Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence
General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed)
Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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One of the things we did was increase the pay of private soldiers. As a result, the incentive to become a corporal for an extra €20 a week or whatever has gone out the window. In fairness, we did it to see low-paid workers improve their lot. It was a great idea at the time but now the latent aspect is beginning to kick in and the incentive to take on the additional responsibility for very little reward is going to be a problem going forward also.