I intend to circulate a script on the main features of my responsibility in the Defence area. I will use some speaking notes to refer to some other issues that have arisen in the course of this debate. I welcome the change of attitude by the two previous speakers. It would be a welcome sign if Deputy Creed and Deputy Kenny got back on a path of constructive opposition, which is what I believe the younger people in Fine Gael would like to see.

I have been involved in politics for a long time - I have been a Member of this House for 18 years - but I have never heard more dishonest and unpatriotic propaganda than emanated from the Opposition in the past few weeks. They may feel that it will enhance their position in the polls, and that they may move up a point or two as a result, but the constructive approach just taken by Deputy Creed would be far more advantageous to Fine Gael, as was the Tallaght strategy, than the type of campaign that has been waged in the past few weeks. It is destructive not only to the country at large but also in a very personal way to Members of the House and to politicians in general. It is doing no service to the country or to the Opposition. I have never heard such sanctimonious propaganda as came from The [715] Workers' Party in the last few weeks. Talk about foxes taking care of chickens; The Workers' Party should not come in here to lecture us about how we should run our affairs.

They are the very people who pay lip service to democracy, freedom and human rights but deny those who have been accused of wrong-doing their very basic legal and human right to defend themselves and have a fair hearing. It is very improper for anybody in the privileged position of this House to make the kind of unprecedented attacks that have been made in recent times. The financial position of The Workers' Party and the fact that they are sacking their own employees does not give much confidence to the people that they would be able to manage the affairs of the country. However, I do not want to go into that in any more detail.

The decent people in Fine Gael - and there are many of them in my constituency - are appalled with the attitude taken by Fine Gael since Deputy John Bruton took over leadership of that party. They do not believe he is representing the views of the ordinary rank and file members of the Fine Gael Party. However, it is a matter for themselves to decide whether they want to continue along that line or to take the line of constructive opposition.

When Fianna Fil took office a couple of years ago this country was on the brink of financial collapse. It was in an economic morass and there was no prospect under the Coalition Government in office at the time that the position would ever change. It is well known that there was widespread disagreement in that Coalition Government for almost a year and a half before that Government were finally dissolved. We saw the spectacle of members of the Government walking up and down Leinster Lawn while some issue of Government dragged on for two or three days. The Government could not come to grips with the issues because there was no inherent stability in the Coalition arrangement at the time.
When we hear public attacks on the present state of the country we must look at the position as it is at present. This and the previous Government have a record of courage and leadership. They are probably the two best Governments since the foundation of the State. We have inflation rates and our balance of payments under control. There have been [717] some difficulties in the financial area and we are endeavouring to deal with them effectively, although it is not easy. In spite of that, we now find that when the Opposition have no complaint about the economic performance of the Government a performance that was supported for quite a long time by Deputy Dukes with his Tallaght strategy, and, which was welcomed by the community at large - when they cannot find a reason to attack policies and issues that affect us, they resort to the tactics of singling out individual Ministers, and the Taoiseach in particular for attack. The sustained and vindictive campaign of vilification has raged unabated for months. I know what that is like because I put up with it for nearly a year and a half when a personalised campaign of vilification was waged against me, with 3 a.m. phone calls of intimidation.
We have a job to do here and we have a responsibility to the people who elected us to see this job through. The constituents who are watching very carefully what is going on will be able to gauge whether their interests are best served in having people of courage and leadership who are prepared to tackle the economic problems or people who will yield to every pressure that comes their way. In my case the constituents of Clare realised that a campaign was being waged against me, and I would not be here today were it not for the fact that they voted confidence in me. That was a most vicious personalised campaign and it lasted for nearly two years.
As I said, we have to deal with the present economic position in an effective manner. It is vitally important for the economic success of the nation that a firm grip of the economic affairs of State be maintained by the Government. To do otherwise would be to put back the development of this country for ten to 15 years. We must put aside all the talk and comment about scandals and the vilification of personalities and get down to the basic task on hand. The Government need the support of the Opposition in dealing effectively with the very serious economic problems facing us.
[718] I want to mention some important aspects of the Department of Defence. Since taking up office in February last it has been my prime concern to ensure that despite the economic constraints within which we must all operate, the Defence Forces should have the resources to undertake their various tasks in aid of the civil power at home and to continue to support in a practical way the ideals of the United Nations and the peace keeping missions we are involved in overseas.
Perhaps the most significant development in relation to the Defence Forces was the publication of the Gleeson report which set out in a clear way the policy framework for the future development of the Defence Forces for a number of years.
