I think I gave a reply earlier to those specific questions on numbers. I think 90 were recruited in 2022 and a further 20 have been recruited so far in 2023. I mentioned earlier accelerating procedures and medical tests. In a previous campaign, about 1,000 applied but the follow-through was not as strong. Now that we have an Office of Reserve Affairs, there is additional capacity to plan properly and recruit in a more effective way members of the RDF.

I might be surprised at this stage in respect of family income support. I would like to hear about the cases if the Deputy would show me them. The improvement in basic pay has been quite dramatic. If you go straight in with your leaving certificate, you will be on €36,000 to €37,000 while on commissioning with your leaving certificate as a cadet, you will be on €41,000. A graduate after commissioning will be on €46,000 starting out. We recently brought in entitlement to secondary healthcare for all enlisted personn…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 79 and 125 together. As part of the European Union’s response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the Council of the EU launched the European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine, EUMAM Ukraine. Formally established on 17 October 2022, the aim of the mission is to enhance the military capability of the Ukrainian armed forces, UAF, to defend Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognised borders as well as to protect the civilian p…

Some of that commentary is incredible. It is an incredible overstatement. I did not discuss the training with President Zelenskyy because it is on a very minor scale compared to what every other member of the European Union is doing bar Ireland, Malta, and Austria. Get real here. We are not providing any military support in the form of hardware or weaponry to Ukraine, nor should we suggest we are. This is hyperbole beyond hyperbole. I have outlined what we have done so far, namely, de-mining and medical combat. Tha…

Come on.

I will shake my head.

I think it is shocking. It is shocking what is going on here.

Whataboutery all of the time. What Russia did is absolutely appalling-----

-----and continues to be appalling. What do you expect people in Ukraine to do? Let them the whole way in?

Is that what we are expected to do? This is double standards. We are consistent on Palestine. We have done much more than the Deputy has suggested on Palestine, and the evidence of that is how we were treated in Palestine by the Palestinian authorities or by other neighbouring states who acknowledge Ireland's commitment, which is not only in terms of words but also in support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, in financial supports, and in supporting the Palestinian authority in civil society in …

-----we discussed it at the United Nations.

However, Russia should pull out. That is where we can get a bit of progress of this.

I thank the Deputy for raising the question. There is no doubt there is a significant recruitment and retention issue within our Defence Forces. Work is under way to counter this. Current recruitment initiatives include ongoing general service and direct entry recruitment, the re-entry schemes, and the Be More recruitment campaign. An important development is the joint induction training centre which has been established in Gormanston with a view to increasing the throughput of recruits destined for all branches of…

What was the other thing the Deputy said?

Deputy Moynihan made some very important points not only about culture but also about progression. That is an issue, without question, and the independent oversight group that has been appointed in respect of the IRG is looking at that issue, at the whole promotional system within the Defence Forces and how we can encourage more women in terms of promotion. Traditionally and historically, the system of promotion was negative towards women, without question. That has come across in any engagement with women within t…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 81 and 120 together. The ongoing staffing challenges in the Defence Forces with regard to retention are fully acknowledged and well documented. In this we are no different from other international militaries that, in a competitive labour market, are experiencing similar difficulties. The immediate focus is on stabilising the number of personnel and on facilitating capacity for further increases. In light of the Commission on the Defence Forces report and the report of the IRG, I hav…

I want to pay tribute to all involved in the joint task force involving the Defence Forces, the Garda and the Revenue, in particular. It also involved the deployment of: the LÉ William Butler Yeats ; two AgustaWestland AW139 Army helicopters, one of which was in medical service but they are Army helicopters; one Casa CN 235 fixed wing aircraft; one Pilatus PC12 fixed wing aircraft; and a team from the Army Ranger Wing, ARW. That was the full complement of the entire Defence Forces. It was not that they suddenly dis…

I agree with the Deputy that we need more women in our Defence Forces, at all levels. We need change in that respect and that is something that I am focused on, as is the independent oversight group, particularly on the role of women within the Defence Forces and on career progression for women. As Deputy Aindrias Moynihan said earlier, it is vitally important that we develop mechanisms to facilitate that. It cannot be put into the long or the medium term. I would make a general comment that I understand and agree …

I thank the Deputy for that interesting vignette of history on the success of rural development which Fr. Harry Bohan was a pioneer of. We need more partnerships like that. We are investing in a lot of accommodation in existing barracks and in Haulbowline, where significant refurbishment has already taken place. We want to increase the specification and quality of this accommodation. It is primarily being used by those who are training for prolonged periods, for six-month training periods and so forth. There is a c…

I thank the Deputy for raising the question and I want to outline the significant progress we have made in recent years in improving the Defence Forces' built infrastructure. Since taking office I have made a point of visiting several military installations and I have witnessed at first hand the improvements being made and the positive impact these improvements make to our personnel. Since its launch in 2020, there has been a rapid roll-out of projects from the plan. The updated plan estimates infrastructure requir…