Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

To delete all words after “not previously matched in a single month;” and insert the following: “— it is estimated that up to 1,700 Defence Forces personnel could be eligible for the Working Family Payment;

— Defence Forces personnel were obliged to take a case to the European Committee of Social Rights in relation to the recognition of collective bargaining rights;

— the Defence Forces representative organisations have had a number of successful cases in the High Court, in relation to the application of the Working Time Directive for Defence Forces personnel with 35 additional cases awaiting hearing;

— representative organisations have reported significant difficulties in accessing the Lansdowne Road Agreement Oversight Body; and

— the reported strength of the Defence Forces is misleading as those who are on leave of absence or in training and unavailable for deployment are included;

further notes:

— the ongoing priority given, by Government, to costly recruitment policies;

— the absence of any retention policy for the Defence Forces;

— the underspend of €92.3 million from 2014 to 2018 in the Defence Estimate (Vote 36);

— the high turnover rate that is leading to the creation of a difficult and challenging training environment for remaining service personnel;

— that some personnel are double- and treble-jobbing in an effort to maintain operational output;

— that insufficient supervision and mentoring combined with poor trained manning levels is leading to unavoidable burnout;

— that there are serious concerns for governance, and the ability to manage risk and ensure the wellbeing of personnel;

— that recent surveys have illustrated the mental health difficulties, increased stress and low morale being experienced by PDF personnel; and

— that the Department of Defence chose not to participate in the review of the public service pension age undertaken in 2017, and no review of Defence Forces pension age has been commenced since that period;

accepts that:

— the impact of operating with reduced numbers is already being felt across the Defence Forces;

— the Army is struggling to fulfil its assigned tasks, domestically and internationally;

— ships are unable to go to sea and aircraft are not flying as a result of personnel shortages;

— defence capability is being seriously undermined and the ability to be an aid to the civil powers are curtailed or not available in times of humanitarian or extreme weather events, such as the recent snow storms or forest/gorse fires; and

— reduced governance increases operational and personnel risk; and

calls for:

— an immediate briefing for Defence Forces representative organisations and opposition TDs on the findings of the Report on the Public Service Pay Commission, given the leaks to the media on same;

— a review of the pension age of the Defence Forces to be commenced;

— the Minister for Defence to report to the Dáil on a bi-annual basis on the current strength of the Defence Forces, detailing those on leave of absence, training or on overseas deployment as well as the ‘strength in station’ figure;

— the restoration of military allowances to pre-Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest levels, especially in view of the underspend from 2014 to 2018, to include the service commitment scheme for Air Corps pilots and fixed-period promotion for Special Service Officers;

— the restoration of the supplementary pension for post 2013 entrants;

— a review of the PDF organisation to provide for a training and overseas establishment, bringing the PDF personnel numbers up to 10,500 across all ranks and formations/services;

— a permanent and independent Defence Forces pay body to be established;

— the full implementation of the decision of the European Committee on Social Rights in respect of the collective bargaining rights of Defence Forces personnel, including making provision for Defence Forces representative organisations to be able to take up associate membership of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions;

— greater military expertise in the Department of Defence, who have made some concerning and damaging decisions affecting the Defence Forces;

— the enhancement of the input and discretion of military management in decisions over current and capital spending;

— the Government to engage fully with Defence Forces representative organisations and bring forward, within a six month period, legislation to provide for the implementation of the Working Time Directive, which the Government is currently not implementing properly;

— the implementation of the Resolution on Lariam passed by this House on 28th June, 2017;

— an immediate health review of all current and former members of the Air Corps to ascertain their level of exposure to dangerous chemicals while in the service;

— a clear and defined role for the Reserve Defence Forces, that would enable them to play a meaningful and worthwhile part in support to the PDF; and

— the undertaking of a comprehensive independent review (involving external and international expertise) of defence policy, the Defence Forces and the role of the Department of Defence.”

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