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

It is the Minister of State who is misinformed about the crisis. The pay commission report indicates that 57.8% of Permanent Defence Force members stated that they will leave in the next two years and, of those, 84.5% pointed to pay as a primary consideration. The Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, stated today at the conference of the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, that the situation will get worse before it gets better. The proof of the Government's plan involving the pay commission will be whether the Minister of State can end the exodus of personnel and bring the complement back towards the target of 9,500. Based on the current rate of attrition and turnover, it appears that the number of personnel is still falling. Structures in the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service are collapsing. When does the Minister of State expect to turn the corner in terms of personnel numbers? Not even the best recruitment campaign could bridge the gap created by the current exodus and retention difficulties. I am not sure whether the report of the pay commission has thus far achieved what the Minister of State set out in his statement.

See this speech in context