As the Deputy is aware, military life places unique demands on individuals and it is necessary that Defence Forces personnel are prepared to meet the challenges of all military operations. For this reason compulsory retirement ages for ranks in the Permanent Defence Force are considerably lower than in many other forms of employment. The age and fitness profile of the Permanent Defence Force has been the subject of a number of reviews. A range of policies were introduced to ensure an appropriate age profile and lev…

We are 1,000 people short. That is the straight answer to that question. We need to get back up to 9,500 and if the commission recommends more, we will have to consider that and we will do so, as a Government. On the 1994 contract issue, I have spoken to quite a few personnel who are affected by this. I have given them a commitment that we will give them clarity 12 months out, well before it would take effect at the end of next year, should there be changes. I want to try to deliver on that but it is not within my …

In the next few weeks we are going to see what I hope will be a very considered and detailed report from the commission on the recruitment and retention issues more generally across the Defence Forces. We will have to take on board the commission's recommendations and try to be as effective as we can be in ensuring that a career in the Defence Forces is attractive and exciting and provides opportunities for promotion, advancement and upskilling. We also have to make sure that we have a Permanent Defence Force that …

I have a long written answer here which I am not going to read out now but I will furnish the Deputy with a copy. The climate action plan follows the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 which commits Ireland to a legally binding target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2050 and a reduction of 51% by 2030. These targets are a key pillar in the programme for Government. The climate action plan sets out a course of action over the coming years to progress further Ireland's r…

It is important to put on the record that energy efficiency and decarbonisation are prioritised agendas already within the Defences Forces. The Defence Forces have been recording the energy consumption of their buildings and transport since 2007 and have reduced their energy consumption by 20% since the baseline year of 2009. The Defence Forces report their total final consumption to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland's monitoring and reporting system. In 2020, the activities of the Defence Forces accounte…

There are military-civil conversations going on all the time between the Defence Forces and the Department of Defence in terms of prioritising capital spend. There are plenty of conversational opportunities in terms of prioritising subsea surveillance systems, if that is what the Naval Service wants to do, but we need to do it together with it. In terms of anticipating what the maritime security challenges will be in 2030, that is taking place. I am very familiar with the plans for offshore wind development on the …

While the Defence Forces is not the primary response agency for non-security-related emergencies, as defined in the framework for major emergency management, it provides the fullest possible assistance to the appropriate lead Department in the event of a natural disaster or emergency situation in its aid to civil authority role. In this regard, the full spectrum of Defence Forces personnel and equipment, commensurate with operational requirements, is made available for deployments, within current means and capabili…

The Defence Forces are currently providing support to the HSE, as co-ordinated by the joint task force during the Covid-19 crisis, in three areas: on testing, 26 Defence Forces personnel are deployed on a daily basis to test centres throughout the country; on tracing, 20 lines are serviced by 40 personnel, with 20 in both Kilkenny and Donegal; and on tenting, 42 Defence Forces tents are deployed to both testing and vaccination centres throughout the country. This will increase from 19 November and 22 November, resp…

I understand that hospital services in Kerry are under pressure, as they are in other parts of the country too. We are living through a pandemic that is extraordinarily demanding of the health service. That is why we are planning to spend €22 billion or €23 billion on healthcare next year in terms of increasing staff numbers, capital investment and resources. Of course, the Defence Forces are there in emergency situations to help the HSE when they can, but they are not going to solve the challenges in every hospita…

First, my commitment has been clear and consistent on this and there is no rowback today. I have said to Defence Forces personnel, who I have spoken to in person in regard to some who are impacted by this, and also to PDFORRA, that I would like to make a decision on this to provide clarity for everybody before the end of the year. I am not going to go into the conversations between my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and I do not think the Deputy would expect me to do so. We have made…

As I hope the Deputy knows, we have gone through a process and there was a formal review in regard to this issue. That report came to me. I am satisfied that it is a good report. It has also been shared with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which has a role to play in terms of the cost implications and pension implications of the recommendations. We need to go through the process to finalise a decision for Government on this issue. I want to do that as soon as we possibly can because I know there ar…

I said earlier that I am meeting PDFORRA next week but it is actually the veterans' organisations I am meeting next week. However, I will meet PDFORRA in the coming weeks. I want to clarify that. The issue the Deputy has raised is a legitimate one. People need certainty and I have said that I would try to give them that certainty before the end of the year. I hope we will have a sensible outcome that is good for the Defence Forces and for numbers. I hope that outcome can provide clarity and make sense in terms of a…

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to do this because an impression is sometimes given that we are doing nothing on the Curragh Camp and nothing could be further from the truth. I wish to outline to the House the scale of investment activity being targeted at improving the Defence Forces built infrastructure as set out in the five-year plan published in January 2020. The programme provides a blueprint for investment in the Defence Forces built infrastructure over a multi-annual timeframe. The allocation of €37 …

I visited the Curragh Camp again last week for the commissioning of 29 officers into the Reserve Defence Force, which was a super event. It is true that when driving around the camp there is too much dereliction. I have said that to our officials and we need to address that over time. The Deputy is a former Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and he knows that projects like this cannot be completed overnight. We need to have a medium-term plan for the Curragh Camp, which upgrades the facility and rightly giv…

I will have to come back to the Deputy on the school. There is a plan to develop a school in the Curragh and that is a matter primarily for the Department of Education.

I will certainly come back to the Deputy on where it is. With regard to accommodation, I visited the modernised, upgraded facilities at the Curragh and the new ones are excellent. We will continue to invest in upgrading and improving accommodation for everybody at the Curragh. Of course, we have to continue to do that. If there is substandard accommodation, we have to make sure that is part of the phased capital expenditure that we have. However, with expenditure of €17.5 million in the past couple of years and €16…

I do not have the plans in front of me. With respect, I cannot respond to that. However, I will happily look at them. What I can say for sure is that there is a concerted effort to try to attract more women into the Defence Forces. We have a lot of work to do in that regard because women currently are far too small a percentage of our overall Defence Forces. That needs to be factored into any investment plans that we have. This has to be a welcoming place for women to work in a respected way. If there are issues th…

I cannot respond on plans that I have not seen. If there are issues there, we will try and address them.

It would be helpful, in terms of the accuracy of debate in this House, if the Deputy did not make comments like he has just made, quoting me as saying it is okay for Israel to plunder Palestinian territories.

If Deputy Brady wants to be taken seriously on this issue, we need to have accurate and civil debate. There is nobody in the European Union who is more vocal than I am in government in relation to concerns about the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel activities there.