Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Before I answer the Deputy's question, I beg the indulgence of the House to take this opportunity to extend my condolences to the family of Laura Brennan, whose service of remembrance is taking place in Ennis today. As Deputies will know, she died from cervical cancer but worked closely with the health service to become a powerful advocate for HPV vaccination and, because of her, we were able to increase its uptake again. While she has lost her life, sadly, I believe her actions will save the lives of many people. As Deputies will be aware, she was not connected with the approximately 221 women who were affected by the cervical cancer audit.

I also extend my condolences to the family of the former Deputy, John Browne, who passed away this morning. People will know him as a colleague in the House and his son who served in the Seanad.

To respond to the Deputy's question, the Government and everyone in the House are proud of the contribution that our Defence Forces make, whether through peacekeeping, as an aid to the civil power, intelligence or other operations. We are investing in our Defence Forces and increasing the budget this year, with more than €50 million being invested in barracks, equipment, pensions and pay. While I acknowledge there is a problem with retention in the Defence Forces, recruitment is going well. There are record numbers in the classes being attested and graduating, although many people are leaving because there are now many opportunities in the private sector, as the Deputy will know is the case in his constituency in County Cork, where engineers are leaving the Naval Service to work in the private sector. The Chief of Staff has stated he would prefer to see a turnover rate of approximately 5%, which would be normal, as opposed to the current rate of approximately 8%, and I concur.

I accept that we need to act but we are taking action. Pay restoration is well under way throughout the public service, including the Defence Forces, and almost everyone earning under €80,000 will have full pay restoration by the end of the year. There will be continuous recruitment rather than recruitment in bullets or phases, as happened in the past. We are allowing for the re-entry of people to the Defence Forces, given that, sometimes after people leave, they want to come back and now we will allow them to do so if they so wish. The fourth and perhaps most significant step is that we have asked the Public Service Pay Commission to examine the issues. After holding hearings and listening to the Defence Forces, the Chief of Staff and the Department, the commission will bring forward proposals which it believes could improve the terms and conditions of the Defence Forces without having an impact across the public sector. I asked the head of the commission, Kevin Duffy, in recent days whether the report could be expedited, and he informed me he believes that the commission can publish its report by the middle of May.

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