Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last year, as many were leaving as were being recruited. What is the Minister of State doing about that issue? He is not matching the target set in the White Paper on defence.

In the submission made by the Chief of Staff division of the Defence Forces the conclusions state 2,831 personnel have left in the past five years. That is the equivalent of 29.8% of the organisation. It is a massive loss of capacity and staff within the Defence Forces. Unless the Minister of State addresses that issue, it is stated the current trend of premature voluntary retirement is not sustainable and that the Defence Forces "cannot continue to commit such a high proportion of its resources to training increasingly large recruit and cadet intakes to the detriment of enhancing and evolving its capabilities to meet the threats of a dynamic operating environment". Members are leaving en masse. They are doing so because the Government has not adequately addressed issues concerning pay and conditions, as demonstrated by the University of Limerick study of the health and safety concerns. Included in that regard are the individual consequences of the many gaps - an increased workload, decreased job satisfaction, a diminution of physical and mental well-being and decreased engagement. This turnover is a race to the bottom and until the Minister of State plugs the hole, we will face serious consequences. What exactly is he doing to deal with the issues mentioned in the University of Limerick study to try to improve retention? The raw figures show that these issues are not being addressed. The Minister of State might mention pilot initiatives regarding re-entry, but they will not address the systemic reasons members are leaving en masseacross all sections of the Defence Forces.

Is there a commitment in respect of the duty allowance? What are the Minister of State's plans in that regard? Will he confirm whether there is compliance with the national minimum wage? I am aware of people who worked for six consecutive days at the time of Storm Emma and who were willing to serve in the public interest.

Is the Minister of State committed to implementing the working time directive? Does the Minister of State acknowledge the legality of that directive?