel with that plan also. Given that people have applied and want to parti…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. No proposals have been made to me in respect of the fire service in the Defence Forces Training Centre, DFTC, in the Curragh Camp and I have made no decision in relation to it. I just want to make that clear because I did hear of reports in August which were a surprise to me at the time. They were not brought to my attention in any formal way prior to that. Since then, the military authorities have confirmed that proposals on the fire service are under considerat…

Sorry?

My understanding is that it is part of the implementation of the working time directive. I have taken an initiative to accelerate work on the working time directive and in that context there were consultations with the representative associations by the military authorities. They indicated that they were reviewing current operational outputs and that the fire service in the Curragh camp was one of a number of areas under review. That was the context. Again, that review is not complete. I have not received any recom…

I think Deputy Cronin would accept that too.

I appreciate that. I also appreciate that the members concerned are anxious given the reviews that have been under way. I see the organisation of working time directive as a positive development, and one that I am very anxious to see brought to completion, in the interests of health and safety.

I do not suggest that Deputy Cronin would not be. In terms of the fire service, of course we want to retain a multidisciplinary approach and to have various skill sets within the Defence Forces. All the local public representatives have been in touch. I understand there is a local context to this issue, and a family context to it in terms of the personnel and then there is the broader policy. I will revert back to the Deputy on it.

I published Strategic Framework: Transformation of the Defence Forces on 26 September. The purpose of the strategic framework is to bring together into one overarching document the immediate actions to be taken to support the transformation of the Defence Forces into a fit-for-purpose organisation that can defend the State and meet the challenges of today and the future. My priority within this transformation is cultural change above all else. It consolidates into one document key actions under a number of defence …

First, I will refer to the training so far provided to the Ukrainians. By the way, military neutrality means non-alignment with a military alliance. Ireland is not militarily aligned. That is how our neutrality has been defined for decades. We are not a member of NATO. We have no intention of becoming a member of NATO. We have no plans to become a member of NATO. We are signatories to the United Nations charter. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a flagrant violation of that charter in respect of the sovereignty an…

We do not provide lethal aid to Ukraine in terms of the European peace facility. That was a commitment in the programme for Government. Military neutrality is defined in terms of our membership or non-membership of a military alliance.

It is not a new definition. Maybe it is to you on the far left, with your view. I am always struck by the degree to which you engage in significant whataboutery. In your comments today there was no reference to the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine-----

I have answered you. I said there are no plans to change Ireland's policy in respect of military neutrality.

I have to put it to you that what Ireland is doing in this respect is very, very limited-----

-----in the face of the extraordinary attack on ordinary men, women and children by Russian forces.

I have met Mahmoud Abbas. He is committed to a non-violent approach to a two-state solution. He told me that only three weeks ago. You should not be wishing him to become involved in a violent engagement. He does not want to. There is an obligation on Israel to deal with that. The bottom line is that it is clear to the entire world that Russia went in within a half an hour of Kyiv, killing and brutally torturing people. We are talking about very basic drill training.

I think you are overstating it and are distorting the argument. That is wrong. You did the same with the consultative forum.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I fully acknowledge the challenges currently facing the Defence Forces in regard to recruitment and retention including, in particular, the Naval Service. Ireland is not alone, however, in these challenges, which are being experienced by a number of other militaries across the world, with particular challenges for navies internationally. There are a number of specific financial retention measures already in place in the Naval Service to recognise service at sea, including a…

My understanding of the specialised instructors' allowance is that there are ongoing discussions with RACO, but RACO agreed with it some time back as part of an earlier deal. I outlined a fairly lengthy list of measures. The personal tax credit is worth about €1,500 for those at sea over a particular period. The measures have not been effective on the recruitment side. The pension issue continues. An interdepartmental group is working on that because if we do it for the Defence Forces it clearly has a read across t…

I have moved very quickly on the organisation of the working time directive. There has been acceleration and significant engagement with the representative associations and bodies, the Department and military management. I see the attainment and realisation of the working time directive as very important. We have to change culture in the Naval Service and Defence Forces. I was somewhat concerned that the RACO presentation seemed to have issues with highlighting culture and talked about it being used in a malign way…

I thank the Deputy for the question. The Government remains fully committed to the advancement of the Reserve Defence Force. The 2015 White Paper on Defence is quite clear that there is a continued requirement to retain and develop the Reserve. The report of the Commission on the Defence Forces equally serves to reinforce that commitment. The report contains many recommendations on the future role and structure of the RDF. The ultimate goal is the development of a reserve force that can seamlessly train, operate an…