Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to return to the widely leaked announcement, confirmed by the Minister, that the Government is to sign off on €10 million of extra allowances for the Defence Forces today, or so we are led to believe.

This follows on from a report by the Public Service Pay Commission into the recruitment and retention crisis that we all acknowledge exists in our Defence Forces. There was, however, a clear flaw in the remit given to the Public Service Pay Commission for the work it was set in this regard. The commission was not permitted to examine the issue of core pay. A pay commission was prohibited from examining core pay.

Ireland is now in a situation where the economy has recovered, the cost of living is going up and there is a widespread view across the House - as the Minister has acknowledged - and across the country, that the Defence Forces have been left behind and need a particular focus and an upgrade in pay and conditions. In these exceptional circumstances why did the Government not include in the terms of reference of the Public Service Pay Commission the ability to look at the core pay of the Defence Forces? Every national pay agreement - two of which I was involved in - is held together with any number of sub-agreements and special arrangements. Given the scale of the crisis in the Defence Forces there is no reason this could not have been done.

It is reported there would be a 10% increase in the military services allowances but what does this mean in real terms? It means an extra payment resulting in an increase of between €4.20 and €12.30 per week. I do not believe the Government seriously thinks this would make an impact on the requirements for our Defence Forces' men and women. Having road tested the response in the media for the last week, and finding it to be seriously inadequate, apparently the Government has made one last minute adjustment by proposing another review to be announced this afternoon. This time it is for the 2,500 members of the Defence Forces who are specialists. This is simply a case of the issue that needs to be addressed being pushed down the road. I imagine the intention is to probably kick it beyond the next general election.

What does the Minister have to say to the thousands of men and women in our Defence Forces who need their pay increased today? Why did the Government not include an examination of core pay - which is the nub of the issue - in the review's terms of reference, a review the Government has vaunted every time the matter was raised in this House in the last months?

See this speech in context