John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the publication of the report. There are key recommendations in it that will go a long way towards addressing the major challenges of pay and retention in the Defence Forces, for which staffing levels are thousands below where the establishment figure should be. One of the key recommendations, which the Minister has been asked about a number of times now, including by me, is to implement associate affiliation to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, of representative organisations. The pressure is on because pay talks will commence in May. I am acutely aware that the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, has had to resort to the courts to try to force the Minister to implement this key proposal. PDFORRA has been very clear that if the Minister was to show some goodwill in ceding to its very legitimate request it would withdraw that court case. The Minister needs to show goodwill in the first instance and agree to allow PDFORRA and the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, to affiliate with ICTU.

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