Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree that Defence Forces members are different from other public servants. The Deputy may be aware that I have undertaken to review the contracts of recruits from 1994 and 2006. The change we are discussing will not affect anybody immediately, being applicable only to those who joined after 1 January 2013. This means it will be 2040 or perhaps the mid-2040s before there is an impact on personnel. As I said, the matter is under consideration by officials in my Department, and they and the representative associations have met with officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. I am not sure how those negotiations are going on, but it is a matter for the latter Department to find an acceptable solution to this issue.

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