Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tairgim leasú a 1:

1. (a) To insert the following after "publication of a new White Paper on Defence in 2015;":"acknowledges that the State has a duty of care to all its enlisted men and women, in terms of health and safety and pay and conditions while they are serving with the Defence Forces, and to ensure their health needs are catered for after serving their full contract especially if it has been affected by the rigours of service, including overseas deployment;"(b) To insert the following after "effective strength of the Defence Forces is below 9,000;":"- the 2015 White Paper on Defence commits to maintaining the strength of the Permanent Defence Force at 9,500 personnel, comprising 7,520 Army, 886 Air Corps and 1,094 Naval Service personnel, yet as of 28 February 2017, the strength of the Permanent Defence Force stands at 9,070, whole-time equivalents, that is, 7,293 Army, 701 Air Corps and 1,076 Naval Service personnel;

- the current efforts to recruit personnel into the Defence Forces is falling well short of what is required and that in total, 590 general service recruits, 501 Army and 89 Naval Service recrsuits, were inducted in 2016, along with 100 cadets between all services and that to date in 2017, 106 general service recruits, 103 Army and three Naval Service recruits, and ten Air Corps trainee military aircraft technicians have been inducted, which fails to make-up the short-fall from personnel who have retired or left the service, thus negating the impact of any current recruitment drive;

- the significant turnover of personnel in the Permanent Defence Force can in part be directly attributed to cuts in pay and allowances that have contributed to low morale and the loss of experienced personnel in the three services, resulting in a serious skills deficit, particularly in the Air Corps which has lost 12 air traffic controllers since 2012;

- the starting salary for a private in the Army is €21,000 a year and new entrants and enlisted personnel are so badly paid that an estimated 7,000 are in receipt of family income supplement;" and(c) To insert the following after “reaches its establishment strength of 4,069":"- Ireland to remain exempt from having to increase its spending on weapons and military capabilities from 0.6% to 2% of GDP through the European Union Common Security and Defence Policy; and

- the closure of Ireland’s liaison office to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO, and the Partnership for Peace delegation saving the State an average of €450,000 annually; and

further agrees to:

- address the disparity in pay for new recruits whose weekly take home pay is under €300 and that this could be achieved by reversing the reduction in new entrants pay and allowances by 10%;

- re-examine:

- the flat rate security duty allowance and related payments which had been paid to Defence Forces personnel at the standard weekday rate prior to the cuts;

- the 10% reduction in certain Defence Forces allowances;

- the voluntary buyout of border duty allowances for enlisted personnel; and

- the additional incremental points in pay scales for new enlisted personnel posts;

- reflect in law the European Court of Human Rights ruling ECHR 280 (2014) which found that the blanket ban on trade unions within the armed forces is a violation of Article 11, freedom of assembly and association, of the European Convention on Human Rights;

- increase the level of female participation, with the goal of doubling the rate of participation from the current 6% to 12% in the next three years;

- allow Defence Forces personnel the option of serving an additional four years’ service upon completion of their 21 years contract, as was the case prior to 1997; and

- the development of employment schemes involving the Defence Forces targeting young people in the 18 to 24 age group."

Ba mhaith liom i dtús báire mo thacaíocht a léiriú don rún atá molta ag an Teachta Lisa Chambers. Gabhaim buíochas léi as an rún seo a chur os ár gcomhair agus, dá réir, deis a thabhairt dúinn déileáil le cúrsaí na Fórsaí Cosanta anseo, rud nach tarlaíonn go minic seachas nuair a bhíonn ceisteanna againn agus anois is arís os comhair an choiste. Sa leasú ar an rún seo atá curtha chun cinn agam, cuirim béim ar an ngá atá ann ciorraithe pionósacha ar phá agus ar liúntaisí baill na Fórsaí Cosanta - an tArm, an Cabhlach, an tAerchór agus, dar ndóigh, na hÓglaigh Cúltaca, ar a ndéantar dearmad uaireanta - atá i bhfeidhm ó bhí 2009 ann a haisiompú. Measaim go bhfuil an díospóireacht seo an-thráthúil.

This debate is timely coming as it does at a time when the operational capacity of the Army, the Naval Service, the Air Corps and the Reserve has been stretched to breaking point and morale among rank and file personnel has never been lower. The pride people have in the Defence Forces is rightly acknowledged in Deputy Lisa Chambers' motion. Their professionalism and dedication in terms of how they serve the State at home and abroad is inspiring. Despite the high esteem in which military personnel are held, this and previous Governments have implemented policies that have greatly devalued the role of the Defence Forces to the extent that it is a poor imitation of what it should be.

