Mr. Rob Gilbey:

I did a great deal of work on international comparisons, particularly in respect of the four countries - Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand - at which the value-for-money report looked. There are four key fundamentals which the reserve forces in this countries have and which ours does not. These were pretty much glossed over in the value-for-money report. The first of these fundamentals is operational purpose, which we have just discussed and which is absolutely pivotal. It is necessary because recruitment and training can be orientated around it. The second relates to employment protection legislation. This is both a key enabler and mission critical and it is standard among all our comparator nations. As stated earlier, it was previously present in section 57 of the Defence Forces Act 1940 but it is no longer there. We hope that employment protection legislation will be discussed comprehensively in the context of the forthcoming White Paper. It certainly was not discussed in connection with the value-for-money report. If reservists do not have any guarantee that their livelihoods are safe, there is no guarantee that we can actually mobilise them. It is, therefore, really a matter of courtesy to protect reservists who are themselves protecting Ireland.

Legislation alone does not work. There must also be employer support and engagement. It is not sufficient to oblige employers to release reservists for mobilisation and, possibly, training. There must be engagement between the Department and employers. This is generally done by all our comparator nations through consultative bodies which bridge the gap between defence and industry. The establishment of such a group here was recommended in a military board report published in 1999. To our detriment, however, this recommendation was never pursued. Again, the White Paper may also address this matter. It is important that employers understand that there are significant business benefits to employing reservists. In that context, we learn practical skills, develop personality traits and obtain qualifications during our reserve service which have scalable value. This position in this regard is outlined in reports relating to and produced by SaBRE, the UK's reservist organisation, which were compiled with the assistance of the Chartered Management Institute. These reports scaled the cost attributed to reserve training in order to show employers how much that training is worth. Employers in other nations are also rewarded for supporting and hiring reservists. In Australia, for example, employers can claim up to $1,400 per week through an employer support payment scheme if they release their reservists for training and deployment. Such is the importance of supporting employers, there is even an international conference on employer supports for reservists which is held on a biannual basis. This conference is used to discuss research and experience in order to enhance reserve capability. To date, however, Ireland has not participated in the conference. We would like to hope that - going forward - it might be possible for us to consider attending.

In the international context, all of our comparator nations classify reservists as part-time employees. The Reserve Defence Force in this country prides itself on being a volunteer organisation. Unfortunately, however, the removal of the annual gratuity and the policy of measured compulsory volunteerism has led to poor retention rates. This explains why there is such a deficit among the lower level ranks at present.