Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This Bill is in some ways an exercise in legislative housekeeping, involving the dotting of i's and crossing of t's, or tidying up, as the Minister said. While the Government might regard this as necessary, members of the Defence Forces have a vastly different view of what is necessary. One serving member said to me today: "What have they got against us? They have nothing to offer us for the future if they only see us through their rear-view mirror." It is words like these that I hear consistently when I speak to members and their representatives but I also hear about their passion for their service, their commitment and the respect they have for the duties they hold. I refer to commitment and respect that they do not see reciprocated by the Government.

The level of pay in the Defence Forces is beyond needing to be addressed and rectified. It is ludicrous that one arm of the State pays members' wages while another arm of that same State recognises the pay is so poor that it supplements it through welfare supports. One member of our Defence Forces on a working family payment is too many. The number who are the price of a loaf of bread above the qualifying threshold is a damning indictment. I have spoken this week to serving members who have gone without to meet their children's back-to-school costs. I have no doubt that circumstances like these are replicated across the country based on the current employment level in the Defence Forces as a whole. Our Air Corps and Navy are short nearly one fifth of the personnel they require. The unfilled positions in the Army represent more than 9% of its strength. It is obvious that pay is a significant factor regarding these vacancies.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, our Defence Forces have respectfully, professionally and diligently gone about their duties. They rallied behind their front-line colleagues in the HSE and elsewhere. They have provided tracing, testing, transportation and construction services. Some overseas members saw their return home delayed because of the pandemic. Civil Defence volunteers throughout the country provided tens of thousands of hours of practical assistance to the community, voluntary and statutory sectors, yet the new vehicles in the Civil Defence did not come from departmental moneys but from an application to the Dormant Accounts Fund. Yet again, another arm of the State is plugging gaps in the Department of Defence.

PDFORRA has stated there can be little doubt that investment in the greatest resource the Defence Forces have, its members, is an absolute necessity. There is no point in having ships, armoured personnel carriers and new aircraft worth millions of euro sitting in docks, garages and hangars without the crew to man and maintain these valuable assets of the State.

JPMorgan recently advertised a transition programme for those who have left the Defence Forces because it recognises what successive Governments have failed to recognise, namely, key skills and service. JPMorgan wants its next group of leaders to be result-focused, adaptable and motivated and to work well under pressure. It recognises qualities of this kind in our Defence Forces. The skills in question are learned and honed in the Defence Forces and it is the State that should be valuing them through proper pay and conditions, and benefiting from them while members continue to serve.

It is vital that those who have served be respected and supported upon discharge. Just weeks ago, we learned that the surviving soldiers of Jadotville will not be awarded the medals for bravery recommended by their commanding officer almost 60 years ago. There was no hero's welcome for those who fought in Jadotville. They were portrayed by some as a national embarrassment. Instead of receiving full recognition for the courage and competence they showed, they were isolated, ignored and forgotten. These men helped to shape Ireland's stellar international reputation today for providing well-trained and resilient UN peacekeepers.

This situation must be rectified and those medals awarded. The requests of veterans are minute in comparison to their service. The reference to a veterans' policy in the White Paper on Defence in 2015 was a step in the right direction. However, it must now continue to conclusion. Given their service to the State, veterans deserve tangible commitments to assist in their transition to civilian life. A charter must include addressing the needs and securing resources to support employment, housing, health, educational opportunities and a single point of contact that can provide independent and confidential information and advocate on their behalf.

Worryingly, no specific data have been correlated relating to the challenges veterans are affected by due to their service. We have circumstantial evidence and conjecture regarding the level of marital and family breakdown, suicide, post-traumatic stress, homelessness, substance misuse and dependency. Without clear data on which to base an estimate of current need, future needs of veterans will continue to fail to be met.

What is needed now for our Defence Forces is an urgency in the work to address the retention and recruitment crisis and the concerns raised by veterans. We need to ensure those serving in the Defence Forces are listened to, respected and guaranteed a level of pay in order that they can not only meet the fundamental basic needs of their family but also ensure that a career in the Defence Forces is a viable and attractive option for new recruits.

The Government has been warned that unless the situation of recruitment and retention is reversed, the Defence Forces will continue to haemorrhage skilled personnel and find it increasingly difficult to carry out its various roles in protecting State security, our fisheries, overseas peacekeeping missions and the mounting anti-drug trafficking operations. There is a level of dysfunction in the Defence Forces system. When will real and meaningful policies and actions be put in place to address this?

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