Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I disagree with the Deputy regarding there being no light at the end of the tunnel. The Government is addressing the issue of pay. I have stated on the public record - in barracks and in the House - and in private that pay is a challenge for the Defence Forces and that is why the Government is addressing this issue. The Deputy has been a Member of this House for many years. He was a member of Government from 2011 to 2016. He is aware of the challenges in regard to public service pay. I do not want the message to go out that members of the Defence Forces are paid very little. Among enlisted personnel, the average gross earnings in 2018 of a three-star private was €37,529; a corporal, €41,076; a sergeant, €44,622; a company quartermaster, €49,605; a company sergeant, €50,224; a battalion quartermaster, €53,616; and a sergeant major, €54,878. In the officer corps, the average gross earnings of a second lieutenant was €37,108; a lieutenant, €42,291; a captain, €53,138; a commandant, €66,496; a lieutenant colonel, €79,162; and a colonel, €88,480. The starting salary for a three-star private in the Defence Forces is €27,759.76, while a school-leaver newly commissioned officer would receive €35,614 and a graduate lieutenant a starting salary of €40,566. I acknowledge that those are starting salaries and that members may experience challenges later in their career in the Defence Forces. That is why there is an independent Public Service Pay Commission, as I earlier outlined to Deputy Jack Chambers. We are addressing this issue. It is taking time to so do and I acknowledge that is frustrating, but there is a significant amount of work to get through.

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