Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I agree with the Deputy. What I am saying is I have a very open mind on his question. I believe we will need to do something in this space and I am considering what would be the best structure to put in place to examine this is because we should not just talk about recruitment and retention in general in respect of the Defence Forces. I hope and think we will be able to make more progress. We made some last year and I think we will make more this year. The Deputy’s point about the deep dive into the specialist areas, the pinch points and how the Defence Forces are doing at a time when the country has full employment is important. These people are highly skilled. It is not really an issue to recruit them but it is an issue to retain them. As the Deputy noted, the service commitment scheme we brought in for air traffic controllers is good. That is one area. There are also other pinch points, including in the Naval Service.

We have local bargaining structures. They are meant to advance some of this but I am very open to considering, with colleagues in the Government, whether there is a better way of doing a deep dive. I intend to consider this with my officials over the summer and will come back to the Deputy in the autumn with my thinking on it.

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