Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 63 together.

As I confirmed in my earlier reply, my Department has raised recruitment and retention issues, as part of its submission to the Public Service Pay Commission. This submission was made in accordance with the required protocols for submitting observations to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for onward transmission to the commission. In the interests of transparency all submissions made to the Public Sector Pay Commission will be published on the commission’s website. Pending publication of same and in the light of the anticipated forthcoming negotiations I am not in a position to disclose further specific details in relation to my Department’s submission.

With regard to staffing, the manpower requirements of the Permanent Defence Force, PDF, are monitored on an ongoing basis in accordance with the operational requirements of each of the three services. Personnel are posted on the basis of operational needs across the defence organisation, both at home and abroad. As there is a significant turnover of personnel in the Defence Forces, targeted recruitment takes place on a regular basis so as to maintain the personnel numbers at or near the agreed strength levels. In terms of overall strength, the Government remains committed to maintaining the stabilised strength of the PDF at 9,500 personnel.

In recent times, the Defence Forces have witnessed the loss of personnel, including specialist personnel, across all three services. Given the improvement in the domestic economy and increased demand for experienced specialist personnel, this has presented a significant challenge for the defence organisation. This was specifically noted in the pay commission's report.

The Lansdowne Road agreement provided for increased salaries during 2016 and 2017 in a manner which benefited the lower paid. These benefits come in the form of increases in gross pay in 2016 for those earning up to €31,000 and in 2017 for all those earning up to €65,000. In addition, the Government has introduced legislation which has commenced the process to reduce the pay reduction applied under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest, FEMPI, Acts.

In regard to the pensions related deduction, PRD, which is commonly referred to as the pension levy, the exemption threshold for payment of the levy will increase substantially during the course of the agreement from €15,000 to €28,750, which means that annual income subject to the levy below €28,750 will no longer be liable to the deduction.

As mentioned earlier, future rates of remuneration will be determined as part of the anticipated negotiations in the coming weeks.

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