Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

My first question is for Mr. Guinan. I thank him for updating the committee on the announcement made in the last 24 hours on the technical pay situation. I presume that the committee will probably write to the Minister following this meeting. Would it be a fair to assert that we would appreciate early clarity and swift implementation of what was announced yesterday? Would that be a reasonable request?

I thank Mr. Keane for updating us on the Naval Service. We are a very solutions-focused committee. If the sea-going service commitment scheme was opened up to all members of the Naval Service, which I think it should be, that would assist with retention. My follow-up question for Mr. Keane concerns the sea-going naval personnel tax credit to the value of €1,500 per year, which is very small in comparison with the seafarer's tax credit, which is four times larger. We are a solutions-focused group. If that tax credit was to be increased in the budget in October from €1,500 in an incremental way towards the €6,000 odd value of the seafarer's tax credit, would that assist with retention?

Third, I wish to echo Mr. Guinan's comments on the excellent work of the Army Medical Corps, particularly over the last 15 months. I am aware that many of the paramedics, advanced paramedics and even the emergency medical technicians in the Defence Forces have left as a result of complete exhaustion, burnout and a lack of remuneration. Does Mr. Guinan have any thoughts on how to stem that haemorrhage of medical staff from the Defence Forces? I would appreciate his comments.

Finally, in respect of adjudications, I direct my remarks to Mr. Guinan. There have been a number of adjudications recently in respect of the Army Ranger Wing, ARW, for chefs and account holders. I find it unusual that the PDFORRA goes through the process of conciliation and arbitration, gets to the final step, an adjudicator issues a very reasonable finding, it is not implemented and the association has to resort to taking court action. That results in massive legal costs, both for the association and the Department of Defence.

Those are my four questions. First, do the witnesses think that in writing to the Minister, a request for early clarity and swift implementation of yesterday's technical pay announcement would make a difference? I direct my question on tax credits for Naval Service members to Mr. Keane. I also wish to echo the comments made by Mr. Guinan on the Medical Corps and seek to establish is there is anything that we can do to stop the haemorrhage of highly-qualified medical staff. Finally, I ask him for his views on the adjudication system.

In case there is not time for me to make an additional contribution, I thank the witnesses for their excellent presentation.