Mr. Shane Keogh:

I have touched on it. The reality is we are the leaders of the organisation and have a responsibility to look after our troops. That is from where the frustration stems. People want to do their job properly. They want to be able to sit down and produce an annual report knowing the individual very well. Unfortunately, in some units that is not the case because the turnover rate is such that young officers go overseas to a different unit or a training institution before they have had an opportunity to build up an appropriate relationship with their subordinates. I do not want to go too far into the operational sphere, but the reality is this impinges on the well-being of young officers. We are putting all of this responsibility on their shoulders without giving them appropriate backup support.

The working time directive is law. That we have an exemption under the 1997 Act does not give us a pass. That has been established in the European courts. We are in flagrant breach of the directive. It is a requirement to implement it, not because soldiers need more time off but from a health and safety perspective. We must give them an appropriate amount of time off, which they deserve because they are working hours that in many cases are not nine-to-five. There are many 24-hour duties. People could be on exercises for up to one week or even overseas for six months to one year. It is not a standard employ. We must come up with suitable solutions to maintain the health and safety benefits for all of our soldiers, sailors and air crew.