Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I note that the European Council expressed its condolences to the family of the Irish soldier, Private Seán Rooney, who lost his life while on a UN operation in Lebanon. It also expressed its sympathy to Private Shane Kearney, who was injured in the incident. I offer the same condolence and sympathy to the families of both men. I did not have an opportunity to do so before today.

I am the son of a retired soldier. My da went to serve his country in Lebanon with the United Nations force. I have spoken about my father here a number of times. I am extremely proud of my dad, but if he was standing here, he would be the very first person to say that while he was honoured to serve his country abroad and to work with the United Nations in Lebanon and other places on peacekeeping duties, he went there purely for economic reasons. Such was the poor pay in the Defence Forces when I was a child that my da would have to leave for six months or more. Even when he was home, he often had to break the Army rules and work in other jobs just to feed his family, which is bizarre, in order to supplement his poor pay, put shoes on our feet and shirts on our backs. My da was doing nixers in the Army throughout his entire 25 years of service. He worked in numerous jobs: the bar trade, security or anything that would bring in an extra few bob for the family. He did not want to do it. He would much rather have served his time in the Defence Forces and then come home to his family, but more often than not, he had to go straight from his work in the Defence Forces to a second job and sometimes he had a third job.

If we fast-forward to 2023, Irish soldiers are still going abroad for economic reasons. One young soldier in my area goes abroad every six months. He has five children and he goes away to serve with the United Nations. When he is home, his pay is so bad that he must apply for family income supplement. It is scandalous for a young man who has served numerous tours of duty abroad with the United Nations and has represented the Defence Forces in some of the most volatile places in the world that his pay is so bad that when he comes home he must sign on for family income supplement. It is high time that the Government recognised the Defence Forces and paid its members properly. Platitudes alone will not put food on the table.

There is also a problem with retaining highly trained Defence Force personnel, who are leaving in their droves. Over the years I have known a number of people who were in the Air Corps. They do not want to leave but they have had to leave because their pay and conditions were so poor that they sought out employment in private companies, which headhunts them. The training is so good and is of such a high standard that we must do everything possible to retain staff in the Defence Forces. They do not want to go to other companies or to work privately. They want to serve their country, but because of the current pay and conditions they are unable to do so.

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