We have a responsibility in politics to be honest and truthful when we speak. It has suited the Irish way to talk about the 43% increase in the defence budget, which is a nominal figure. It might sound good for our European partners to pretend that we have increased our budget, which is the worst and lowest budget in Europe, and probably in the world, at 0.22%. It might sound good to say we have increased it by 43% over a five-year period from 2021 to 2026. The Central Statistics Office will tell you that consumer prices rose by 24% in that period and when we net out the purchasing power of any increase in defence, we see that we have increased it by somewhere between 15% and 19%, so it is time that we start to be honest with the people of this country. We are not putting the money into defence that we should be. Moreover, when the Department of education wildly overspends, we take €12 million off an already starved defence system to compensate.

If defence overspends next year, will we take money off education, health or justice? It is outrageous that we are treating the defence of this nation in the way that we are. We can pretend all we want but at the end of the day, we are the weakest, most defenceless country in the entire European Union. We are going around the place banding figures of 43% - it might sound good, but it is wrong in every sense of the word. Finally, buying hardware is great, but if you are not paying the people, all the hardware in the world is of no bloody use to you.