Brendan Ryan (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. Those provisions are not good enough and a special arrangement for the Defence Forces is needed. The Minister is aware of the 24-hour demonstration by wives and partners of Defence Forces members that took place on 30 November outside Leinster House. Those spouses highlighted that members of the Defence Forces are still the poorest-paid public servants and some struggle to meet food and living costs, with many depending on family income supplement, as has previously been raised in the House. The lowest-rank of Defence Forces officer is paid a little under €300 per week. How can anyone sustain themselves on such a wage, let alone a family, when housing costs alone are taken into consideration, not to mention utilities and basic life needs. Some members of the Defence Forces who have 15 years' service are struggling to make ends meet. The Defence Forces representative bodies, including Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, are currently unable to access the industrial relations mechanisms of the State. It is up to the Minister of State to put in place a mechanism and timetable to ensure members of the Defence Forces are paid a professional wage that will afford them a standard of living equivalent to that of other public servants and which will reflect the great work they do on behalf of the State.

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