Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join others in thanking the Tánaiste for reiterating his appreciation and that of the Government for the work done by our peacekeepers throughout the world but especially at this time in the Middle East. I commend him also on noting the role their families play in their duties. The peacekeepers’ present circumstances are particularly worrying for them, and that reflects much of the representations that I, and I am sure others, had over the weekend regarding those, such as Senator Wilson's son, who are on active duty and, indeed, those who went out yesterday evening. I was glad to hear the Tánaiste's assurance to the committee, and by extension to those families, relating to their safety and security. It is, obviously, a matter of concern and one on which he will keep in touch with the UN.

I convey also our appreciation and congratulations to all concerned within the Defence Forces for their work in the recent drugs seizure off the coast of Cork.

We welcome the movement towards the presentation of terms of reference to the Cabinet and the Government leading to a tribunal on dignity and equality issues. Will the Tánaiste indicate the timeline associated with that work?

In respect of other matters concerning the commission and morale, we recall that in the most recent election this was a big issue for members of the Defence Forces and their families. On entering government and producing a programme for Government, the Government committed to putting a commission in place, recognising its recommendations and agreeing on some of the options that would be put forward. It is incumbent on all parties that committed to that process to be bound by its recommendations and expect that those recommendations, as agreed by the Government in respect of level of ambition 2, would be implemented.

I acknowledge and appreciate that much work has been done to address recruitment and retention, but especially the former, by virtue of the pay increases that have been alluded to. It is not lost on this committee or anybody concerned that attracting people into the Defence Forces at a time of full employment is a difficult task, and I note there is provision within the Tánaiste's budget to enter into a new campaign to help and assist with that process. He was correct to mention the provisions made in respect of medical cover, which is, of course, welcome. It is as an enhancement to the recruitment process and it is appreciated. Similarly, capital projects the Tánaiste mentioned as under way and on the way should be acknowledged.

Issues have been raised at this committee by representative bodies in respect of the retention of forces into the future and the comparisons between pay scales associated with the private and public sector and comparisons between pension provisions, but I want to focus on the commitments made within level of ambition 2. As Deputy Berry noted, anything that was committed to two years ago will now have a different value by virtue of the rate of inflation, so much so that it will have increased by €500 million by 2028. To deal with the hard facts, what the Government has committed to and the responsibility the Government has to implement those commitments will amount to an increase from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion by 2028. Beyond that and into the lifetime of a new Government, if and when it is elected and put into office, what sort of commitment should be in the ether for any such Government, how should it acknowledge its part in committing to what has been agreed to, and what might be expected beyond that? The last thing we want is false promises and commitments that cannot be honoured, so a bit of reality must be brought to bear in this debate.