Currently, the combined strength of the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps is marginally more than 9,100 rather than the desired minimum strength of 9,500. Despite the somewhat belated recruitment efforts, there has been a marked failure to make up this shortfall as the significant haemorrhaging of personnel outstrips the minimalist efforts to replace them. Of particular concern is the failure to retain specialist personnel, some of whom take up to five years to train, which means it could be years before the Defence Forces achieve their desired minimum strength. By any objective criteria, the attempts at reorganising the Army have been an unmitigated disaster. When combined with the cutbacks in pay and entitlements, it is not surprising that so many military families are struggling to cope. It is against this backdrop that there has been an unprecedented drop-out rate, with on average between 50 and 60 personnel of all ranks leaving the three branches of the Defence Forces every month. At the same time there has been an absolute failure to recruit and retain a greater number of females into the Defence Forces, the current percentage being only 6%.

The crisis in the Defence Forces was further highlighted in the recent well-being climate survey which identified how the reorganisation of the Defence Forces had resulted in widespread poor morale, with low pay, long-term isolation from family and home being identified as the primary drivers of the exodus of personnel from the Army in particular in recent years but also the other services. There are, of course, human stories behind these statistics. The plight of military families was reinforced to me recently when I met Women and Partners of the Defence Forces, a group that has been formed to lobby the Government to reverse the punishing cutbacks to the pay and conditions of their military spouses.

They explained to me that the starting salary for a private in the Army is €21,000 a year and that a significant number of enlisted personnel are so badly paid that an estimated 7,000 of them are in receipt of family income supplement.

The targeting of rank and file members of the Defence Forces has resulted in families enduring spiralling debt, with many finding themselves in mortgage arrears to the point that house repossessions are not uncommon. Poor credit ratings are leading others to an enforced reliance on moneylenders. The financial pressure on families is so pronounced that working in the Defence Forces can no longer be considered a secure career option with good long-term prospects. It is hardly surprising that there is such a high dropout rate for recruits when their service to the State is not deemed worthy of a liveable wage. Sinn Féin believes proper investment needs to be directed at the men and women of the Defence Forces, whose much-lauded peacekeeping role in some of the world's most dangerous conflict zones must be matched by fair rates of pay and adequate allowances.

The impact of Government policy on the operational capacity of the Defence Forces across the ranks cannot be overstated. In the past three years, over 12% of those in the officer ranks of lieutenant, captain and commandant have left the Defence Forces, taking with them the types of essential skills, experience and corporate knowledge that take years to develop. It is not good enough to recruit at the lower levels without also focusing on the retention of those with higher skill levels, which is vital for the continuing ability and capacity of the Defence Forces.

I am informed that some Army units are operating with just 50% of their required or desired officer numbers. As other Deputies have said, the personnel crisis is so acute that troops are being sent from as far away as Donegal to perform routine barrack duties in Dublin. One of the reasons that the Government has been able to impose such unfair cuts to pay and allowances is that the Department has taken advantage of PDFORRA and RACO being prevented from participating in national pay-bargaining bodies. This has given the Government free rein to impose cuts to enlisted personnel and new entrants to the military. The Department is refusing to reflect in law European Court of Human Rights ruling No. 280 of 2014, which found that the blanket ban on trade unions in the Defence Forces is an unacceptable violation of Article 11. Sinn Féin fully supports the efforts of Defence Forces representative organisations to secure the right under the Council of Europe's charter of social rights to membership of representative organisations with the power to negotiate terms, conditions, pay and allowances.

The alarming loss of specially trained personnel has dramatically reduced the ability of the Defence Forces to provide a minimal effective response to a future major security or humanitarian incident. If these reductions continue at their current rate, the ability of the Defence Forces will be further undermined. The impact on the Air Corps has been especially pronounced. As a result of the loss of 12 air traffic controllers since 2010, the Air Corps cannot operate beyond a minimal efficiency outside the hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The implications of this lack of capacity became apparent in the aftermath of last month’s tragic loss of Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116. The unavailability of the Air Corps to provide top cover during the ill-fated search and recovery mission off the Mayo coast, despite being best suited for carrying out that role, can be directly attributed to the fact that air traffic control services at Baldonnel have been cut to office hours only. I noted the Minister of State's comment that capabilities are not developed just to serve civilian organisations. I believe the ability to provide services in these areas should be developed in light of the role the Defence Forces have played over the years.

The scarcity of technicians and pilots in the Air Corps means it is ill-prepared to respond to major incidents or natural disasters because most of its helicopter fleet is grounded. As recently as 1 December 2016, just eight of the Air Corps fleet of 26 aircraft were serviceable because of a shortage of pilots and technicians. There are vacancies for 32 pilots. This equates to 30% of the required established strength of the Air Corps. It should have 317 technicians available to ensure the safe operation of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, but it has just 215 at present, which is a shortfall of 32%. The new recruits will support the service, but will not do anything to deal fully with the shortfall. Similar shortages have resulted in just two of the Air Corps' six AW139 medium helicopters being in service at any one time. I understand that one of these aircraft is permanently deployed as an air ambulance in Athlone, with a second on standby as backup.

