Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Commission on the Defence Forces published its report in February 2022. One of the recommendations of the report was the expeditious removal of the blanket exclusion of the Defence Forces from the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, subject to the application of the derogations permitted by the working time directive. This is key and probably the single most important thing that needs to be done to address the retention crisis and, in turn, deal with the recruitment crisis within the Defence Forces. The detailed implementation plan for the report signposted that legislation was being progressed by September this year. In May, in a reply to a parliamentary question I submitted, the Tánaiste stated that his Department had commenced formal dialogue with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on the agreed management position, bringing forward the appropriate legislative framework for removing the blanket exemption from the Organisation of Working Time Act. We are now seven weeks on from that and it would be beneficial if the Tánaiste could update us on what progress has been made in the intervening period. Is there now a final, agreed management position? Has the necessary legislative stage which the Department of Defence was formally discussing with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment been progressed sufficiently and is it still envisaged that this will be fully progressed by September?

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