I propose to take Questions Nos. 157 and 165 together. I can advise the Deputies that the Defence Forces have established a new joint cyberdefence command. This new command will be able to conduct full spectrum operations to robustly defend against cyberthreats and support Defence Forces operations at home and overseas, and enhance national cyberdefence resilience and contingent capabilities. Deputy Heneghan is right that this is a real and growing issue. Following the establishment of this unit, the Defence Forces cyberdefence strategy for 2024 to 2027 was published last year. This strategy sets out a road map to ensure our Defence Forces achieve operational capability in this new domain. I am pleased to say the assignment of 19 specialist posts in the Defence Forces has been approved to kick-start the operation of this unit, which is headed up by an officer of general rank. In addition to this, the Department is engaging with the Public Appointments Service to recruit ten civilian cyber specialists who will be embedded in this new cyber unit, and we want to see these posts filled as soon as possible. They have been sanctioned and we want to get them started. To this end, the Public Appointment Service has launched a campaign to recruit for the role of principal officer, cyber lead. The closing date for applications for this post was 10 April. Additionally, competitions will be launched imminently to fill two additional roles at the level of engineer grade 1. These roles will be focused on cyberthreat intelligence and cyber resilience. I am pleased to say we are significantly expanding the number of people working in this area. I should also mention that officials from my Department and the Defence Forces work closely with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the National Cyber Security Centre. That Department is the Department with lead Government responsibility for cybersecurity in Ireland. We work collaboratively to support measures to address cyber challenges. I am satisfied that from a defence perspective we are on a much-needed positive trajectory to ensure the new cyber command unit is well positioned to meet the ambitions we have set out in the cyber strategy.
Sentiment score: 0.30
I am checking the tenses in my answer, and my answer tells me the Defence Forces have established a new joint cyberdefence command. The truth is in what I said. We have seen the assignment of 19 Defence Forces specialist posts to kick-start the unit and it is headed up by someone of general rank. Deputy Ó Laoghaire is also correct that we are filling the principal officer role for cyber lead, which will supplement the ten civilian cyber specialists. The closing date for that post was 10 April. This post has not yet been filled. Additionally, a competition is about to be launched for two additional roles at the level of engineer grade 1. I will write to the Deputy specifically on when I intend to have those people in place. I will come back to the point Deputy Heneghan made on skills. He is right on this. I am a former Minister for higher education. We have to work with our universities. We have great universities. It is about making sure our universities have a clear understanding of the pipeline of skills our country needs and that we have a clear understanding of what the universities are doing. There generally is good collaboration but I might look specifically at having Defence Forces third level engagement with the Minister, Deputy Lawless, and the relevant universities on this. Deputy Heneghan asked more broadly, beyond the Defence Forces, how we make sure all Departments and agencies are secure. I remember the HSE hack and the hack of a number of universities, including MTU. The National Cyber Security Centre is responsible for advising and informing Government IT critical national infrastructure providers overall. It has the overarching role and it sits in the Department of the environment. It is headed by Richard Browne and we all feed into it through relevant Departments.
Sentiment score: 0.18
The Deputy is absolutely correct. One of the issues the Government is giving consider to is that ecosystem. The Deputy will be aware that we have established for the first time a Cabinet committee on national security, chaired by the Taoiseach, in which I and the Minister for Justice participate. We are developing a national security strategy. I agree cyber affects us. Deputy Heneghan asked me to look into all Departments and every agency, but where the buck stops and where there are clear lines of responsibility is important. We are clear in terms of the lead function being the National Cyber Security Centre but Government will give consideration to that overall national security architecture. Coming back to the Deputy's point about the new Oireachtas Committee on Defence and National Security, which the Deputy's party colleague will chair, it will provide an important opportunity to try to make sure we can have, within the respective parameters of the importance of sensitive information, a good flow of information and briefings. I am willing and eager to co-operate with that new committee. We do not discuss national security issues and threats and cybersecurity nearly enough in the Oireachtas and I welcome the creation of the new committee. The Deputy's numbers are correct. So far, we have 19 from the Defence Forces plus ten civilians. That brings us to 29 when fully populated, which is not yet. Obviously, that is to start the unit. We will obviously be seeking to grow that in the time ahead.
