Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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4. To ask the Minister for Defence his views on recent claims about the standard of living of members of the Defence Forces that were made at this year's PDFORRA conference; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43463/14]

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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It is unusual that the annual conference of PDFORRA would make the news headlines for two consecutive days, as it did this year. It did so because of issues concerning the standard of living of members of the Defence Forces. The question directly challenges the Minister to establish what he proposes to do about the very difficult standard of living many members of the Defence Forces must contend with.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I was made aware of number of issues for the first time at the recent PDFORRA annual conference. I presume the Deputy is referring to the claim that five members of the Permanent Defence Force were sleeping in cars because they could not afford the cost of commuting to their place of work and claims that approximately 20% of PDFORRA’s membership are availing of family income supplement. There is no reason why any member of the PDF should be sleeping in their car. I am advised that military management wrote to the general secretary of PDFORRA requesting information to facilitate the chain of command addressing any legitimate concerns of PDFORRA. I understand that a response has been received from PDFORRA and that individual issues raised within it are now being appropriately addressed through the normal operational chain of command. We have a lot of residential infrastructure within barracks and people should be accommodated if they need to be.

PDFORRA also asserted that approximately 20% of its membership is availing of family income supplement, qualifying for it because their take home pay had fallen owing to various public service agreements and statutory deductions. As the circumstances surrounding an application for family income supplement are a private matter between the applicant and the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Defence is not aware of the number of PDF members that may be in receipt of this financial assistance, or their individual circumstances.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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We all accept the Defence Forces have been leaders in change management as far as the Irish public service is concerned. To a certain extent, it has become victim of its own success. The issue of people sleeping in the car is the direct consequence of the radical changes made by the Minister's predecessor in terms of the closure of barracks and creating situations where people were forced to make daily round trips of up to 300 km to their place of work.

The issue of family income supplement is more fundamental. We have been talking about the valuable role our Defence Forces play in observation and peacekeeping internationally and of the pride the Minister, all Members and the Irish people have. Is it not appalling to think that people we deploy internationally to carry out these responsible tasks must depend, in the case of 20% of them, on the Department of Social Protection to meet their day-to-day living costs?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I cannot confirm the 20% figure because I do not know that it is factually true. I have no reason to disbelieve PDFORRA and I will be meeting the organisation shortly to discuss a range of issues. I presume this will be one of them. There are many sectors of Irish society, particularly across the public sector that have seen and experienced financial pressures over the past five years. Members are aware of that. It is important that we are realistic about the context of the financial pressure many Irish families find themselves under and the context of wage agreements, the latest of which is the Haddington Road agreement. It is my job to review pay structures and the way we pay members of the Defence Forces. I will do that within the Government.

10 o’clock

A review is ongoing in that regard. It is important to recognise where we have come from over the past five years, as well as the extent of financial pressure that the public sector has been facing. That is the context in which these issues have been raised. Hopefully we can look to a more positive future in terms of income levels across the public and private sectors.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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What the Minister said about the pressures on Irish families and income pressures on people in the public service generally is correct. However, it appears that a particular problem arises in the Defence Forces. I have no difficulty accepting the 20% figure given by PDFORRA because it reflects my experience in my constituency, where a large number of Defence Forces personnel live. I am also aware of anecdotal evidence that the pressure on the Defence Forces' credit union is enormous, as people struggle to meet their day-to-day living costs.

The Minister referred to pay negotiations. I have proposed to the House that members of the Defence Forces should be allowed at least associate membership of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in order that they have an input into pay negotiations. Is the Minister prepared to concede that?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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No, I am not prepared to concede that. The Defence Forces are different from other organisations and public sector roles. When one signs up for the Defence Forces, one is signing up to a life defending the State and this is accompanied by certain rights and responsibilities. I am not willing to concede that at the moment, but certainly there are channels within the Defence Forces through which people can raise issues. Arbitration is also available in the Defence Forces. The Government's decision in September 2012 and the review of allowances and premium payments conducted by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform recognise there is a structural weakness in the way members of the Defence Forces are paid, and a decision was made to conduct a full review of overall pay structures and pay systems in the Defence Forces in the medium term. It is my intention that such a review will take place subsequent to the review of the security duty allowance and technical pay which is under way. That is proof we are investigating the matter with a view to making improvements but we must also recognise that the Defence Forces are somewhat different from other organisations in the public sector.