Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am surprised the Minister of State mentioned there are normal retirement patterns and that they match that long-term trend. There was a massive recruitment campaign last year of 860 personnel, but there are fewer personnel this year than there were last year. Clearly this does not match any long-term trend. Look at the figures. A total of 30% of members of the organisation have left the Defence Forces in the past five years. If this is a long-term trend it does not match the recruitment we have seen in recent years. Clearly we have a retention crisis. We have fewer people applying for recruitment compared with previous years, despite there still being demand. People are leavingen masse. They are cut to the bone and their allowances have not been restored. As far as they are concerned, they are the last in the queue when it comes to priority in public pay and they are fed up. Their morale is at an all-time low.

To hear a departmental line that this is just a normal pattern and matches the long-term trend means officials are not listening to the Chief of Staff, who has said there are serious difficulties with retention and pay in his submission as part of the public pay process, which has been reflected on in recent times. There needs to be a discussion between the Chief of Staff and officials in the Department in order that the Minister of State does not give information to this Parliament on long-term trends when one third of the organisation has left the Defence Forces in the past five years. It does not add up.

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