Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am very glad to have the opportunity to speak on the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2020. It is a while since I spoke on a defence matter. I apologise to the Minister for missing his speech. I am very anxious to hear the Minister's presentation of any legislation before I speak, but I am afraid because of the earlier votes in the House I was caught up in the Committee on Dáil Reform and missed the Minister's speech.

There is considerable merit in some of the commentary I heard about how we, collectively as a House and through successive Governments, have dealt with our Defence Forces. It is a matter of instruction to all of us that it is some time since we had a stand-alone Minister for Defence of Cabinet rank. That has an implication for how we have dealt with our Defence Forces in recent decades and the voice of the Defence Forces in determining policy. I have great faith in the Minister. I know from working with him in the past that he has a great appreciation of the role of our Defence Forces. We have all looked at the role of the Defence Forces, called upon in every emergency. We need to respect that in more than applause and declarations of support. We need to be very practical.

Whenever I was abroad in any capacity representing this country, I often came across former Defence Forces personnel in very senior positions internationally. We train particularly our officer corps here very well. They are very competent and able people. We need to ensure they are given the supports to maintain themselves in the Defence Forces and that we continue to attract the best and brightest to serve our country in the way that they have.

The Defence Forces need considerable support to lift morale. That is a simple inescapable fact. It boils down to three things, namely, pay, conditions and equipment. In any society giving proper pay is ultimately a significant determinant of the status in which a public servant is held. Some supports have been increased recently, but we need to go further. I echo - I think I can do this from a unique perspective - the view that we are now about to embark on a new successor pay round. All of us would have hoped that we would have done it in the most positive of economic circumstances, but unfortunately that is not the case. As the person who was involved in negotiating the last two pay rounds but one, I recognise it is important that we now find a really effective mechanism to include those who were not formally included in the ICTU negotiations.

They should not be left sitting in a room to be consulted after the fact but should be intrinsically involved in the negotiations. I genuinely hope that can be done. I see no difficulty in recognising PDFORRA or allowing it to formally be part of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. It is a very straightforward and acceptable issue. Trade union membership within defence forces is certainly not an unusual phenomenon across Europe. I do not know why we should not follow suit in that regard.

With regard to equipment, as the Minister knows, some progress was made in our own time. Good modern ships were provided for the Naval Service and the process of replacing some Air Corps equipment was started. The two CASA aircraft have to be replaced. Will that happen this year? I believe the replacements are to arrive this year or early next year. The first of the other replacement aircraft has already come into service. It was advanced because of Covid and there are more to come. With regard to equipment, we must ensure that the capital allocation needs of the Defence Forces are understood and provided for. The Defence Forces capital requirements have never been top of the list. That applies to accommodation above all else. We need to ensure, particularly in this time of Covid, that proper individual modern accommodation is provided. These are issues to which we can return.

The role of the Defence Forces in all emergencies and particularly in the current Covid emergency cannot be overstated. We are very proud of their role internationally as well as domestically. We need to support them practically.

I will now deal with the provisions of this particular legislation. I have read the Bill and it is unusual. For what seems like the first time, the Bill provides a legislative basis for the role of a force commander in exercising operational control over a Defence Forces contingent in a United Nations or other international force. I missed the Minister's speech but, as I understand it, this simply provides legislative underpinning to current practice.

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