Mr. Mark Keane:

I welcome the opportunity to address the committee. My colleagues spoke on a number of issues. I would like to address issues affecting the Naval Service. The three main issues we are facing at the moment are the patrol duty allowance, the retention payment scheme and accommodation.

We welcome the development in Haulbowline of Block 8, which has started at long last. Unfortunately, this will not be enough in itself. We believe more accommodation will be needed within the naval base at Haulbowline if we are to future-proof the Naval Service and build for the future. As the general secretary outlined at the start, there is currently a shortage of 300 personnel. If recruitment of personnel takes place accommodation will be needed for those people. We also feel the non-provision of a rent allowance to our members in the Defence Forces prohibits them from competing in the private rental sector and seeking mortgages to provide their own property.

While we welcomed the announcement of the sea service retention scheme by the Minister, unfortunately, this scheme has proven to be flawed. It will not address our concerns or those of our members. It has created a two-tier Naval Service in which personnel with less than three years serving afloat endure the same hardship as other members with more than three years' service. In addition, the failure to address the issue surrounding patrol duty allowance for our members is very much to the forefront of their concerns.