4. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence how he will ensure adequate funding for the Defence Forces in line with the report of the commission on the Defence Forces. [6102/25]

Sentiment score: 0.23

We have heard a lot about defence spending in recent weeks but the truth on the ground is that the Defence Forces are in a precarious position because of Government underfunding. We currently have fewer than 8,000 members of the Permanent Defence Force. This is well below establishment, not to mind the 11,000 recommended under stage 2 in the report of the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces. Morale is very low. Does the Tánaiste regret the neglect of the Defence Forces by the Government and how does he intend to ensure that we have Defence Forces that are fit for purpose?

Sentiment score: 0.18

In recent weeks, we have heard lots of big speeches, announcements, lofty promises and big commitments. I welcome that the Defence Forces are finally getting some attention. I live in a city that has a large number of Defence Forces personnel who work in Collins Barracks and Haulbowline. They tell me they have heard all of this before. They have heard big talk and small follow-through. The Tánaiste says it is important that we are seen to be increasing the capacity of the Defence Forces. It should not be about being seen to do anything. It is about making sure - in the interests of the men and women in the Defence Forces and the Irish people - that the Defence Forces are supported. It needs to be about action rather than being seen to do things. The reality is that big speeches will not put boots inside the barracks' doors. Only proper resourcing and resolving the terms and conditions and income of Defence Forces personnel will do that. The men and women of the Defence Forces deserve better than what they saw from the last Government. Regarding the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces, will the Tánaiste give a timeline? He spoke about needing to go beyond LOA2. Currently, we are substantially below level of ambition 1, LOA1. Will the Tánaiste give a timeline for the Defence Forces to reach establishment and to deliver 11,000 PDF members?

Sentiment score: 0.21

The Tánaiste spoke about an objective analysis. Any objective analysis would find that the previous Minister for Defence, who is now the Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil, Deputy Micheál Martin, kept giving unspent money in defence back to the Exchequer. It was €30 million last year and €70 million in 2023 and 2022. Any objective analysis would find that more than 900 people recruited to the Defence Forces since 2020 left within five years. We have had the embarrassing situation where ships have been put to sea with no functioning main gun because of a lack of specialist staff. The objective analysis is that our Defence Forces are at rock bottom in terms of morale and seriously struggling in terms of recruitment and retention. The Tánaiste gave me an answer to a related question but not quite the one I asked. Talking about progressing from LOA2 to LOA3 is a bit off when we are not at LOA1. When will the Defence Forces reach establishment in terms of personnel?

Sentiment score: -0.06

6. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence to discuss health and safety measures in the Air Corps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6440/25]

Sentiment score: 0.17

The Tánaiste will be aware of a recent settlement for Mr. Gary Coll of €2 million, without liability, after he lodged proceedings regarding exposure to dangerous chemicals while working in the Air Corps. I do not wish to discuss any case before the courts. Many people who are affected do not want to have to go to court. However, as a matter of policy, the Department of Defence has a responsibility to ensure that issues regarding former Defence Forces personnel are addressed, particularly if their health has been compromised. The Tánaiste will be aware of the organisation, Air Corps Chemical Abuse Survivors, ACCAS, as I sent him the group's demands last night. Will he introduce measures to ensure the mental care of those affected?

Sentiment score: -0.06

It is for this reason that I communicated with the Tánaiste last night. It is important that ongoing monitoring is happening but my primary concern relates to the issues that have arisen over the past 20 or 30 years. For many years personnel in the Air Corps, particularly those in the repair shop, were exposed to very dangerous chemicals. Despite this, there were no meaningful precautions in terms of health and safety until very recent years. In the meantime, hundreds of personnel were exposed. According to ACCAS it has identified 97 untimely deaths since 2000 of Air Corps personnel that may potentially be connected. I am not sure whether the Tánaiste saw the "Prime Time" segment on this, in which Paul Flynn was interviewed from his hospital bed. Some of the people affected by this are very ill. Others have passed away. This is a matter of the gravest seriousness. We know this issue is not unique to Ireland. In Australia there was SHOAMP, which was the study of health outcomes in aircraft maintenance personnel. Will the Tánaiste put in place a similar model to assess the health of the former personnel?

Sentiment score: -0.10

I appreciate the fact the Tánaiste will reflect on it. He mentioned the tribunal. I would make the point, and the Tánaiste's comments reflect that he may be aware of this, the tribunal only deals with the handling of complaints rather than the substance of complaints.

Sentiment score: -0.09

Therefore, that will not be anywhere near adequate. What ACCAS has demanded is to ensure medical care is provided as well as an assessment to identify what were the implications for health outcomes. There is also a need for a statutory investigation of some form, given the role of the State Claims Agency in failing to alert the HSA of ongoing failings when known. It should go without saying these are personnel who were part of the Defence Forces. They gave their careers and long parts of their lives to serve the State. If their health is now profoundly compromised the State has a responsibility to them. The Tánaiste says he will go away and consider it, and I appreciate this. Will he also meet those affected, ACCAS and any other organisation?

Sentiment score: 0.08

8. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence to discuss the need to ensure increased recruitment to the Reserve Defence Force; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6439/25]

Sentiment score: 0.23

The Tánaiste and I had an engagement a while ago that was primarily about the Permanent Defence Force. I want to bring to the Tánaiste's attention the issue of the Reserve Defence Force, RDF. It is a seriously depleted organisation that has much greater potential. It has a huge ability to support the Permanent Defence Force in its own right. As of 15 October, the current strength of the RDF is 1,720. We are a long way from the target of 4,500 that has been set for 2028. How are we going to achieve that target?

