Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Government of Fine Gael and Independents, I note our immense respect and regard for the Defence Forces and our pride in the work they do whether as an aid to the civil power, the 2016 commemorations, ongoing commemorations such as Sunday's national day of commemoration and its work in the Mediterranean to combat human trafficking and rescue people from the boats that are leaving Libya. The Cabinet approved just this morning a decision to extend the mission in the Mediterranean to allow further participation in the Operation Sophia arrangements, as well as Operation Pontus in the Mediterranean. That will also, of course, require a resolution of the Dáil, which we propose will take place tomorrow. This is being done at the request of the Defence Forces, who want to do more and to continue to be part of the mission in the Mediterranean. They want to do more to rescue refugees and combat human trafficking. The approval of additional operations and the provision of resources to carry them out are testament to and evidence of the Government's commitment to our Defence Forces. It will, of course, happen under the triple lock. There is a UN mandate in place, Government approval issued today and we will ask the Dáil to approve the motion tomorrow. I hope we will have full support across the House for the decision.

Even during the darkest periods of the recession, the Government continued to recruit to our Defence Forces. Many more people apply to become members of the Defence Forces than we have places for. There is still real and huge demand for people to join the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps, although there are, of course, difficulties in retaining people at certain levels. Pay is negotiated as part of collective agreements with public service trade unions and representative organisations, in this case PDFORRA and RACO. The weekly Defence Forces payroll of 5 July saw an increase of 2.5% from 1 January 2016 for annual salaries up to €24,000 and a further 1% for annual salaries between €24,000 and €31,000. A further increase of €1,000 a year occurred on 1 April this year on annualised salaries up to €65,000. That is due to be paid to members of the Defence Forces from 19 July. In addition, recent adjustments to salary scales will significantly benefit general service recruits and privates who have joined the Defence Forces since 1 January 2013; the so-called "recent entrants". They will receive increases in their pay packets ranging between 8% and 24%. As such, no one can dispute the fact that salaries and take-home pay are increasing again for our Defence Forces. We accept, however, that in certain areas it is difficult to hold on to people in management roles and those with particular skills which are valuable in the private sector, including, for example, air traffic controllers. We may need to look at those as specific issues.

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