Sentiment score: 0.30
I thank Deputy Smith for the question. The Deputy is correct. Recruitment and retention have to be a key priority for Government because so much else of what we want to do, in terms of the national security space, the capability of the Defence Forces and the infrastructure we want to purchase and secure, relies on having men and women to operate and operationalise much of that. Figures provided for 2024 give us some cause for hope in terms of a stabilisation in numbers. It was the first year in quite a number of years where we saw modest growth but we certainly saw a stabilisation in the number of people in the Defence Forces. There were 708 personnel inducted into the Defence Forces in 2024 and this is the highest number in over five years. The current strength of the Permanent Defence Force, as at 9 April 2025, the latest date for which this figure is available, stood at 7,545 personnel. The Defence Forces have further advised that they are targeting 800 inductions at a minimum for this year. The Deputy's question is a fair one. I suppose being able to predict the number is not an exact science because it depends on retirements, etc., as well. If we had 708 inducted last year and if we could get to 800 inductions this year, there would be a real clear trajectory of growth but it would also give us a great sense of confidence that the Defence Forces had the ability to ramp up their numbers in terms of inductions. We need to step up the scale of ambition even further in terms of making greater progress and I have had good engagement and conversations with the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces and made him clear of Government's ambitions in that regard. Recruitment to the Defence Forces and the positive trajectory has not happened by accident. It has happened because we have taken a number of decisions. We established a joint induction training centre in Gormanston, and the military authorities have advised that when fully operational, this will enable induction training to be provided to 900 recruits per annum. Recently, the largest recruit class of 72 recruits was welcomed into the facility. In February 2025, my Department signed a contract for the construction of a new modern gymnasium, with multipurpose hall, as well as a purpose-built obstacle course at the Gormanston camp. This contract is scheduled to take 15 months to complete. There has been significant progress on pay, which is also important. We need to make sure we get the message out that recruits on completion of training now start at €41,465 inclusive of military service allowance in year 1, which represents an increase of 49% over the past six years.
Sentiment score: 0.39
I thank Deputy Smith. I may have a look at that. The point the Deputy makes is a fair one. We are seeing an increase, thankfully, in the number of people joining the Defence Forces. We want to see a greater increase in diversity within the Defence Forces, and most particularly in terms of female participation. I am pleased to say that already a number of initiatives have been implemented to increase the level of female participation in the Permanent Defence Force. This includes the establishment by the Defence Forces of a female-specific recruitment team which co-ordinates attendance of tri-service female-specific recruiting teams at national, regional and local events, attendance by male and female representatives at all recruitment events, and a gender perspective incorporated in all advertising. The appointment of a gender adviser at senior military rank in 2024 was an important development. There are fitness-test requirements tailored for females. The recruitment office is also actively reaching out to female applicants in the recruitment pipeline in order to support them throughout the application process should they need any further support or advice because we often see here, and in the Garda as well, a high number of people who apply but that does not always result in the same number of people coming in. There is a particular focus where we see an application from a female in terms of reaching out and saying, "You want to be in the Defence Forces. How can we work with you?" I am pleased to say we also now have a Defence Forces women's network established with the aim of increasing the participation of female personnel at all levels of the organisation.
Sentiment score: 0.36
I fully agree with the Deputy. When we talk about the Defence Forces, we need to talk about the total number of men and women who are available to come to the aid of the State, if and when that is required. Of course, an important component of that is the Permanent Defence Force but it is also important that there is inter-locking between that and the Reserve Defence Forces' men and women who can be called up and can assist in ways as the need arises. I have had good meetings in recent weeks with the representative body in relation to the Reserve. I have had good conversations about how we can make sure we do more in terms of those constant connectivities and links between the Permanent Defence Force and the Reserve. I am also very eager for advertising campaigns to be run and recruitment information to be disseminated about the Reserve Defence Forces. I would very much welcome an opportunity to meet with people who served in the Border region along with the Deputy to discuss that further.
