Mr. Se?n Clancy:

Mar Cheann Foirne Óglach na hÉireann, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil le baill an choiste as ucht an gcuireadh chun labhairt leo faoi chúrsaí a bhaineann le, agus faoi tosaíochtaí, Óglaigh na hÉireann. Táim ag tnúth go mór le caidreamh dearfach le baill an choiste agus leo a chur ar an eolas faoin ábhar atá faoi chaibidil.

As Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, I will commence by thanking the members of the committee for the invitation and opportunity to address them. I have noted the key areas that the committee outlined in its letter of invitation and I will address some of those issues in my opening remarks but also in our later engagement. For the purposes of this session, and to state for the record, I am accompanied this afternoon by Brigadier General Rossa Mulcahy, who is my assistant chief of staff.

Regarding the working time directive, WTD, members will recall from my previous appearance that I stated then that the decision on its implementation for the Defence Forces was welcome. I am pleased to report that there has been some very meaningful engagement between the Department, military management and the representative associations in the interim. This has been followed by further bilateral engagements between military management and the respective representative associations. The intent of those discussions was to allow all stakeholders to establish defined positions and to consider additional protections in order to accurately inform policy advices to the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence. The recommendations of the Defence Forces board, DFB, have been submitted to the Department and discussions are ongoing in relation to this submission. The DFB understands and accepts that there will be a cost in terms of the availability of human resources for our units and formations arising from the WTD implementation. However, I am confident that we can collectively and successfully address those challenges in the fullness of time.

Concerning our transformation agenda, at our previous appearance I addressed the Government-approved recommendations of the Commission on the Defence Forces. In the intervening

Governance and oversight structures have been established and introduced, the detailed implementation plan is close to being finalised and there has already been significant progress is some key areas. Over 95% of the early actions identified in the high-level action plan have been successfully completed. The Defence Forces has developed a new vision for the future force to be approved by the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence and we have a clear view on the wider implementation of projects to deliver key outcomes over the next 18 months. I have met with the external oversight board on two occasions and the Defence Force's women’s network also attended on 18 September. Further monthly meetings and engagements with the external oversight board are scheduled for October, November and December. In recognising the increasing volume and scope of staff support that will now be required to be provided by the Defence Forces to progress the work of both the external oversight board and the proposed statutory tribunal of inquiry, I have sought sanction for additional staff resources to assist and sustain that effort.

On recruitment and retention, members will be very cognisant of the human resource difficulties the Defence Forces have been experiencing in this space across all three military services. Our recruitment strategy analysis directed a focus on delivering improvements across four principal recruitment themes, namely, expanding our induction pools so that more people apply; enhancing our marketing tools to engage our target audience; optimising our selection and induction methodologies to remove potential obstacles to application; and maximising our retention rates for those who are inducted to ensure that they stay the course in training. To date in 2023, we have inducted 244 general service recruits, 18 of whom are female, representing 7.3% of the total inducted. We have also inducted an additional 11 specialists and are planning to induct 60 cadets this year, ten of whom are female, representing 16% of the inductions of cadets. We are also progressing competitions for additional medical and dental officers capacity, a pharmacist and ten to 12 instrumentalists. Overall, the projected figure for Permanent Defence Forces, PDF, inductions for 2023 will be between 400 and 425. The committee should note that we have only inducted 20 personnel into the Reserve, 25% of whom are female. However, the Reserve recruitment portal is reopening in October and this will result in increased levels of induction.

In terms of personnel exiting the Defence Forces to date, we have a total exit figure of 481 in 2023, comprising 53 officers and 428 from the enlisted ranks. Many aspects of military service have the potential to influence retention rates, including career opportunities, remuneration, intensity of training and operational missions, work-life balance considerations, and infrastructure and equipment developments. The ongoing transformation programme goes to the heart of these influencing factors as we seek to improve an individual’s work-life balance, career development and cultural and working experience. We are investing considerably in new infrastructure. We have drawn down some of our overseas deployments and are developing remote working practices and blended learning programmes to reduce the travelling burden. We have also submitted proposals to the Department and Minister on extending mandatory retirement ages. These types of initiatives form the cornerstone of our retention strategy and will define the total package for those who continue to serve.

I thank the Chairman for giving me the opportunity to make these opening remarks and I look forward to taking any questions the committee may have that are within my scope and area of responsibility. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.