85. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence the capacity of the Defence Forces and security forces generally to respond to drone incursions in Irish aerospace and to respond to reported suspicious drone activity near Dublin Airport during the visit of President Zelenskyy. [72050/25]

Sentiment score: 0.06

The presence of drones in Dublin Bay during the visit of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the source of much commentary internationally and domestically. We are facing into a crucial year in which security, and the ability of this State to ensure the safety and security of high-level meetings and the people attending them, will be under a good deal of scrutiny, which needs to come through. We need to consider the protocol with regard to the response to this and in terms of equipment. It is not something we wish to see repeated.

Sentiment score: 0.15

To be clear, there is no doubt but that the presence of drones such as this in our airspace is a threat to our national security. The neglect of the Defence Forces by the past three Governments, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in their various turns, has created a threat to our national security. The Minister spoke about bringing forward the radar picture, the anti-drone system and counter unmanned air system capabilities. That was due to be delivered in the autumn - quarter 3 of 2025. It is in the Commission on the Defence Forces. She is not bringing it forward. It is already late. In that context, it is a concern to me as to whether it will be in place before the EU Presidency. Realistically, it needs to be in place now. It is a huge concern that in the past there has been excellent co-operation between An Garda and the Defence Forces but to see both organisations briefing against each other raises significant concerns about the strength of the protocols that exist. We are not going to get into operational matters, because it would not be appropriate, but we clearly need to see protocols tighten up if there is a conflict in approach.

Sentiment score: 0.04

There are many comments I would like to make but the first relates to the timeline. It sounds extremely tight. It will be purchased within the first half of the year but that is not a lot of time for the personnel to get used to this and ensure protocols are in place and so on. What struck me most was clearly the visit of President Zelenskyy was very welcome and worthwhile but the Minister has talked about it proving the radar system worked. These drones were 400 m or 500 m away from the naval vessels. They could be seen with the naked eye, so it does not prove anything on that or tell us anything about our radar capacity. I note the report last weekend by Conor Gallagher in The Irish Times made the point the LÉ William Butler Yeats did not have radar-guided weapons in the way the previous flagship, LÉ Eithne, had and it was therefore constrained in its ability. Finally, Deputy Smith is absolutely right. There is no reason it should not be released. I believe it, certainly, but transparency is important here and we need to get serious about that.

Sentiment score: 0.19

87. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence further to recent Dáil debates, her views on past health and safety measures in the Air Corps; the actions she intends to take to support former aircraft maintenance and ancillary personnel; whether she intends to ensure their medical needs are met; and the other supports that can be offered to the category as a whole. [72051/25]

Sentiment score: 0.29

This is probably the Minister's first time debating this particular matter but the issue of the potential adverse health outcomes for former aircraft maintenance personnel in the Air Corps has been discussed a lot over the years. Many people who served in aircraft maintenance believe many have suffered very severe health outcomes, including untimely deaths, because of exposure to dangerous chemicals. What is the Minister going to do about that in respect of the category generally, not individual cases?

Sentiment score: -0.29

The reality is that this is not an issue that has only arisen in Ireland. We know that in other jurisdictions such as Australia and the Netherlands exposure to very powerful, strong and dangerous chemicals caused adverse health outcomes for personnel in those locations. Australia took a sensible approach. Officials evaluated the situation trhough the study of health outcomes for aircraft maintenance personnel and they offered health supports. That is key to what we do on this. That is the kind of approach that makes sense - evaluate the situation, try to identify the connections between the exposure and health impacts, provide healthcare solutions and find out how it came to pass. This has been examined on a number of occasions in the past, although not all of this is in the public domain. We had the EEA air monitoring report in 1995, Forbairt report in 1997 and HSA report in 2015, but there is other documentation that not public at this point in time. Is the Minister open to doing something in addition to dealing with individual cases as a category?

Sentiment score: 0.10

The Minister is right that the men and women of the Defence Forces are its greatest asset. The weight of this needs to be emphasised. The Air Corps Chemical Abuse Survivors, ACCAS, group has identified what it believes to be 110 untimely deaths. It has used that language advisedly because the link needs to be proven in that regard. However the group has questions and concerns over that many deaths and serious illnesses. That is the concern, and indeed in other jurisdictions there was a connection between the chemical exposure and serious illness. In the Air Corps there were many instances of no protective equipment, no masks and so on being provided. I appreciate court cases have to happen, and people have an entitlement to that. For the industrial schools and the Magdalen laundries this did not stop an approach that offered redress, support and accountability to the category as a whole concurrently. I encourage the Minister to talk to the Departments in question - indeed she was in one of those Departments herself - about how that was approached. We can have the court cases, which people are entitled to tae, and we can have a redress system for the category as a whole.

Sentiment score: 0.03

88. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence for an update on the capacity in the Naval Service, in terms of personnel, specialist personnel and fleet; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72052/25]

Sentiment score: 0.04

We have had a fair bit of discussion in recent weeks in on capital investment, but there is obviously the need for current investment. Our Naval Service has serious challenges because of a lack of specialist staff. Some of that is because of their attractiveness to employers in the private sector. The State invest in training people but then they are lost and not retained. That is holding back the full development of the Naval Service and it is something we need to come to terms with.

Sentiment score: -0.04

The key question I raise here and my key concern about the Naval Service is to do with specialist personnel. The Naval Service such as it is today requires people with very high skills. Many of them gain these skills within the Naval Service, but we have had the embarrassing situation in the past 12 months that a navy ship was put to sea without a functioning main gun. The reason for that is the Naval Service did not have the specialist staff required, namely, artificers. There are also issues with marine engineering officers, because there is a significant outflow of them. We have seen a situation with the 63rd Naval cadet class where six cadets commenced training but only two were commissioned. There remaining four withdrew before being commissioned, referencing the extended service commitment associated with naval officer training as the primary reason for their departure. This is after considerable investment by the State and therefore, the loss of those personnel. Therefore, we need to be looking at commitment service schemes.

Sentiment score: 0.08

It is not merely about small numbers - although the numbers are small - it is also about the proportion and the fact that of the cadre six who went into the 63rd naval cadet class, only two were commissioned. Two thirds of that cadre, however small, left early. That is the issue. Specialist numbers within the Naval Service are critically low despite targeted recruitment. Some of that is due to the extensive time required to train personnel in key technical areas. Marine engineering officers are one group I have identified. These groups are currently operating at approximately half strength, resulting in increased workloads, added responsibilities and declining morale. Retaining such expertise - marine engineering officers, artificers and so on - is essential for the effective operation of the Naval Service. A service commitment scheme such as has been recommended by RACO for certain critical roles, such as marine engineering officers, artificers and so on, would represent a tangible step towards stabilising the force. The Minister needs to look at that as a key action.

Sentiment score: 0.13