Sentiment score: 0.49
Deputy Connolly is referring to meetings between officials from the Department of Defence and the Irish Defence and Security Association. As she is aware, the IDSA was established in 2021. Its mission is: to ensure Ireland develops appropriate, leading edge and trusted defence and security capabilities in the land, sea, air, space and cyber domains, in order to protect our society, create jobs, drive research and enhance Ireland’s economic growth National defence industry associations are the norm in most EU member states. They provide support to industry operating in defence markets in a number of ways. They create networks, disseminate information and assist contractors to find suitable sub-contractors. They are important for our small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly as I have been very clear about our ambition to increase our capabilities. I want Irish companies to be able to benefit from that. In that context, the IDSA plays a role in enhancing awareness between Irish industry and my Department through periodic engagement. Departmental engagement with the IDSA is primarily around identifying opportunities to support Irish enterprise and research bodies in accessing EU funding streams and providing support and opportunities to companies, especially SMEs, to develop technologies to keep our Defence Forces safe whether they are on missions and operations overseas or undertaking a range of duties at home and abroad. The minutes requested under Parliamentary Question No. 117 of 5 February 2025 refer to meetings the Department held with the IDSA. Minutes are available for meetings since October 2024, when scheduled meeting arrangements were put in place. The minutes of two meetings, which took place in October 2024 and December 2024, have now been published on the website of the Department of Defence. Officials from my Department held a subsequent meeting with the IDSA on 10 April and the minutes of that meeting will be published on the Department's website shortly. I have directed the Department of Defence to publish the minutes of all meetings held with the Irish Defence and Security Association on its website.
Sentiment score: 0.35
I hope the Deputy will let me take a look at the minutes and let my office provide her with clarity as to where they are. I hope she will give me feedback on that. My note tells me that, in summary, the minutes of the meeting on 2 October largely refer to preparations for the Department's participation in an IDSA event held in November and that the minutes of the meeting on 12 December refer to enhancing communication between the Department and the association and scheduling future periodic meetings. There is also reference to a brief discussion on the European defence technology industrial base, EDTIB. I am told the minutes were published on the Department of Defence website on Monday, 7 April 2025. We may have different perspectives on this. I believe transparency is important but that it is okay to talk to industry representative bodies. I have been very clear that we are going to be spending a lot more money on national security and defence. So are most European countries. We are doing it in the context of being militarily neutral. Irish companies need to be enabled and to have the information to benefit from that investment.
Sentiment score: 0.26
I am not sure whether the Deputy would use that sort of language outside the House. It is quite an extraordinary thing to say about an association established with the mission "to ensure Ireland develops appropriate, leading edge and trusted defence and security capabilities in the land, sea, air, space and cyber domains". The Deputy has said the most extraordinary things about the association. I have never met with the association in my life and do not speak for it but it is entirely appropriate that the State interact with people who represent industry because-----
Sentiment score: 0.14
The Deputy attaches to everything-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
-----that has to do with national security the arms industry. We are going to need to procure radar, sonar and uniforms for the men and women of the Defence Forces. The Deputy may disagree but the Government is clear that we are going to level of ambition 2 as set out in the Commission on the Defence Forces report. We then want to go to level of ambition 3. That is going to require spending money and Irish companies should be in a position to benefit. That is all it is about. We do not publish the minutes of every meeting that every Government official has with every agency on a Government website but, in this case, I am happy to do so because I believe the Deputy is right. The minutes were published on the website on 7 April. As I have said very clearly, those minutes refer to meetings that took place since October 2024. I have been very clear that I want meetings to be scheduled and structured and that minutes should be published after each of them.
