Mr. Conor King:

On the question of whether pay is adequate, a good lot of work has been done by the Departments of Defence and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on new interim pay. That is acknowledged and is very welcome. However, it is impossible to make a value judgment on the appropriateness or fairness of pay when we do not know how many hours people are working.

We must remember that a cadetship is almost two years long. It takes 19 or 20 months and is very difficult. A cadet is on €20,000 a year, not €41,000. For two years, that level of pay contributes to career average earnings and pension. We have to think strategically. After two years, a cadet has a good salary for a new entrant but they are working a 40-hour week, whereas the public service average is about 37.5 hours per week. We talk about a 40-hour week. In reality, we have people working 50, 60 and, in some cases, 80 hours a week. That has been borne out by studies conducted by the association and its membership, which have largely been absent from the official side. We have the data because we conducted longitudinal studies over 17 weeks, which is the reference period for the working time directive. The period involved was not shorter; that was the minimum. A pay rate of €37,000 for a private on completion of his or her training and €41,000 or €42,000 for a second lieutenant on completion of his cadetship of 19 or 20 months seems very generous, provided it is for a 40-hour week, which it is not.