As a result of this significant reduction in capacity, the Air Corps has been prevented from transporting seriously-ill children to Britain for organ transplant operations when organs become available after 5 p.m. This means that potentially life-saving operations have to be foregone. The State’s limited daytime aerial interdiction capability against slow to moderate speed targets no longer exists. This role, which was undertaken by PC9 trainers, was discontinued because there are no radar guided intercept controllers due to the lack of air traffic control staff in Casement Aerodrome.

In debating the motion, it is important to place on record the duty of care the State has to all its enlisted men and women in terms of health and safety and pay and conditions, especially when they are deployed overseas in dangerous conflict zones. Therefore, it is scandalous that despite the possible serious side effects associated with the anti-malaria drug Lariam, it is still routinely administered to service personnel when they are abroad. It is banned or considered a drug of last resort in most other countries. The refusal of the Department of Defence to withdraw Lariam in the face of overwhelming evidence that it causes serious long-term and potentially fatal side effects is a damning indictment of Government policy and a reflection of the head-in-the-sand attitude of the military and health authorities. It points to a worrying failure in the way the State protects the physical and mental health of troops.

It is equally appalling that the State remains dogged in its determination to contest all claims by some of the men and women severely affected physically and mentally by this drug. For this reason, Sinn Féin has placed on the Order Paper a motion that seeks the immediate withdrawal of Lariam. This proposal has been supported by many other Members of the House. We hope we will receive the support of Fianna Fáil when we bring the motion forward shortly. Perhaps the Government will support our request at that stage by sending an instruction to the military authorities to discontinue using Lariam and replace it with Malarone or Doxycycline for personnel serving overseas.

The treatment of Air Corps personnel who served as ground crew at Casement Aerodrome has been equally damning. I refer primarily to young cadets who served from the mid-1990s onwards. As far back as 1995 - this issue might go back even further - serious health and safety concerns were being reported to the Department of Defence about the manner in which highly toxic and dangerous chemicals were being handled at Casement Aerodrome. The extent of the exposure of trainee personnel to highly dangerous, corrosive and cancerous chemicals such as trichloroethylene has resulted in a number of protected disclosures to the Government. These disclosures have highlighted wholly inadequate health and safety protocols at Casement Aerodrome, such as the cross-contamination of chemicals, the lack of personal protective equipment and a wide range of other issues which seriously compromised the health of Air Corps personnel.

In spite of the presentation of overwhelming evidence to the military authorities, successive Ministers for Defence have denied and downplayed the extent of this problem and claimed to have been unaware of what was happening. It is time for an immediate comprehensive health and safety review of existing procedures and protocols at Casement Aerodrome and other military installations where Defence Forces personnel work or have worked with hazardous chemicals and materials. The State must deal with claims from serving and retired Air Corps personnel in a much more compassionate way. The adversarial approach that seems to be the default position of the Department of Defence is unacceptable. The Department and the Government should learn from the Australian military, which has introduced compensation schemes to assist retired and serving air force personnel whose health has been compromised as a result of a similar scandal involving the handling of hazardous chemicals and materials without proper training or equipment.

Irish neutrality is not enshrined in the Constitution even though it is overwhelmingly supported by the people of Ireland. This fact has been exploited by successive Governments when pursuing policies which, in my view and that of my party, have devalued the relevance of Irish neutrality.

Sinn Féin believes our neutral status has greatly enhanced Ireland’s status globally over the years, particularly when the Defence Forces preformed honourably and admirably in carrying out their peacekeeping duties in volatile conflict zones under the UN flag. However, we believe the international goodwill from across the world is being eroded by the retrograde policies of successive Governments to associate our international policies with those of the increasingly militarised European Union and its interoperability with the agenda of NATO rather than that of the United Nations. This has been evidenced in recent years by a number of multilateral agreements to allow the Defence Forces to participate in NATO’s Partnership for Peace and EU battle groups, as well as the scandalous use of Shannon Airport as a military staging post for US soldiers and munitions and the State’s submission to the diktats of the European Defence Agency. A referendum is necessary, therefore, to amend the Constitution in order to enshrine Irish neutrality in Bureacht na hÉireann, and to withdraw Ireland's participation from the European Defence Agency. The Government must oppose efforts to establish a European army and must cease Ireland’s links to NATO’s Partnership for Peace.

Mar chríoch ar an méid atá le rá agam ar an rún seo, ba cheart don Aire Stáit agus don Rialtas i gcoitinne aitheantas ceart a thabhairt don chruachás, do na constaicí agus, go háirithe, do na fadhbanna airgeadais lena bhfuil fir agus mná na Fórsaí Cosanta ag cur suas. Is gá na ciorruithe a cuireadh orthu ón bhliain 2009 i leith a mhaolú agus a scor.

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