Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Speaking on "Morning Ireland" earlier, the former head of the Army Ranger Wing, Commandant Cathal Berry, stated that the Defence Forces are being dismantled and demoralised as a result of Government policy. The facts bear that out. There is, in the Defence Forces, as in other areas of the public service, a recruitment and retention crisis. The number of serving personnel has dropped below 8,500 despite a commitment to maintain numbers at 9,500. Morale is on the floor. We are in a situation where members see a long-term career in the Defence Forces as unsustainable and unviable if they are to provide for their families. As a result, they are choosing to leave. This is down to the simple fact that Defence Forces personnel are the worst-paid members of the public service. Many Defence Forces families are reliant on the working family payment. The fact that many families cannot make ends meet has been highlighted here and elsewhere on countless occasions. Some, as the Minister is aware, resort to sleeping in their cars as a way to save on petrol. Others rely on the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The Taoiseach stated in January that joining the Defence Forces is about more than just money. I agree with him in that regard because being a member of the Defence Forces is not a cushy number. The work involved is hard and can be dangerous. Those joining the Army, the Navy and the Air Corps are motivated primarily by a desire to serve. All of us appreciate that. However, people do not join the Defence Forces to be disrespected or marginalised. Pride does not put bread on the table. This situation has been allowed to run on without any resolution. The reasons for this are obvious. Members of the Defence Forces have been consistently sidelined in public service pay negotiations.

They are excluded from trade union membership or affiliation with ICTU, and they are legally prevented from protesting their terms and conditions of employment. No other worker in the State gets as raw a deal. It is time for the Minister to listen to their concerns and the concerns of their families, as well as to the concerns of former personnel.

Will the Minister recognise that serious damage has been done to the reputation of the Defence Forces as a career option? Will she listen to what Commandant Berry has said, and what hundreds of other former personnel have to say? Will she listen to soldiers and their families, who have said that enough is enough?

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