Yesterday, Senator Craughwell referred to the number of personnel leaving the Defence Forces. Both of us are nominated by PDFORRA, the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, and the Irish Conference of Professional and Service Associations so we are well aware of what is happening within the Defence Forces. I second the Senator's call for a debate in the House with the Taoiseach and-or the Minister of State with responsibility for defence. Our most valuable resource is our Defence Forces. It is defending our country. We have one of the top armies and navies in the world in terms of their loyalty to the State. I wish fair sailing to the officers and crew of the LÉ Samuel Beckett which has been deployed to the Mediterranean as part of Operation Sophia to follow up on the excellent work carried out by the LÉ Niamh during the previous mission. I wish Lieutenant Commander Eoin Smyth and his crew of 54 a very safe and successful mission to the Mediterranean.

We should be very proud of the work they are carrying out on our behalf. They are putting themselves at risk for the sake of refugees. They have a tremendous track record of saving lives. If the media takes note, both the Army and Naval Service are now recruiting. The closing date is 22 April. A person has to be under 25 to join the Army and under 27 to join the Naval Service. There are good opportunities there for young men and women to join our Defence Forces and I would encourage them to submit their application as quickly as possible. I wish them success.

The points raised by Senator Craughwell are very real. We have 1,094 personnel and eight ships, which are mainly deployed for fisheries protection. Some of the ships are undermanned. The Leader comes from the Haulbowline area of County Cork and I am sure he has a lot of contacts within the Naval Service so I ask him to arrange an open discussion to report on progress and where we can increase the number of personnel in our Defence Forces.

One does not get a chance to respond to the Leader's response at the end of the Order of Business. Yesterday, he put up a sterling defence of the pay rise given to the Department of Defence people. Indeed he was correct. It was a 24% increase, not 25%. This means that 84.12% of members of the Defence Forces are 7% worse off than every other worker in this State based on averages. We also learn that if a serving soldier from the rank of captain and below has three children, he or she qualifies for family income supplement. A commandant and below with four children qualifies for family income supplement so it is hardly a gold-plated career.

Let us look at strength. With effect from 17 April, the 7th Infantry Battalion had one colonel, of one, three commandants of five, two captains of eight and three lieutenants of 11. It is 64% deficient. The 6th Infantry Battalion, Athlone, has one colonel of one, two commandants of five, four captains of eight and two lieutenants of 11. It is 64% deficient. The 28th Infantry Battalion at Finner Camp has one lieutenant colonel, two commandants of five, five captains of eight and three lieutenants of 11. It is 56% deficient. The 27 Infantry Battalion in Dundalk has no lieutenant colonel of one, one commandant of five, three captains of eight and two lieutenants of 11, one of whom is a second lieutenant. It is 76% deficient. The 2nd Artillery Regiment has no lieutenant colonel, two commandants of five, two captains of eight and one lieutenant of 11. It is 79% deficient. If one is telling me that the Defence Forces are in a solid state, I am afraid somebody somewhere is telling porkies.

I asked for the Taoiseach to come to the House and address the crisis that is the Defence Forces today. We are all very good at seeing them march up and down outside the GPO and pinning medals on their chests. The truth is that the Defence Forces are being run into the ground. These are decent men. Recruitment has fallen by 55% since 2016. I really do think we have a crisis. I join with Senator Leyden in asking for the Taoiseach, who is the de facto Minister for Defence, to come here and debate these issues. Unless we do something, we will not have our Defence Forces. I will release additional information over the next few days. The information I have given this morning is empirical. It is not something I dreamt up. It is empirical.

Who gave it to the Senator?

It is based on a submission to the Public Service Pay Commission so it is not something I am dreaming.