Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The granting of rights in this case is going to have to be dragged out of the Department. It is the same as the Garda Commissioner refusing to go until she has to do so. The Department of Defence is eventually going to have to give in but, as it drags its heels, a lot of damage is being done. The current arrangement is not a substitute for real negotiating power. This is important to members of the Defence Forces because the lack of representation has resulted in their terms and conditions of employment being excessively eroded, even against the backdrop of erosion in other public services. The proof of the pudding is that 50 or 60 personnel, of all ranks, are leaving each month. The State is investing money in recruiting people but the wages are so low that they cannot be retained. In a recent survey on morale in the Defence Forces, less than half of respondents expressed satisfaction with military life. That is a drop over the past number of years. Pay and conditions have fallen really far behind. Defence Forces personnel are at risk from moneylenders and so on. This is urgent. Sitting back and waiting for others to deal with it is not enough.

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