Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach agus leis an Aire freisin mar gheall ar an am a thabhairt dom ag an bpointe seo. The Defence (Amendment) Bill before the Dáil today is uncontroversial and in a way is full of formality rather than substance. Thousands of members of the Defence Forces have served this country bravely at home and abroad in numerous conflicts and even during Covid-19, and yet the Government is more concerned with formality when it comes to the Defence Forces rather than substance. There is a long list of serious grievances that the Defence Forces have and for which the Government have shown scant regard or concern. In a week when the Government has hired an army of special advisers to help make decisions and given itself an ill-deserved pay rise, members of our Defence Forces are still waiting on the Government to honour commitments from July 2019. The then Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, said in July 2019 that it would not be fair to restore pay to our troops because it would mean they were being singled out for special treatment above others in public service. The opposite is the case. The Government is singling out the Defence Forces for special treatment but it is the wrong type of treatment.

Operational capacity is extremely important and most citizens in the country would not be aware that right now the Defence Forces number approximately 8,374 members, at least 1,000 shy of the 9,500 that are needed. The figure is getting worse as there is an ongoing exodus of Defence Forces service members every year. Some 882 service members left the Defence Forces in 2019 and various surveys estimate that anywhere between 70% and 85% of Defence Forces members are thinking about leaving or wish to leave. If one was ever to look at a reflection of how a group of people think of their job, the most obvious reflection is whether they want to stay or go. I listened to the Minister's words about the idea that we need to talk this up and make it an attractive career to people across the country. The kernel of it is whether it is attractive to people who are working in the Defence Forces now. If it is not attractive to them, it is virtually impossible to make it attractive to young people around the country. The first thing to do is to fix the Defence Forces from the inside. At present, there are 1,126 positions within the Defence Forces which are unfilled. There are 620 junior management vacancies in the Defence Forces and eight out of 15 high-level, implementation plan projects are behind schedule. Under the tenure of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael our Defence Forces have fallen into a pitiful state. If a Russian plane was to fly over Ireland tonight, we would have to politely ask our friends in England to spare a plane to chase that Russian plane out of Irish air space. The Defence Forces have been left in a weakened state in other parts of the world, such as the Congo and Lebanon. Recently, I made representations on behalf of two soldiers in the Congo who were unable to get back to Ireland. They were in an area of heightened tension, had only sidearms to protect themselves and were not in a compound but an apartment. They were finding it difficult to make their way back to Ireland. By any estimation, that shows a poor regard for their welfare and well-being.

I will touch on pay, allowances and supports. The main driver behind the exodus from the Defence Forces is not any decline in patriotism but the unacceptable conditions and pay that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael expect our Defence Forces to handle. Neither of those parties nor anybody in Government would accept such pay and conditions for themselves. The problem with the technical pay agreement that exists is that a deal was concluded worth €10 million, from which a 10% increase was meant to be given in military allowances to personnel but 14 months later the Government is still sitting on its hands. The sum of €10 million is less than the bare minimum of what the Government should be paying but it still will not pay it. Yet, if one adds up the numbers of special advisers the Government has, it adds up to roughly €5.4 million on annual wages of about 60 special advisers in this State.

Since 2008, our troops have been fighting for restoration of pay. Why do they have to fight to have their pay restored? This is not for a pay increase but merely the restoration of pay. The denial of that restoration is a disservice to our services. Speaking with Defence Forces stationed in Syria, Aontú was shocked to learn our troops are taxed at the higher rate of taxation, notwithstanding the bravery of the service they are in. Several troops have not seen their family for up to six months and there is a probability that could be increased by another three months. Around the world, most Governments refuse to tax their troops at the higher rates as a token of appreciation for their services in such dangerous and perilous environments. Not so the Irish Government, which taxes money paid by the UN at the higher rate of taxation in addition to the already appalling rates of pay our Defence Forces suffer as a whole. The Government does not hesitate to call in our Defence Forces in times of crisis.

I have been, as I am sure the Minister has, at marches and demonstrations by ex-service members and their families outside these Houses and one point they make on a regular basis is that much lip service is paid to the Defence Forces in this State and people queue up in the political sphere to almost virtue signal about how much they support and how much respect they have for the men and women who fight and serve us in our Defence Forces. Yet, there is a chasm between that lip service and the action necessary. Any ten-year-old would know that actions speak louder than words. I would hate that the Government would damn itself with false words on these really important issues such as pay, capacity and conditions.

Next year will be the 60th anniversary of the siege of Jadotville, where 158 members of the Irish Defence Forces fought off 3,000 mercenaries in the Congo in 1961. They were eventually forced to surrender but their bravery and the tactics under Commander Pat Quinlan is studied in military colleges around the world as one of the best uses of perimeter defence in battle. When they returned home, the Government and the Defence Forces refused to acknowledge that battle. They were derided in many quarters for having surrendered. For the benefit of their careers, they did not mention Jadotville. They were only awarded service medals in 2017, 56 years afterwards. However, Commander Quinlan recommended several troops for medals for bravery, some of whom were as young as 15. Parents were collecting children's allowance for some of the participants of that battle. Successive Governments have refused to take up Commander Quinlan's recommendation and award the medals of bravery. Apparently, the bravery is good enough to be studied in military colleges around the world but not good enough to be recognised and rewarded by the Irish Government.

8 o’clock

I will make two small points in the time I have left. I attended a protest outside the Chinese embassy today concerning the treatment of the Uighur people. I do not believe that the Government is using its voice strongly enough to oppose the horrendous things happening in that part of the world. People are being forced into thought camps, there is forced abortion and sterilisation and people are going missing. It is very important that we do not just speak through the UN on this issue, but that we raise our voice regarding human rights. Human rights are universal, and not for particular countries. They are for all countries.

I spoke to the Minister about this next issue previously in private. Richard O'Halloran has been in China for some time and away from his family. It is important that he is returned to Ireland and to his family. It is a shocking situation and my heart would be broken if I were separated from my family for the length of time that Mr. O'Halloran has been. He has done nothing wrong whatsoever. I know the Minister has been working in the background on this issue, and I commend him on that. I think, however, that there may be a need to change the strategy on this matter to see if we can get some result.

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