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

Recruitment is going well. The biggest classes ever are coming through and being attested. For the first time, we have people moving from the non-commissioned ranks to become officers. There are promotional opportunities that were not available in the past. There is a particular focus on recruiting more women into the Defence Forces and we are seeing some good results in that regard. However, there is a high turnover rate of approximately 8% a year, whereas 5% would be more normal. We are doing four things to address the matter. They include pay restoration which is happening across the public service, with the next tranche to kick in in the next few weeks. We are moving from periodic to continuous recruitment. We are also moving towards a model of re-entry, whereby people who leave can rejoin. That was not allowed in the past and it is a significant change such that people who have left the Defence Forces to move elsewhere in the public sector or the private sector can come back in, which is very positive. I do not know why we did not do it before. Perhaps most significantly, we have commissioned the Public Service Pay Commission to examine the terms, conditions and allowances of members of the Defence Forces. I spoke to the head of the commission in the last couple of days to ask if the report could be expedited. He told me that it could be and that the commission expected to report by the middle of May.

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