Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Listening to that answer, the Minister has tied himself up in knots. On the one hand he says that it is a different type of service and deserves a separate pay body. On the other hand he says that it is required to be in line with public sector pay. Which is it? Is in line with public sector pay or is a special kind of service that requires a special body to deal with pay? Whichever it is, the Minister must make up his mind because as RACO has stated, this is another wasted year in respect of pay and pay structures, allowances, conditions and the question of affiliation.

The Minister has just empathised with the military personnel, in that they cannot go on strike or flex their muscles in the same way as other public sector workers, but they can affiliate to the ICTU. PDFORRA was given a ruling in the European Committee of Social Rights that the Government was in violation by preventing affiliation to the ICTU. The least the Minister can do is to allow that affiliation and to clarify the complete mess here about pay. Is it a special body, is it public sector, are they linked? In the meantime, many soldiers and military personnel are leaving the service right across the Defence Forces because they are being treated badly. If they are a special force, then treat them as such and stop ignoring the issues.

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