Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that. Briefly, on the working time directive, which is an important issue we have discussed at length as we have moved through the barracks, we are making really good progress. The Government is fully committed to ensuring the working time directive will apply to the Defence Forces, but there will have to be exemptions in certain areas to facilitate military service and the role of the Defence Forces in the context of the work they do, such as on peacekeeping missions overseas or on patrol of the coastline. We have to ensure the Defence Forces can operate as a military efficiently, can make decisions and so on, but we also have to ensure that, where possible, the working time directive will apply to how hours are set and so on for serving personnel. I think we are very close to reaching a final agreement on that. There has been much back and forth in civil and military consultation on the issue, as there has been on the ICTU issue, on which I have heard very strong and varied perspectives from different elements within the Defence Forces.

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