Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I want to start with the Naval Service. The president, Mr. Keane, spoke about the two-tier service. At the weekend, the Irish Examinercarried a story about Tadhg McCarthy who had left the Naval Service after 24 years. He was an engine room artificer. In some ways, the story was very sad. Here we have a guy who loved the job he was in but left because as the numbers fall, the work commitment for individual members within the service grows. I am interested in what Mr. Keane will say about that.

My second question, which is for Mr. Guinan, is about the vacancies of non-commissioned officers, NCOs. There are 650 NCOs throughout the forces. That is unbelievable. I am interested to hear Mr. Guinan’s comments on that.

On the issue of abatement, I know it is something which happens after people leave the service. Many of PDFORRA‘s members leave because of the contract. They leave and are subsequently re-employed in other parts of the public service, including into the military, and their pensions are abated. I am interested in PDFORRA’s view on this. I appreciate it does not come under its terms of reference. However, people who have gone to jail and had their pensions taken off them, have had their pension restored because the courts have upheld that a pension is a property right. As a property right under the Constitution, it cannot be touched. I find it repugnant that people who have given service to the State have had their pensions taken off them by way of abatement, if they go back into the public service.

Mr. Quigley is a member of the national executive. I must congratulate him on the medical assistance scheme. I hope his colleagues do not mind but I think this scheme is his. He drove it the whole way and he made it the great success that it is for members of the Defence Forces. As Mr. Quigley moves forward, families will be included and the system will be grown even more to provide a much better service. It is somewhat heartbreaking that members must go to Belfast and other parts of the United Kingdom for treatment, but who cares, Mr. Quigley is getting them there and getting them back into fit service immediately. He is doing this on a part-time basis as far as I am aware. Perhaps it is unfair to ask him but should this be a fully seconded position subvented by the Department of Defence in order to deliver the type of service which I know he delivers in his spare time? Do we need someone to do this full time?

There are many other things I could ask the witnesses about. A key issue which has come to my attention is rare enough in the Defence Forces, but I am interested in Mr. Guinan’s answer. It relates to the issuing of passports to members of the Defence Forces. As we are a multinational country, people who moved into the country during the last 20 years and who joined the Defence Forces are not entitled to a passport. This is unlike any other military organisation that I am aware of. If they want one, they must qualify as citizens first and then pay €1,000 to go through the process. To me, that seems extremely cruel to the people who are prepared to give their time to the State. I could go on but I am sure my colleague, Deputy Berry, will have plenty to say. I will ease off at this stage.

I should say to Mr. Keane, the president, Mr. Guinan, the general secretary, and Mr. Quigley, who is speaking on behalf of his executive colleagues, that this country owes them a great deal for what they have done throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic brought into sharp focus the massive commitment their members deliver not just today but every day. If there was a requirement in the morning for them to go the extra mile and do something else while working on Covid-19, like they moved very quickly from creating test centres to erecting vaccination centres as well as delivering personal protection equipment, PPE, throughout the country, they would still do the normal duties that are required of them every day of the week. This country owes them a massive debt of gratitude. I am afraid that flattery is all they get, but flattery does not put dinner on tables. I personally thank them. Having been a former colleague, I understand what their members are going through. I also thank the witnesses for their presentation today.