Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The net point being as follows, namely, the State should not be underpaying people to the extent that it does and then trying to take the bad look off it through the system of allowances, which then come under pressure and put the individuals concerned and their families under further pressure. I understand that all of this needs to be negotiated and debated among the Defence Forces and that Mr. Howard is perhaps constrained in terms of what he can say in this particular forum. However, a sustainable and fair pathway, in terms of rewarding people, will need to be identified going forward. That serving soldiers are reliant on family income supplement, which was not news to me as I have met with many such families, is shocking. I do not believe it is widely known that this is the case. All of this needs to be straightened out because it is anachronistic, clumsy and not good practice. It is important to say in this forum that people need to be conscious, when taking a cheap shot at an incidental allowance, that the people in receipt of these allowances are people who are vastly underpaid. This must be to the forefront of our minds.

While I understand that a section of these allowances are up for discussion and negotiation, perhaps Colonel O'Keeffe and Mr. Rooney could provide us with a slightly longer term view on the issue of a fair, equitable, transparent pay system that recognises the unique position of people in military service.