Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the words of many of my colleagues in Fianna Fáil and across the House. I will certainly examine the amendments in a very open way. We all have to work together and to collaborate on defence policy.

The Minister of State's statement was rounded off with one major denial, "some HR challenges", which was the understatement of the day. It is so out of line with reality. In his submission to the Department, the Chief of Staff stated there is a serious retention challenge, a mass exodus, with 3,200 Defence Forces members purchasing their discharge last year. and the Minister of State talks about "some HR challenges". Has he read the Defence Forces climate survey? It stated that the Defence Forces are being turned into JobBridge. There will be a major safety issue in the Air Corps. Living quarters for young recruits have been described as Hotel Rwanda and yet the Minister of State refers to "some HR challenges".

Defence Forces members say they cannot get mortgages. Some are even on family income supplement and claim they would be better off on the dole as they would have no bills. People are sleeping in cars. Two people in Athlone could not afford to pay to stay in the barracks or commute home so they stayed in their cars at weekends. That is the legacy of the Minister of State. The one thread of consistency in recent years is his position in the Department of Defence. As I said earlier, he has been the empty suit and the silent lamb at the Cabinet table, saying nothing and staying where he is. He has said very little to acknowledge the serious recruitment and retention crisis today.

I quote from one of the members of the Wives and Partners of the Defence Forces:

I’m writing looking at the single bed that I share with my eight-year-old daughter and the blow up Peppa Pig bed our toddler sleeps in.

My husband sleeps on the couch as there is no room for him. This is our home, a box room in my in-laws two bedroom house.

Living on someone else’s floor is not easy...

I cry because I miss him so much & I worry about him overseas...

We just want to be a normal family doing normal things but we will never afford a home on these awful wages.

Today I want to ensure that her tears do not fall upon deaf ears. There are countless stories like this one and all the Minister of State says is that there are some HR challenges. What planet is he living on?

I want the members of our Defence Forces to enjoy the same living standards as many members of the public service. The great contradiction in public pay policy was demonstrated by the members of the Defence Forces standing side by side with their front-line public service colleagues in the Garda Síochána. The miserly Scrooge-like duty allowance presided over by the Minister of State is a national disgrace. We need to move the Defence Forces back from the cliff edge. We cannot have continual crisis management and a dysfunctional cycle of turnover. That is why the Minister of State should support the motion and should use his voice at the Cabinet table.

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