Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join Deputy Chambers in complimenting everyone in the Defence Forces, the Civil Defence, the Irish Red Cross and all the voluntary organisations. I would like to thank the officials in the Office of Emergency Planning and the various Departments for all their work in recent days.

I thank PDFORRA for its invitation to attend and address its annual conference, which was held in Cavan just over two weeks ago. The conference gave me an opportunity to listen to the concerns expressed by individual members and the executive of PDFORRA. The conference agenda and the various speeches covered a wide variety of issues, including pay, allowances, recruitment, retention, accommodation and the working time directive. I set out my perspective on various issues of concern to the members of PDFORRA in my address to them. The finalisation of negotiations with PDFORRA earlier this year under the Lansdowne Road agreement, followed by PDFORRA's acceptance of the agreement, allowed for the implementation of pay increases. It was appropriate that those increases were weighted in favour of those on lower pay. I was particularly pleased that the deal negotiated between the Departments of Defence and Public Expenditure and Reform and PDFORRA saw significant adjustments to the payscales of post-2013 general service recruits and privates.

The negotiations for an extension to the Lansdowne Road agreement that followed the publication of the report of the Public Service Pay Commission in May 2017 resulted in the public service stability agreement, which contains proposals for further pay increases of between 5.75% and 7.25% over its lifetime between 2018 and 2020, with the proposed increases being focused on the lower paid. The stability agreement provides that the Public Service Pay Commission will conduct a comprehensive examination and analysis of underlying difficulties in recruitment and retention. This flows from the commission's report, which identified that certain areas of the public service are experiencing difficulties in retaining personnel, particularly in specialist streams. The defence sector was highlighted as a priority. It is anticipated that further work by the Public Service Pay Commission will commence soon. I have initiated a review of the conciliation and arbitration scheme. I hope to finalise the terms of reference shortly. I will circulate them to the representative organisations for their information. I met the representative associations in advance of the official publication of the report of the climate study focus groups to hear their views. I have listened carefully to the feedback that was received. Work is well advanced on providing for the encompassing of the Defence Forces within the Organisation of Working Time Act. This particular item has the potential to change dramatically the manner in which the day-to-day work of the Defence Forces is monitored.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The Government remains committed to ensuring the Permanent Defence Force reaches its strength ceiling of 9,500 personnel. Recruitment is ongoing. As announced in last week's budget, the Government has increased the defence capital allocation. This will see additional investment in equipment and infrastructure over the coming years. All these measures will enhance the capacity of the Defence Forces to undertake all roles assigned to them.

See this speech in context