Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

This Bill arises from the retirement of the former Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Conor O'Boyle, and the Government's decision to make Mark Mellett the new Chief of Staff because, under existing legislation, Rear Admiral Mellett would not be of sufficiently high rank. I note that his name is spelt wrongly in the explanatory memorandum. I hope that does not jeopardise the plans and make us have to go back to the drawing board again. None the less, the idea of changing the law in response to an appointment is generally not good practice. I am not in any way casting aspersions on the individual in question. It is a bit like the appointment of Judge Mary Ellen Ring as the new commissioner of GSOC. Again, she must be moved up the rank to take that position. If we are saying these positions should be open to all, they should be open to all and we should change the circumstances that allow that to happen rather than use a piecemeal approach. This is better practice.

It is important this discussion is taking place against the backdrop of the overall changes to the Defence Forces and the discussions around the White Paper. In that context, it would be an awful shame to forfeit the opportunity to make some broader points about that. I have no knowledge of Rear Admiral Mellett. I believe he is highly regarded by the staff and personnel across the board in the Defence Forces, although based on some of the things I have heard, I would be a bit wary. He reminds me of my time in Aer Lingus. When Christoph Mueller was appointed as chief executive, many members of staff very much welcomed his different approach. They welcomed the fact he was perceived as somebody who could come in with a new broom and ruffle the feathers of those in the privileged positions of management but, of course, when he was finished doing that, having received the assistance of the staff in many instances, he moved against them as well, so I would sound that word of warning. The Rear Admiral seems to be very talented. He has moved very quickly through the ranks. I believe he was appointed to the special post of Rear Admiral by the former Minister for Defence a number of years ago, an appointment that took place when there was a moratorium on general recruitment in the public service which was a bit unusual. He is now being promoted again to take over as Chief of Staff. Perhaps that is the best decision or perhaps it is not - I do not know. However, there is a contrast between the way in which this has been dealt with and the way in which the ordinary ranks of the Defence Forces are being dealt with. We must take that into account.

I again acknowledge the difficulties that have been highlighted by organisations like PDFORRA concerning the living standards of Defence Forces personnel because of repeated years of pay cuts and the fact a large percentage of our soldiers have to rely on family income supplement to make ends meet. We have seen the dreadful treatment of the families of some former Defence Forces personnel who were evicted from their dwellings in areas like the Curragh Camp. As a result of the closure of barracks, there have been confirmed stories of soldiers having to sleep in cars because they do not have the income to pay for lengthy journeys to their bases. That is not good common sense.

When we are talking about facilitating a promotion, we must also look at the avenue to promotion ordinary personnel have. I would like us to discuss that because officers are filling vacancies that were previously filled by NCOs. That is happening and is cutting across the opportunities of soldiers. A dining hall has an officer in charge whereas a sergeant would have been in charge previously. Enlisted personnel find it difficult to fulfil their contracts and get their service periods abroad because some functions that were traditionally performed by soldiers are being given to officers. Greater numbers of officers are making those trips overseas and carrying out functions such as acting as drivers. This is closing off a promotional route for ordinary NCOs. When we talk about promotion, let us look at some of those issues, because they are linked.

I believe Rear Admiral Mellett is on record as saying he is favourable to the idea of commissioning from the ranks and challenging some of the Chinese wall between the ranks and, for want of a better word, officer classes. I would welcome such an approach.

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