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

Yes, but it will have to change within public sector pay policy. That is not to say that we cannot strategically use allowances within the Defence Forces in a way that perhaps gets better outcomes and the commission makes some recommendations in that regard. Undoubtedly, we have to find a way of ensuring that we have a sufficient number of specialists, particularly in the cybersecurity space, but there are other specialist areas also around engineering, navigation and various other types of engineering specialties that we have to get into the Defence Forces, across the Naval Service, the Air Corps and the Army. I am conscious of that and, of course, we will make a case to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform if there are gaps that can only be filled by making an exception. We will have to get approval for that, however, which is never easy because it has a knock-on impact in precedent terms in other areas of the public sector. My job is to get the best deal possible for the Defence Forces and that is what I will be trying to do.

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