Sentiment score: 0.32
I join with Deputy Smith and Uachtarán na hÉireann in paying tribute to our Civil Defence volunteers. It is an incredible organisation. While lots of things did not go to plan during Storm Éowyn, I was briefly in Monaghan in the Deputy's constituency while on the way back from somewhere else and met some of the Civil Defence volunteers and the work they did was incredible. I know that was replicated right across the country. I was in Roscommon opening the new state-of-the-art Civil Defence headquarters only a couple of weeks ago. Deputy Smith is right to pay tribute to the Civil Defence, particularly in the year of its 75th anniversary. All of us on all sides of the House thank the volunteers for what they do. The Deputy will have seen my recent announcement confirming the introduction of a payment to officer instructors in the Defence Forces. Over recent months, my Department has engaged with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, with a view to recognising the upskilling of officer instructors through the introduction of a professional instructor payment. I thank the Minister, Deputy Chambers, for working with me on this. The security of the State and its citizens must be a key priority for any government. It is our most solemn obligation. In that context, this Government has committed to strengthening our Defence Forces. Of course, to strengthen the Defence Forces, we rely heavily on the expertise and experience of instructors, who deliver high-quality training programmes to new recruits. These programmes act as a key driver to transform culture and to modernise the Defence Forces to ensure that the State has a professional Defence Forces capable of undertaking roles assigned by Government. In order to achieve the necessary scale of change, the Commission on the Defence Forces report highlighted core areas that needed to be addressed, including the transformational change to modernise the organisation's culture through re-engaging in a different way with its core values, renewing its contract with its people, and with modern work practices. A higher level of education of specialism is, therefore, now required for officer ranks as well. Professional instructors will play a critical role in ensuring the training is carried out in relation to that culture. This is an important incentivising measure. The new measure will apply to nearly 100 officer rank instructors who must possess advanced education specialist expertise and substantial experience. It will be restricted to those officers serving as instructors in the Defence Forces training roles who have completed the required instructor courses.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I thank Deputy Smith for bringing that matter to my attention. I will, in consultation with my officials, reflect on that judgment, and no doubt in my engagement with representative bodies. I look forward to visiting a number of their conferences and we will have an opportunity to further discuss that. I am happy to come back to the Deputy once I have considered the issue.
Sentiment score: 0.31
I propose to take Questions Nos. 161, 168, 184 and 188 together. The Naval Service currently has a fleet of eight commissioned vessels. These eight vessels consist of two P50 class large patrol vessels, four P60 class offshore patrol vessels, and two P70 inshore patrol vessels. The military authorities have advised that three of the P60 class offshore patrol vessels are currently available for operations and conduct patrols on a rotation basis. The fourth P60 vessel is currently undergoing a planned maintenance period. The LÉ Aoibhinn is fully operational and is regularly deployed on maritime defence and security operations within Irish territorial waters and the Irish exclusive economic zone, primarily along the east coast. Taken together, this entails that at the moment there are two vessels actively operational at sea. The two P50 class vessels, the LÉ Róisín and the and LÉ Niamh are currently in operational reserve on the recommendation of the Naval Service. Deputies will be aware of the challenges facing the Naval Service in recent years, namely around recruitment and retention. To that end, I am pleased to say that we have recently seen a positive uptake in the numbers of new recruits joining the Naval Service. This upturn, in my view, is attributable to a range of measures, including the doubling of the patrol duty allowance, which took effect in January 2024. The effect has been that no patrol days have been cancelled or lost during 2024 or to date in 2025. A total of 97 personnel were inducted into the Naval Service in 2024, consisting of 80 general service recruits, 13 cadets, two re-enlisted personnel, one direct entry electrical artificer, and one direct entry chef. To date in 2025, a further 37 personnel have been inducted into training in the Naval Service and the most recent strength figure available as of 9 April is 745 wholetime equivalent personnel, of an agreed establishment strength of 1,094. In addition, we have invested heavily in improving the building infrastructure at Haulbowline, particularly focusing on improving the accommodation provided to serving personnel when on duty. To date, €13.5 million has been invested in providing additional accommodation. Since the inception of the Defence Forces infrastructure development plan €18.5 million has been invested in various projects across the naval base. Extensive work is ongoing to oversee a turnaround in the level of operational activity by our Naval Service and to this end I instructed a team consisting senior military officers, led by our Chief of Staff, and my senior officials to conduct a detailed workshop with the Naval Service. We need an action plan now for the Naval Service. On foot of this three-day workshop, conducted in March, a detailed report from the military authorities is being prepared to include courses of action to increase the numbers of ships at sea. With regard to contact with Dún Laoghaire, I do not have the most up-to-date information on that but I know how important the issue is to Dún Laoghaire. Having a presence on the east coast of Ireland, and particularly in Dún Laoghaire, is an issue of concern for Deputy Devlin, and I see great wisdom in it too.
