Mr. Conor King:

I will deal with Deputy Jack Chambers's supplementary questions first and then address those of the Chairman. Deputy Chambers asked how we feel about being excluded and about advantage being taken of our representative status. It was described by someone earlier this week as "gut wrenching". There is a sense of betrayal which is visceral and I fully agree with that sentiment. The fact is that we have sought to engage with the Lansdowne Road agreement oversight committee and have been blocked or ignored at every juncture. Our claim has been in since October or November 2018. It took 12 weeks to get an initial response to it. There was a further communication from RACO, through the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and another few weeks passed with no answer. Finally, we got a response from the Department but we were not satisfied with that. We asked to go before the oversight committee only to be told, two months later, that the committee was not sitting for those few months. This was despite the fact that we knew the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation was in with the committee on a daily basis agitating on behalf of its members. Without being flippant, how does the Deputy think that feels?

On the question of how we feel about other unions and public service bodies agitating successfully for better pay for their members, it is very difficult to take. We rely on the goodwill of the State and the Government to look after us and in return we provide unremitting loyalty to the State. Some might call it blind loyalty but we just want it rewarded. Reference was made to the advice from the Department and military management in relation to the Public Service Pay Commission. I am painfully aware that the commission has yet to respond. It would be difficult for me to cast aspersions on the independence of that body. However, I can say that in future we would like an independent standing Defence Forces pay review body to look after the unique nature of military service and ensure that our loyalty is rewarded so that we do not have to rely on ad hocpublic service pay commissions or public sector pay talks, where we have no say or no stake in the game.

Was there another question?