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

As the Deputy will be aware, the Defence Forces are currently excluded from the provisions of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, which transposed the EU working time directive into Irish law. However, the Government has committed to amending this Act to bring both the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána within the scope of its provisions, where appropriate.

Significant work has been undertaken by military management, which has determined that a high percentage of the normal everyday work of the Defence Forces is in compliance with the working time directive. However, it has also been determined that some activities may require an exemption or a derogation due to their specific nature.

Extensive deliberations by my officials and military management on these important matters have been informed by the interpretation of recent European case law on military service as well as the fundamental requirement to ensure that rights are afforded to serving members, while ensuring the Defence Forces can continue to fulfil their essential State functions.

As the Deputy will agree, a robust time and attendance system is also an essential element in ensuring that the provisions of the working time directive are properly afforded to serving members of the Defence Forces and this is a priority. I am advised by the military authorities that a field study was conducted in July 2021 to determine the feasibility of utilising the existing personnel management system time and attendance module to record working time in the Defence Forces. A number of units across the Defence Forces were selected to participate in this study during which they were required to record working time over a four-week period. Among its objectives, the field study aimed to inform decisions regarding future implementation of the working time directive in the Defence Forces and to identify possible further developments of the personnel management system time and attendance module to facilitate implementation of the working time directive. The field study findings continue to be examined by the military authorities with a view to ensuring a capacity to efficiently record hours worked by members of the Defence Forces. In the meantime, my officials are engaging with military management on the possibility of applying an interim enhanced time recording measure, which was piloted in 2021, without prejudice to the outcome of the ongoing process in preparing for the implementation of the working time directive within the Defence Forces. The short answer to the Deputy's question is that work is being done on this and we recognise that more work has to be done.

See this speech in context