Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge what the Minister of State said, which is that the Chief of Staff has full control over recruitment, but I am sure his hands are tied by officials within the Department who set out the terms and conditions under which he can recruit officers. I marched with the retired soldiers and their wives and families. I listened to "Morning Ireland" yesterday and heard the young wife of a soldier say that he comes home with €400 per week. This man has three young children.

Every time there are questions to the Minister of State with responsibility for defence matters they are about the conditions of soldiers. Why is that? We are all proud of them and the duties they perform at home and abroad. Every year we discuss the pay and conditions of military personnel, but we never do so in the case of members of An Garda Síochána, for which the Garda Commissioner is now the Accounting Officer. They both practically do the same work in providing security for the State. It is time the pay and conditions of members of the Defence Forces were brought up to those of members of An Garda Síochána. Will the Minister of State give a commitment that he will try to achieve this sooner rather than later?

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