I concur with everything that has been said about CE schemes. I just wish that we would have treated the supervisors much better. These people do an amazing job in local communities, but we have treated them badly.

The part-time Minister for Defence has agreed to place the Defence Forces at the disposal of a private company at Dublin Airport. If Supermac's or McDonald's was stuck for staff tomorrow morning, would we put the Defence Forces in with them as well? What is happening is becoming a pain. Today, I read that we were likely to lose another ship because of crew shortages. Engineers are walking out. The report of the Commission on the Defence Forces has been sitting around for more than five months. Why did we put the commission together if we were not going to listen to its recommendations? How much work is involved in following through on them? We have bought two new ships but are about to lose one. We are the only country in the EU that does not have a dedicated minister for defence. It is tiresome that we are dealing with a part-timer who spends most of his time elsewhere in the world and not in this country. It is just not on. The fact of the matter, with respect-----

A Chathaoirligh, Senator Craughwell should withdraw that remark.

I will not withdraw it.

The remark ill behoves him.

Please, Senator Buttimer-----

No. I am sorry, a Chathaoirligh, but your job is to protect people who are not here.

You will have an opportunity to contribute in your own time.

On a point of order, Senator Craughwell is making a political statement. I know that this is a political chamber-----

Senator, quite clearly-----

-----but he is making a point about a Minister who is travelling the world.

I am sorry, but-----

Come on, a Chathaoirligh.

-----this is quite clearly a political chamber and people make political statements.

You are the Chair. The Minister is not here. You know the rules about people who are not here to defend themselves better than I do. Or you should know them.

Senator, I do not believe that we need to go through the record of any Member of this House to see where he or she referred to a Minister or the Minister's decisions because that is what happens in this Chamber. Members are entitled to speak about Government actions. I ask Senator Craughwell to continue.

We are discussing placing a number of Defence Forces personnel on standby at Dublin Airport. What the general public does not realise – the Deputy Leader does because she has been at the coalface – is that putting people on standby means that they are not going on leave and must instead be available. In the middle of the holiday season, soldiers and their families go on holidays too. In order to meet the commitment at Dublin Airport, we will be drawing troops from Cork, Limerick, Galway, Kilkenny, Dundalk and possibly Donegal. They will need to be accommodated in the very barracks that the Minister for Transport wants to sell off and use for social housing.

I want to see the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces being progressed. A tiny number of its recommendations dealt with pay. Those could have been implemented with the stroke of a pen the moment the report was published, but they have not been. We have lost more than 200 people since then. I understand that we are about to lose another 40 from the Naval Service. If that happens, we will be in dire straits. We have to look after Europe's largest exclusive economic zone in the Atlantic Ocean, but we are now down to possibly three ships. It is a joke and it needs to stop. I am sorry if people do not like me referring to the part-time Minister, but we are the only country in the EU without a dedicated minister for defence. That is shameful.

That is not correct. The Senator should withdraw that.