Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

1. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence his proposals to remove the triple lock neutrality protection; his plans to bring forward a Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60896/25]

We have had a fair bit of airtime and a fair bit of discussion in this place in relation to the Government's plans to scrap the triple lock, and they are to end the triple lock, not to amend or adjust it. I recall that in the committee we were told there was a great rush to try to move along with pre-legislative scrutiny in order to ensure that legislation would be ready. That was far from ideal;…

This is an issue that has seen a fair bit of discussion recently. In the context of a presidential election and a presidential candidate, or our President, it is not an area in which they have executive power, but the nature of all presidential elections is that there is discussion about Ireland's place in the world, how we see ourselves and how we can best exercise influence internationally. The …

Opposition to this might have been up or might have been down, but if you lose a game 5-2 it is not last goal wins. At the end of the day, the bigger number is the bigger number.

The Tánaiste has made a couple of points. He is right: we cannot say the presidential election is the final word on this.

However, only one political party - it was not his party - came to the last general election with anything even resembling a manifesto commitment that gave it any kind of mandate. Deputy Murphy is right when he suggests there is a better way of defining public opinion. If the Government is willing - we are certainly willing - to put this to the people and have a clear question asked of them in or…

The context is the commitments in past referendums.

No, to the triple lock.

The Tánaiste's previous answer tailors well enough with this question. One of the key priorities in how we tailor investment in our Defence Forces is our naval capacity and our understanding of what is in Irish waters. That is probably the number one issue of concern for us and for our neighbours. The most important piece of infrastructure is ensuring that we have that full radar picture, which is…

The primary radar system and the full radar picture is one of the cornerstones of the transformation of the Defence Forces and it is crucial we get it right, not least because it will cost a substantial sum of money. Can the Tánaiste give us a sense of what kind of sums we are talking about because it is important we apply lessons learned from other public contracts to this project? There was a di…

The cost is a consideration. It is vitally important that value for money is achieved but also that it is of the highest standard and it is secure. We talked about whether the naval and the aircraft capacity existed. There is also the issue of personnel. Will there be a requirement for additional specialist personnel in order to operate this? The Minister talked about it being rolled out in parts.…

5. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the way in which the shortfall in critical staffing levels in the Defence Forces poses a national security risk; the efforts which are being made to resolve this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60898/25]

We have had discussions regarding a number of these issues. We have talked about the triple lock and that relates to the deployment of our troops abroad. A lot has been said about the world that is changing. It is my view that the Defence Forces were allowed to go significantly backwards by successive governments. That is true in terms of equipment but it is also most true in terms of personnel. W…

I welcome an increase in Defence Force numbers, given that this has been a matter of discussion in these Houses for a number of years in terms of the recruitment and retention crisis. The advance we are talking about is quite modest given the context. We are far from the commission on the future of the Defence Forces. We are below establishment and the minimum acceptable level of personnel. I wan…

Very often, people want to serve. The Minister spoke about the quality of the people he inspected recently. The men and women of the Defence Forces are our greatest asset. Even at times when payments and allowances were less favourable, people wanted to join. The difficulty is that many of these people are very capable, skilled and experienced and are the kind of people private industry wants. In…

8. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence to provide an update on the issue of chaplains, who are without representation despite working for, and being paid by, his Department. [60515/25]

In August 2024, Fr. Paul Murphy was the subject of a heinous attack at Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa in Galway. It was an appalling attack. It underscored the vulnerability of those serving in the unique and vital role of military chaplains to our Defence Forces. I am seeking an update - I know it was discussed recently - on the issue of representation for chaplains working for and paid by the Department of D…

Perhaps there is not a great deal more that can be added to that. Fr. Murphy, in particular, is regarded with great affection and trust by members of the Defence Forces. He responded to that attack with great courage and a great deal of grace as well. It is an important role. This was discussed at the RACO conference. As outlined, the legal advice is that chaplains are not members of the Defence F…

As I said, there is not a great deal to add. If it is being worked on, that is welcome. Please keep us updated. It was suggested that a defence amendment Bill may be in the pipeline. I cannot say I will vote for it but I might vote for that section. Please keep the House and the committee updated. I appreciate it is not possible in the current legislative framework but it is logical and welcome th…

174. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the progress his Department has made regarding the establishment of a joint cybersecurity command and other actions related to cybersecurity contained in the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60523/25]

This is going to be a challenging area for this and every jurisdiction. I know work is being advanced. Returning to the area of specialist personnel, it is an area that is going to be crucial. Will the Minister provide an update on developments? I know some specialist staff have been taken on. I think we determined previously that the cybersecurity command has been established. Will the Minster gi…

We welcome the progress that has been made. A lot more personnel will be needed over time, particularly when you look at the scale of personnel envisioned in the Commission on the Defence Forces. We could do with some clarity on the relationship between the cybersecurity command and the National Cyber Security Centre. It was previously answerable to the Department of communications. It is now in t…

That is welcome. There are still multiples of that envisioned under the commission on the future of the Defence Forces. Off the top of my head, it was about 300 but that is from memory so I might be wrong on that. We are in a fortunate position that the intelligence elements of the Defence Forces and the Garda have a good working relationship but that is not necessarily the experience in every ju…

30. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the capacity in the Naval Service, in terms of personnel, specialist personnel and fleet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60510/25]

The Naval Service is of particular importance to us as an island nation. It is essential. We talked about the full radar picture earlier. It is crucial that we have the capacity. It is unacceptable that we have had a situation over the past year and a half that ships have been put to sea without a functioning main gun because of inadequate personnel. I raised the issue of artificers earlier, and m…