Sentiment score: 0.18
I will indeed keep the Deputy briefed on this matter. I am very happy to visit the harbour in Dún Laoghaire with him and Oireachtas colleagues. I know this is an issue of real interest to people in Dún Laoghaire, to the people on the east coast, and to the Naval Service. In addition to the operational benefits this could well bring, there is also a secondary benefit, which is the visibility of the Naval Service to the young men and women on the east coast who may wish to join and be recruited. There is a very proud tradition, of which we should be rightly proud, of the Naval Service in Cork as our national Naval Service presence in Cork. We are very proud of that and we are investing more in that. Imagine the benefit if the service also had a visibility and a presence on the east coast in somewhere like Dún Laoghaire. Let me talk further to the Chief of Staff and to officials in my Department and we can arrange a follow-up discussion on this shortly.
Sentiment score: 0.50
I thank my colleague, Deputy Noel McCarthy, and I thank him for inviting me to Haulbowline, which he has done for a number of weeks. I very much look forward to visiting it with Deputy McCarthy and with colleagues in Cork because I am pleased to say we are investing heavily in improving the building infrastructure at Haulbowline. We have had a particular focus in recent years on trying to improve the accommodation to support our serving personnel while on duty. We have spent €13.5 million so far in providing additional accommodation. Since the inception of our development plan €18.5 million has been invested in various projects across the Haulbowline naval base as well. My senior officials, the incumbent Chief of Staff and others were down there recently for that three-day workshop to see what more we can do to support the Naval Service. In direct answer to the Deputy's question, on 9 April 2025 there were 745 wholetime equivalent personnel within the Naval Service. I am pleased to see an uptick in the number of people now signing up. New recruits joining the Naval Service is much needed and requires constant attention.
Sentiment score: 0.37
I thank the Deputy. I know that he and his family have a proud family history of serving our State through the Naval Service. I thank them and all families across our country who have proud traditions with Óglaigh na hÉireann. I welcome the fact we now have the largest Defence Forces budget that we have ever had in our country, but we have a long way to go in terms of investing in the capabilities we need, and in particular having a better understanding of what happens up in our skies and below our seas. Debate in this House often gets drawn down an alleyway into one about military neutrality. We have no plans to change military neutrality but that is not an excuse or a cop out for not properly investing in our national security. On the Deputy's specific question on mid-life extensions, I will ask the Defence Forces for the latest information on that. I will provide that to the Deputy in writing.
Sentiment score: 0.33
Deputy McGrath knows from his own community and constituency the importance of the pride within which the Naval Service is held across our country, particularly in the part of the country where he lives because people are so familiar with the service there. I look forward to visiting Haulbowline with him in the time ahead. The Naval Service currently has a fleet of eight commissioned vehicles: two P50-class large patrol vessels, four P60-class offshore patrol vessels and two P70 inshore patrol vessels. The military authorities have advised me that three of the P60 class are currently available for operations, and they are conducting patrols on a rotation basis. The fourth vessel is currently undergoing planned maintenance. Basically, it means there are approximately two vessels actively operational at sea at any time. The big thing we need to do for our Naval Service in addition to getting more ships at sea is to provide sonar capability. As the Deputy knows, we hear about suspicious ships from time to time near the part of the country where he lives. Having that sonar capability, as well as our radar capabilities, would make a real difference to the security of the State.