This year's Defence Vote makes provision for substantial increases in pay and allowances for members of the Permanent Defence Forces awarded by the Government following consideration of the recommendations of the Gleeson Commission. Since January 1989 the average pay of Defence Forces personnel, including military service allowance but excluding other allowances, has increased by approximately 29 per cent while the average pay of officers has increased by 22 per cent. In all the report of the Gleeson Commission contained 170 recommendations in regard to a wide range of areas from adjustment of allowances to organisation, management and personnel policy generally in the Defence Forces. Most of the recommendations in relation to pay have been implemented. Other recommendations many of which are complex, relate, for example, to organisation, manpower and personnel policy. Certain conditions of service and superannuation are being considered at present. The time scale for their implementation is dependent on a process of consultation especially in co-operation with the elected representatives of the military personnel. We have set up committees and we are in discussion with the representative [719] associations and personnel to bring about these most desirable changes.
One of the major recommendations of the Gleeson Commission was in the area of representation for Permanent Defence Forces personnel, officers and other ranks. I was very glad earlier this year to establish in a formal way organisations representative of the Permanent Defence Forces for officers and other ranks. We have also had some very full and constructive discussion with the members of the reserve forces, the FCA and Slua Muiri. We believe it is possible to put in place a permanent association which will represent members of the Reserve Defence Forces so that we can have worthwhile and constructive dialogue to ensure we provide a better all round service.
In the present climate it is regrettable that we should be obliged to commit substantial scarce resources in the area of aid to the civil power. However, the Government recognise that the maintenance of law and order and the preservation of our democratic institutions are of paramount importance and are vital to the economic advancement of the State. The Government, therefore, will continue to ensure that the Defence Forces are adequately provided for so that they may continue to afford whatever assistance is needed to ensure our citizens can go on with their daily lives in peace and security.
We remain firmly committed to the peacekeeping effort overseas. The Government remain fully committed to supporting United Nations peacekeeping missions. In addition to making significant contributions to the cause of international peace by supplying personnel to missions in the Lebanon, Cyprus, the Middle East, Afghanistan-Pakistan and Central America over the years, early this year we responded to further requests to supply personnel for a new United Nations observer mission in Iraq-Kuwait, in Angola and in Western Sahara. In all we have a total of 840 personnel serving overseas. All of the requests for help impose considerable strains on our resources. Nevertheless, the [720] Government feel that practical support must be given to the United Nations in so far as we can. As Deputies are aware all military personnel involved volunteer to serve overseas and I wish to place on record my own and the Government's continuing appreciation of the vital contribution to world peace made by the Defence Forces.
I had the opportunity to visit the United Nations' peacekeeping mission in the Lebanon earlier this year and I was impressed most of all by the numerous representatives of the communities in the Lebanon who expressed on behalf of the people of the Lebanon their deep appreciation to the Irish people for the magnificent support they are getting in their difficult times. Thousands of people have died there over the past ten or 15 years in an area the size of County Tipperary. They value and appreciate the skill, dedication and, above all, the diplomacy of the Irish personnel serving overseas who have brought credit to this nation. This puts Ireland into the forefront of the nations of the world today who have been contributing in a positive and real way to the maintainance of peace and tranquility in many of the troubled areas across the world.
Questions have been raised about European security. It has been the policy of successive administrations for Ireland to play its part internationally in efforts to promote international peace and promote disarmament and arms control. We have played a full and practical role in the United Nations peacekeeping measures. We have participated in the work of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe which has helped improve East-West relations culminating in the signing of the Paris Charter. In reply to a parliamentary question the Taoiseach indicated to the House on 17 April our position on the matter as reported at column 87 of the Official Report:
If in the fullness of time the European Community brought forward its own defence arrangement, it would naturally be our position that we would [721] favourably consider taking part in such an arrangement. That was my position a long time ago and it has not changed; I believe that would be the position of most parties in this House. If the Community were to develop its own defence arrangement for its own security then we, in Ireland, would certainly consider participating in that. Nothing has changed in that regard.
That sets out clearly our commitment in that regard.
