Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support this motion, and compliment colleagues in Fianna Fáil on bringing it forward. There is clearly a massive disconnect between the Government's view that it is doing everything it can to support our armed forces and the statements made by senior Army personnel that morale is on the floor. Any of us worth our salt, the Minister of State included as he must be in touch with them and their families in his area, know that morale is on the floor and even below that. There are serious questions to be asked here in respect of the capacity of the State as an employer. We see the clear inability of the State to either recruit or retain staff in key public service role positions right across the board. There is an abject failure here. I support the measures called for in this motion, particularly the restoration of the military allowance to pre-financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, levels, especially in view of the underspend from 2014 to 2018. I also support the restoration of the supplementary pension for post-2013 entrants and the need to conduct a review of the PDF organisation to provide for a training and overseas establishment, thereby bringing PDF personnel numbers up to 10,500 across all ranks and formations and services. It is simply intolerable that we ask so much of these brave men and women and give them so little. The use of pious platitudes, that is, praising them and saying we admire, respect and are proud of them, does not put bread and butter on the table by any manner or means. It is unbelievable that they have to go community welfare officers, CWOs, and receive income supplements. I welcomed the visit of President Trump to Ireland recently and he was entitled to be treated with respect when he came. During that visit, members of the Defence Forces were on duty alongside members of An Garda Síochána but were getting paid much less money than were the members of the Garda, with worse conditions. We are operating a system of apartheid towards our soldiers here. I have a young man sitting his leaving certificate at the moment who is mad to get into the into the armed forces, and I am trying to talk him out of it. How is he going to sustain a family? How is he going to get a mortgage, build a house, and so on? The Minister of State should hang his head in shame.

I salute our overseas forces and their bravery in the work they have done with the United Nations over the years. However, I totally oppose sending the rangers to Mali with the French forces. The Minister should consider having them here with An Garda Síochána, given the savagery and thuggery that is going on here in Dublin at present. We are starved for gardaí in the country, because of all the special units up here in Dublin trying to deal with that. The Minister of State should have the Defence Forces supporting the role of An Garda Síochána and should look after our own. We should keep our nose out of other international issues. We are supposed to be a neutral country but we are far from it with the way we are behaving. I definitely support this motion here this evening and hope the Government will be shamed into supporting our proud Army personnel.

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