Sentiment score: 0.12
The Deputy is right. We have to invest more in defence. In fairness, a lot of work was done, much of it by my predecessor, the Taoiseach, in terms of the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces. That was a very helpful and important piece of infrastructure. What we do not need to do, however, is every time we try to spend some money on defence, everybody asks about funding for another Department. We do not do that with regard to anything else. If somebody says we are giving more money to the Department of education, people do not ask about the Department of Health. Yet, any time we talk about spending more on national security, people ask why we are not putting more money into every other public service. National security is not just something that is nice to have. It is really important. If, God forbid, we did not invest more in this and did not have the capabilities and something happened off our seas or in our skies, we would be facing more difficult questions in terms of why we did not make those investment decisions. We are in a good place. We have a long way to go, as the Deputy rightly said, to get to where we need to be in terms of the numbers of people in Óglaigh na hÉireann. It is all a jigsaw and is interlinked; if people start to see more investment, increased capability, more operations and the likes, it makes the Defence Forces more attractive. The reverse is also true. We need to get all the pieces of the jigsaw together.
Sentiment score: 0.24
My officials and I will keep in close contact with the Deputy on those issues as well. I thank him for his words of tribute to members of the Defence Forces. I am very conscious that, this week, men and women who have served in the 125th battalion in Lebanon are beginning to return home. I was in Renmore Barracks, where the 126th battalion is getting ready to be deployed to Lebanon. I met very excited soldiers, and sometimes nervous mothers, grannies, wives, husbands and children worried about their relative being away from the family. The sacrifices that the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann and military families make is something we should rightly pay tribute to and acknowledge. The Civil Defence in the Deputy's own community, my community and across the country makes an incredible contribution. On its 75th anniversary, Deputy Devlin is so right to rise and pay tribute to it today, and I join him in that.
Sentiment score: 0.14
I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising the question and the opportunity it provides to discuss some of the various investments and infrastructure improvements that are either currently under way, or are being planned, at Gormanston Camp in County Meath. As I know the Deputy will be aware, this training installation has now been designated as the Defence Forces’ Joint Induction Training Centre. Its function is to accommodate the induction training of all future recruits into the Defence Forces. In February of this year, my Department signed a contract for the construction of a new modern gymnasium at a value of €7.8 million for a multipurpose hall, as well as a purpose-built training obstacle course at Gormanston Camp. This project, I am pleased to say, is now under construction, and the estimated date for completion is May 2026. Last month, my Department also signed a contract for the construction of a new locker block for enlisted personnel at Gormanston Camp, valued at €1.5 million. It is estimated it will take nine months to complete that. In addition to this new facility, the following construction works and projects are also under way at Gormanston: the upgrade of blocks A and B and the provision of a new running track. These projects, with a combined value of €1.1 million, are due to be completed this year. In the coming years, projects which are at various stages of procurement design and planning will deliver new buildings for Gormanston Camp at a combined value of more than €14 million. The buildings in question are a dining hall and an accommodation block with capacity for 100 people. All of the projects I have mentioned are part of and are included in the Defence Forces infrastructure development plan, which sets out a programme of project delivery up to 2027. The capital allocation for building works in military installations and barracks around the country for the last five years was approximately €170 million. This year the capital allocation stands at €50 million for capital investment, with a further €12.5 million for ongoing maintenance and running costs.
Sentiment score: 0.13
I will read my note to give the Deputy the up-to-date figures. I am told that in 2024, 577 recruits were inducted, consisting of 451 Army, 46 Air Corps and 80 Naval Service recruits into the Permanent Defence Forces. As of 28 February, which is the last date I have for figures, 34 recruits were inducted so far this year. On 19 March 2025, Gormanston welcomed its largest recruit class at 72 recruits, and when fully operational, it will have the capacity to accommodate the induction of 900 recruits per annum. The Deputy asked about timelines. As he rightly said, the works that were signed for in February - the multipurpose hall and the purpose-built obstacle course - are now under construction and are due to be completed by May 2026. That construction has started. I need to check the difference between when it will be completed and when it will be operational. I do not expect there is a timeline there of much significance, but I will come back to the Deputy directly on that.