Sentiment score: 0.31

There is a sense of a lack of ambition with respect to redeveloping the Reserve Defence Force. Typically, reserve defence forces are a critical element of recruitment to permanent defence forces. We are at critically low levels. Indeed, the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces reflected the fact that the Reserve Defence Force is important in terms of surge capacity as required. That is not remotely possible at present. There is hardly another reserve defence force in Europe whose membership is a fraction of that of the permanent army. In many cases it is multiples of it. In the past, in virtually every significant town there would have been an FCA hall and an FCA presence with personnel from across the community. We do not really see that any more. Many people have very little contact with or awareness of the Reserve Defence Force. In large parts of the country, it is effectively non-existent. Surely we have to recognise that the Reserve is the best way to attract new recruits. I welcome the actions the Tánaiste outlined.

Sentiment score: 0.18

My next question was going to be whether the Tánaiste planned to meet with them. I am glad that he has met them. I hope he took on board some of their suggestions and requests. From what he is saying, it seems that the target is effectively no longer 4,500 for 2028, but 3,000. That would be a fair step back. It was only on 15 October last that the current Taoiseach committed to the target of 4,500. That is a reduction in terms of the ambition. In any event, I appreciate the realisation that it is not a sustainable situation. There are probably parts of the country that require very particular focus because it is stronger in some areas than others. Also, there is more of a tradition of it in some places. I hope the Tánaiste can tell me what suggestions from the representative organisation he might take on board.

Sentiment score: 0.25

It feels as if there is constantly something unsaid in this debate. The Government is in favour of removing the need for a UN mandate for peacekeeping missions. We have had referendums in the past and a lot of weight was put on the fact that the triple lock existed - that this was a defence of our neutrality. Whatever about your bona fides, the effect of this is to undermine Irish neutrality. The issue that is left unsaid is: what missions does the Government believe need to take place outside of a UN mandate? For all the faults of the UN, this is how it operates. We would certainly like to see it reformed. I take the point that reform is unlikely to happen. However, notwithstanding that, the UN is the organisation that is tasked with providing peacekeepers, generally speaking. What missions does the Minister anticipate Irish troops could potentially go on outside of a UN mandate?

Sentiment score: 0.10

Regarding our assessment as to why Ireland should be a neutral State, some people have talked about moral superiority. That is not it in my view. In my view it is a clear-sighted assessment of the role we can play where we can be of most benefit but also do what is in our interests. I believe that neutrality serves us well and has popular support. The Minister has said he is in favour of neutrality. The massive concern is that without the triple lock, effectively a vote of this Dáil ultimately is the only thing that will decide whether troops will be deployed. What we are talking about here is Irish troops operating outside of a UN mandate. For all the flaws of the UN, it is recognised and there is a certain respect for the blue helmets and all that goes with it and Irish troops have served with distinction under it. With Irish troops being deployed outside that mandate, what if something were to go wrong? That is the concern. What if Irish troops were to become embroiled in something controversial or difficult or that might in any way undermine or damage our status as a neutral state?

Sentiment score: 0.18

We will have the legislation. The Tánaiste is talking about teasing through it. Of course we will. We will have our engagement, and I hope that there will be enough time for it. However, as far as we are concerned, the triple lock is something that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil for a long time put a lot of store by and pointed to it as evidence that there was no question regarding Irish neutrality, as Deputy Connolly outlined. In the context of the Lisbon treaty, which was a very flawed document that contained flawed proposals, one of the fundamental arguments in favour of that and one of the reasons used to sell it to the Irish people was that this would strengthen both our position and international respect for the triple lock. We can have numerous debates about all the failings of the UN. Ireland must use its voice. However, there are many countries across the world that are led by people who we would not have any time for but that are part of the UN. It is the multilateral organisation that makes decisions in respect of peacekeeping missions. We need to be part of UN missions.

Sentiment score: 0.13

11. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he will outline his proposals to remove the triple lock neutrality protection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6108/25]

Sentiment score: 0.04

We are returning to this issue again. We have had a discussion regarding the principle of it, and it remains my strong view that the effect of getting rid of the triple lock, whatever the intention, will undermine Irish neutrality. The Tánaiste talked a great deal about the detail and so on. This is an opportunity for him to tell us what is going to be in the legislation and outline, to the greatest detail that he can, what exactly this is going to look like.

Sentiment score: 0.44

I will not make a final intervention after this because we have ventilated it well enough. It sounds to some extent as though these are criteria the Dáil should have regard to, but ultimately it remains a decision of the Dáil and there is no safeguard beyond that. I am concerned about that. It is not the UN Security Council or anyone on it that has prevented us from sustaining a peacekeeping presence in the Golan Heights; it is because of a lack of resources and underinvestment in the Defence Forces. The most recent issue for Irish personnel being in a position to contribute to peacekeeping was, unfortunately, the approximately 130 personnel who were withdrawn from the Golan Heights and that was because of the failings and underinvestment in the Defence Forces. Returning to the first question, the most fundamental issue we have to resolve that is relevant to this area is the proper resourcing of our Defence Forces.

Sentiment score: 0.11