Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Pay was reduced in 2011. When I came into government, all public sector pay was reduced because of the country’s financial situation at the time. There were significant cutbacks in all Departments. It was because of the economic situation in which we found ourselves. It took quite a number of years to rebuild the economy and to give the lower paid of the public service something back into their pockets, as well as built infrastructure. I recognise that there were severe cutbacks. It was not the space in which I wanted to be, but there was an economic situation with which we had to deal.

One reason we can give Defence Forces members to stay is the restoration of pay and allowances as recommended by the Public Service Pay Commission and accepted by the Government, PDFORRA and RACO, the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers. Weekend duty and 24-hour duty allowances have been restored. There will be further restoration under FEMPI before the public service stability agreement concludes.

The Senator referred to an independent review body. Public service pay determination is conducted through central negotiations. The Defence Forces representative associations were afforded equal status to other public service unions and associations during these negotiations.

Defence Forces personnel have received the benefits of collective agreements in the past and it is intended that future remuneration of Defence Forces personnel will continue to be dealt with within this process. There are no plans to create a separate pay determination process for the Defence Forces as to do so would lead to the dismantling of collective negotiation and each sector having a right to individual pay determination.

RACO held an event at which military personnel from the United Kingdom spoke about a separate pay determination. The UK, which is consistently used as a comparator, has a different method of determining rates of public sector pay, with independent pay review bodies for all sectors, be they health, education and police and military services. We do not have such a system.

The UK armed forces do not have representative associations such as PDFORRA and RACO to represent them or to negotiate on their behalf, unlike here where PDFORRA and RACO meet the Minister numerous times annually and on an agreed basis with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. They interact with public servants in the Department of Defence and also with military management. The UK armed forces also do not have a conciliation and arbitration scheme. There are benefits to a separate pay determination but there are negatives as well.

Acceptance by PDFORRA and RACO of the independent pay commission recommendations is a positive step. I have spoken to members of both associations, and non-members, who have told me they have received immediate benefits arising from implementation of the pay commission recommendations.

I acknowledge that we face many challenges, but we are trying to meet them, including through the independent pay commission. Next year, there will be a further round of public sector pay talks. Within the high-level implementation plan there is scope to prepare for that process. Military management, officials from my Department and the representative associations can feed into that process. It is important that we have the scope to do that. The previous round of public sector pay talks was focused on giving back to personnel what had been taken from them. The next round will be different. I hope that there will be further scope for pay increases.

On the Curragh Camp, it would be remiss of me not to outline some of the projects that are under way there. I welcome that the committee, led by the Chairman, had an opportunity to visit the barracks. It is only right and proper that it would have the opportunity to visit the barracks or overseas missions. I have always encouraged members of the committee to see at first hand the barracks from which our Defence Forces are operating. I welcome that the committee undertook a detailed tour of the accommodation in the Curragh, which along with other areas has received significant investment and is now of good standard, and that which remains in need of significant investment.

The portfolio of the Defence Forces' properties includes many that are old and require significant levels of investment. This is evident as one drives through the Curragh Camp. It would take millions of euros to complete all of the work needed there. A significant amount of work has been done. The same is true of all of barracks across the country. We are catching up. There was no investment in the barracks from 2008 to 2012 owing to the lack of money. As the country returned to a better fiscal space there has been significant investment over recent years in the Curragh Camp, but as I said, more is needed. Between 2016 and 2018, we spent €17 million on capital projects, including blocks B and D in Pearse barracks. This year, we are investing €3.5 million on maintenance and improvements in the Curragh Camp, a €2 million project in Plunkett Block 7, an upgrade and extension of the mission preparations centre of the cadet school headquarters at a cost of €2 million, which will commence in 2020, and a €2.4 million upgrade in quarter 2 of 2020 of electrical target range.

The Ranger wing is located in old stable blocks. Some members have stated that it has no running water and no appropriate ablution facilities, but my understanding is that the committee did not visit the Ranger wing of the Curragh Camp. The General Officer Commanding, GOC, in the Curragh is working with the support of the Department's property management plan to continue efforts to improve the built infrastructure in the camp. I expect to sign-off on a multi-annual plan for the Defence Forces in the coming weeks.

If we poured all of our resources into the Curragh Camp, Defence Forces personnel, including Naval Service personnel, in Kilkenny, Cork, Dundalk, Galway, Athlone and Dublin would be disappointed. The Department is working with military management to address all of the problems and to construct new infrastructure and proper accommodation for members of the Defence Forces.