Defence Forces and banking crisis
Senator Craughwell argued that the Defence Forces are in crisis because of major staffing shortages and called for a capable Minister to rebuild them. He then raised the banks' handling of mortgages and asked what role the Attorney General might play, while the Chair intervened repeatedly to manage time and order.
Yesterday I sat and listened to the Taoiseach responding to Deputy Micheál Martin and stating that there was no crisis in the Defence Forces. The truth of the matter is that being 1,000 technicians short amounts to a crisis. Stepping away from the defence role of the Defence Forces, let us consider for a moment their frequently overlooked role in the security of the State. We have an Army Ranger Wing, for example, in the event of a terrorist attack or a hijacking. We have the bomb disposal team which is called out, on average, twice a week. Our forces are depleted, however, to the point that there are very few qualified officers available to that bomb disposal team.
Cyber security is also a function of the Defence Forces. The Engineering Corps, meanwhile, deals with ordnance and explosives and it too is greatly depleted. We can pretend that there is no crisis as much as we want. The Leader was right when he pointed out recently that a conference is coming up on this matter. There will indeed be a conference and I would say that things will get hot and heavy at it. The bottom line here is that we are in dire straits. I recently called for the Minister of State with responsibility for defence to resign and step aside in favour of somebody who is prepared to drive the Defence Forces forward.
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Who would Senator Craughwell like?
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Personally I do not mind. It is a matter for the Leader's own party.
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Yourself? Micheál Martin? Or will we bring back Willie O'Dea?
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Are we going to have an argy-bargy here?
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I ask the Leader to allow Senator Craughwell to conclude. He is running out of time and the Leader is not helping the situation.
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I am asking that a Minister be appointed who is capable of rebuilding the Defence Forces.
I have one final point. I spoke here yesterday on the issue of mortgages. Based on Article 30 of the Constitution, the Attorney General has a dual role in this country. One is as adviser to the Government on matters of law and the second is as defender of the public interest. What is currently going on with the banks is a matter of public interest and I wonder if the Attorney General has considered what role he might have in bringing these matters to a resolution.
I would ask that the matter be considered immediately.