Sentiment score: 0.02
I am smiling because this is one of the questions I get asked most frequently when I go around the country. The Deputy is right that our barracks often have good facilities and communities ask if they can get in too. Obviously, there are requirements from a security point of view, but there is also the issue of wanting our communities to be familiar with them. There have been good examples. This comes up a lot in the context of Cathal Brugha Barracks. It came up in the context of Renmore when I was there recently. I met a local community group wanting to know. In general, I have found the position of the Defence Forces and the Chief of Staff to be one of wanting to work with local communities where possible. "I do not know" is the honest answer to the question about Gormanston, but I will talk to the Chief of Staff about it and I am happy to come back to the Deputy with a written update.
Sentiment score: 0.27
I propose to take Questions Nos. 163 and 164 together. It is a fair point. It is a matter of lies, damned lies and statistics. It depends on when one measures the point. I am going to say progress has been made in the last year and the Deputy is going to say, "Actually, if you look back over a number of years", and both could be true. The reality is that there are some encouraging signs of a stabilisation now as regards recruitment and retention, but I am also very truthful on this in that there is a long way to go to get to where we need to be, so there is certainly no room for complacency at all. What is interesting, though, is that we are seeing through the application process very significant interest in joining the Defence Forces, and that is to be welcomed. As of 9 April of this year, as I said earlier today, we have seen 7,545 whole-time equivalent personnel in the Defence Forces. That is 6,074 in our Army, 726 in our Air Corps and 745 in our Naval Service. We need to continue to build on this. I am pleased to say that we had 708 people inducted into the Permanent Defence Force last year. That was the highest number in over five years. The Defence Forces - I meet them regularly on this; I spoke to the Chief of Staff on this recently - are hoping to induct 800 at least this year as well. That would be encouraging. In addition to that, we are seeing an encouraging trend gleaned from the discharges figure for last year. Last year, there was a discharges figure of 674. That was 81 fewer than the previous year and the lowest in four years. Therefore, last year saw the highest number inducted in over five years and the lowest number of discharges in over four years. We have to build on that. There are encouraging signs that this year will build on it, but let us keep the focus on that. I think some of this has happened because of some of the decisions we have taken and are taking and some of the work the Defence Forces have done. The points the Deputy's colleague Deputy O'Rourke just put to me are a part of it. Having that new joint induction training centre established in Gormanston was important. That will have really good facilities to train up to 900 recruits each year. As I said, the centre recently saw its largest recruit class to date, with 72 people go in the doors. We are putting the facilities in there, including gyms, multipurpose halls and purpose-built obstacle course. They are state-of-the-art training facilities. It is an example of our commitment to supporting people who join the Defence Forces. We now have the largest Defence Forces budget ever. We have seen a very significant improvement in pay. The pay of recruits on completion of training now starts at €41,465 in year one. School leaver cadets upon commissioning earn €45,341 while in full-time education, and graduate cadets commence on €50,667, inclusive of military service allowance. It should be noted that interest in a career in the Defence Forces grew significantly in the last year. We had 13,384 applications, an increase of a third on the previous year. I am pleased to say this trend has continued this year with over 4,000 applications received by the end of March. We have increased the maximum recruitment age to 39. We have increased the mandatory retirement age to 62. We have extended private secondary healthcare to all Permanent Defence Force members. In addition, we have seen the patrol duty allowance payable to the Naval Service personnel at sea doubled, the Naval Service tax credit extended for a further five years and, very importantly, the provisions of the working time directive extended to the Defence Forces, subject to some exemptions but for the first time ever. There is a lot of work to do, but those are the plans for the time ahead and the progress we believe we have made to date.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I am always conscious when speaking to this that people who are not friends of Ireland look in on these proceedings, so as regards national cybersecurity, let all of those who look in be aware that we have cybersecurity structures in place. We have an excellent National Cyber Security Centre. As Deputy Heneghan reminded us earlier, however, there is so much we need to do in this space. The Government will consider, through its national security strategy, the overall infrastructure and ecosystem, as I think Deputy Ó Murchú's colleague referred to it earlier. That is due later this year. I do not have - I certainly do not have in front of me - an overall breakdown of the rationale or reasons behind people's discharges. What I can tell the Deputy from the paperwork on this that comes across my desk is that the reasons tend to be varied. His question has provoked a thought in my mind. I will ask - I would be happy to share with him the response - if there are three or four big issues and if there is anything we can glean further from that. I have asked the Chief of Staff and the Defence Forces to prepare for when I bring the updated implementation plan on the Commission on the Defence Forces to the Cabinet later this year, the roadmap as to how to get to the establishment figure we require for LOA 2. I think this year the test will be whether we can get to the 800 inductions.