At home we have embarked on an accelerated programme particularly in the search and rescue service. A cause of concern to many Members was the absence of adequate search and rescue facilities, especially on the west coast. Important developments have taken place in the area of search and rescue services. An Air Corps Dauphin helicopter was deployed to Shannon in 1989. A contract for a new search and rescue service has now been put in place in Shannon and the Dauphin helicopter has been deployed to Finner, County Donegal, thus increasing the service in the northwest. It is planned to relocate a second Dauphin helicopter in Cork which will operate with the LE Eithne and provide a very effective search and rescue service. I wish to avail of this opportunity to compliment all those involved in that service. It is a very dangerous and at times hazardous occupation. We are glad to have people in the service who have the skill and ability to provide that service which has been an outstanding success. It has been demonstrated clearly that in all kinds of weather conditions whether day or night an effective service can be put in place. That is a credit to the members who operate that service.
Arrangements have been put in place for fishery protection. I do not have time to go into this in detail but information on our fisheries surveillance service is contained in my script. We now have a fully manned fisheries surveillance service which has proved very successful in the control especially of foreign illegal boats in our territorial areas. This will be more than important especially in view [722] of the fact that Community policies have been revised. We are likely to get additional resources from the realignment of the Common Fisheries Policy. It is vital that we have an effective fisheries surveillance protection service working to ensure that we preserve a vital national interest, our fisheries.
As well as that, we have been constantly revising our information technology and investing a sizeable amount into that area. With a budget this year of about 368 million or 370 million and a payroll of almost 14,500 personnel including some civilian employees, it is essential to have a major reorganisation of the whole information technology service which could lead to modernisation of our service and enable us to have a better hand in the management of the Department's affairs and the service generally. The first phase, which is almost completed, will give better control over our financing, management and service generally. A fairly large investment has been made in that regard.
Following on the policy of advancement of women in the Defence Forces, this year for the first time we have recruited women into the FCA. Two hundred places in the FCA have been set aside for women, and it is hoped to expand that number further during the remainder of this year. As well, of course, we have for the first time ever provided for female apprenticeships in both the Air Corps and the Army apprentice schools. Some cadetships will also be reserved for women this year. We have a progressive and forward policy for the advancement of women in every section of the Defence Forces to provide for increased participation by women in the Defence Forces generally.
The Government can generally boast of a successful record in identifying the vital issues affecting the country and in adopting effective policies to address those issues. By contrast, the Opposition parties have been collectively ineffective even in their commentaries on the major issues. Opposition Deputies have been bereft of ideas and have resorted to inept and feeble attempts at criticism of the [723] Government's handling of matters. In relation to my own Department if the Government were to go ahead and implement demands coming mainly from Opposition spokespeople on Defence then there would be additional expenditure of hundreds of millions of pounds. Opposition Deputies had no regard whatsoever to the costing of their demands or to where the extra money would come from. It is fine to adopt such an attitude while in Opposition, but the Government live in the real world, and if demands are to be met then they have to be paid for.
The Taoiseach and other Ministers have outlined the difficult economic circumstances that the Government are confronting head on. Many of these circumstances are outside the control and the influence of the Government. One has only to consider some of the effects of the Gulf crisis earlier this year to realise that not only did that crisis create economic difficulties for us, it also created economic difficulties in the United Kingdom, in the United States and across the whole international business arena. While we had a very bad time for the first quarter of this year, all the indications are that the position has stabilised. The recession that was biting especially hard in the United Kingdom, affecting us here in a very real way, and also in the United States, resulting in a huge fall-off in the number of visitors from the United States, created certain difficulties that were not anticipated earlier this year but we have to contend with them.
One of the most objectionable features of the recent controversies has been the headlong rush to condemn with no regard to the consequences either at the personal level or in relation to the best interests of the country, at home or abroad. Outrageous statements have been made in the past few weeks, and they have been made without any reasonable basis. In my view, the real motivation for those statements seems to be an attempt to undermine the Government - blatant political opportunism has been the order of the day. It has been nauseating to put up with that.
[724] I am glad that in the past few minutes the House has observed the realisation of the younger Fine Gael Deputies that the carry-on in which they have been engaged in the past few weeks is not going down well with the general public who will not tolerate it. Those Deputies are beginning to see that their best way forward would be to adopt the constructive stance taken by Deputy Creed, who spoke just before me. That will be a welcome change. At present the House needs constructive opposition, not destructive comments and personal snide remarks that do not really affect the day-to-day management of the affairs of this country. From the financial point of view, this country has not been in a better state in the past ten or 20 years than it is now.
The basic fabric of the economy is sound. The prospects for the success of the Irish economy in the next few years are very good. What the Government need to do is to tackle effectively some of our basic underlying problems We need the co-operation of all sides of the House to do that. If there is a sign of change in Fine Gael now, it is a welcome sign and one that I hope will continue.

