Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I know everybody in the House has the height of respect and admiration for every member of the Defence Forces and I acknowledge the tremendous work they have done recently regarding the gorse fires in Galway and the Minister of State mentioned this last night. With regard to the pay and conditions, it is a scandal that in this day and age the men and women of our Defence Forces are so poorly paid that many of them must rely on social welfare top-ups such as family income supplement. It is now the only sector in the country which has no place at the table of the Workplace Relations Commission, and it is appalling their partners and families must take to protesting outside barracks, as they have done in recent months, to highlight the conditions some live under.

See this speech in context