Sentiment score: 0.10
I propose to take Questions Nos. 167, 182 and 203 together. Let me first, as we always do when we speak about this, extend our deepest sympathies to the family of the late Private Seán Rooney and thank him for his service. None of us can fathom the unimaginable pain and grief of his family. I want them to know that we think of them and are motivated every day by getting them truth and justice in relation to what happened to Private Rooney. On the UN question specifically, on 6 August last year the coroner wrote to the UN requesting access to two reports on investigations that were carried out by the UN on 14 December 2022. The coroner has requested in her correspondence that the UN become an interested party for the purpose of the inquest, and my understanding is that the UN responded to the coroner's question in early March. We continue to apply absolute pressure and clarity of thought to the fact that Private Rooney deserves justice and that those responsible for his death must be brought to justice. During my meetings in my recent visit to Lebanon I raised in the strongest possible terms our deep frustration at the slow pace of proceedings before the Lebanese military tribunal concerning those charged with Private Rooney's killing. I made clear the lack of progress is causing enormous distress, particularly to the family of Private Rooney. We remain in close contact with the Lebanese authorities and his family.
Sentiment score: 0.05
I will engage on that.
Sentiment score: 0.34
I thank the Deputy for her own service and the unique insight she brings to debates in this House having served in Lebanon with our Defence Forces. I very much welcome the opportunity to update the House on my recent visit to Lebanon. A central focus of that visit on 26 March was on my meetings with the Lebanese Ministers for foreign affairs and defence. At those meetings, my first with both individuals, I left the Ministers in no doubt with regard to the absolute determination of the Government to ensure those responsible for Private Rooney’s death are brought to justice. During my meetings with both Ministers, I raised in the strongest terms our deep frustration at the slow pace of proceedings before the Lebanese military tribunal concerning those charged with Private Rooney's killing. I made it clear the lack of progress is causing enormous distress, particularly for the family of Private Rooney. We are mindful of the independence of Lebanon's judicial system but I reiterated that it is essential to see real movement and real accountability given the delays in the trial to date. I also noted the postponement of the most recent hearing of the trial on 12 February, with the next one not scheduled until 17 September. The Lebanese Ministers acknowledged the seriousness of the case and assured me of the commitment of the new Lebanese Government in bringing the perpetrators to justice. They also took the opportunity to express their condolences to the family of Private Rooney and to Ireland and their appreciation for Ireland's long-standing commitment to peacekeeping through UNIFIL. I conveyed to both Ministers our strong sense of frustration and I also formally handed over a letter to the Lebanese Minister for foreign affairs further underlining the importance of seeing urgent and concrete progress on this issue. While I was in Lebanon, I was delighted and honoured to see the men and women serving there, to see how they serve with absolute distinction, to see Camp Shamrock and to see a contingent that has spent so much of their time over there in bunkers. At that stage they had been there for approximately five months and the equivalent of one month had been spent in bunkers, just to give a sense of the volatility of the region. I was very pleased to see when I was there, though, that those serving there were back out on patrols and that the situation, while it can always change, was a little bit more stable. I know many of the personnel have served with distinction. They were beginning to think about coming home as well and looking forward to reuniting with family. I was honoured to be in Renmore Barracks for the review of our troops before the 126th Battalion heads off in the coming days. I take the opportunity again to thank everyone who has served with the UNIFIL mission. I thank all the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann, including the Deputy, for their service. We should be very proud as a country of the great contribution our peacekeepers have made around the world and particularly in Lebanon.
Sentiment score: 0.36