Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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3. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of former officers who previously left the Defence Forces and have returned to service; when a scheme for former enlisted members to return will be in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17126/19]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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How many former Defence Forces' officers, having left service, have returned? Will the Minister of State outline in detail the scheme he has put in place for former commissioned officers to return and will he make a statement on the matter? In the Dáil the Taoiseach diverted attention from the recruitment and retention crisis by referring to the re-entry scheme previously outlined by the Minister of State. Perhaps he might give the House more information on it.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I am advised that, to date, a small number of expressions of interest in a return to the Permanent Defence Force, PDF, have come from former officers.  As I have indicated previously to the Deputy, a scheme is in place which facilitates the re-entry of former officers to the PDF. In the absence of a standard policy for dealing with requests to re-enter, each case was previously dealt with on an individual basis and governed by the rules, regulations and circumstances that applied at the time. In the absence of a defined policy framework, the processing of such applications posed a number of difficulties such as defining procedures, identifying the requirements and needs of the organisation and agreeing terms and conditions with the individual.  To provide a more transparent scheme to facilitate the re-entry of former PDF officers, a policy framework setting out terms and conditions was necessary.

I am pleased that the terms and conditions for the recommissioning scheme include the provision that the recommissioning of former officers of the PDF shall only be considered in specific circumstances.  These are where the Chief of Staff has identified a deficiency in personnel, military capability or expertise in the PDF that cannot be resolved in a sustainable or timely manner from within existing personnel resources. Recommissioned officers will be offered a short service commission for a period of three years. In that period they cannot compete for promotion, nor will they block a promotion opportunity for existing officers.  Recommissioned officers may only be offered a substantive appointment after three years on the advice of the Chief of Staff and the Secretary General of the Department of Defence. While a scheme is in place for former officers of the PDF, the attendant scheme for enlisted personnel is still being progressed. The statutory basis for enlisting and re-enlisting personnel varies considerably from the basis on which officers are commissioned. For the purpose of re-enlisting former personnel, it is likely that there will be a need to change primary legislation.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The reality is that the recruitment initiative which the Taoiseach lauded to tackle the numbers crisis in the Defence Forces has attracted nearly no interest. The response to a parliamentary question on the subject which I received from the Minister of State in the last week contained a single digit figure. Is the scheme actually being advertised? Who makes the decision on recruitment? Is it in line with public sector recruitment practices? I understand that directly after the GOC of the Air Corps had briefed his staff on the Minister of State's intention to recommission two former pilots, two serving officers submitted requests to resign, citing the new policy as their reason for doing so. In fact, the Minister of State's policy has had a negative effect and is, in many instances, driving serving officers out of position. The net effect of the scheme is that an already restless group of employees is livid and speeding up plans for early retirement as a consequence of a failure to introduce a proper retention initiative such as a career incentive scheme. Instead, the Minister of State is diverting attention, receiving no interest in the scheme and creating a further wedge in dealing with the numbers crisis.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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If the Deputy looked, he would see that there are a great many career incentive schemes already in place in the Defence Forces. I do not know from where he is getting his information, but he should go back and check. I presume he is referring to the representative association, RACO, when he says some members have reservations about the re-entry scheme. I can absolutely understand people being apprehensive about the scheme. However, many of their concerns have been taken into account.

One of the major concerns relates to whether they are entitled to promotion after their re-entry, but the policy framework sets out clearly that they cannot compete for promotion within this three-year commissioning period.

Let there be one, two, three, four or five pilots. This will make a major difference to the organisation, including the Air Corps.

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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As I have told the Deputy previously, this recommendation came from military management. I agreed with and supported management on this and will continue to do so. The Deputy will shake his head and disagree with me, but that is his job. I support this initiative. It is a good one, and I hope to see more people re-entering the organisation.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The facts are-----

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I apologise, Deputy, but we almost went a minute over time there. I want to be fair to everyone.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I am sorry.

Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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Everyone should try to stick to the time schedule, please.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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There has been no interest in this initiative. It reveals the hollow words that we constantly hear from the Government concerning the crisis in our Defence Forces. The attempt to fill the gap in the Air Corps has resulted in more people leaving. The Defence Forces are haemorrhaging numbers to the point where overseas missions are now in jeopardy and naval vessels cannot go to sea. Using figures from the Department of Defence, the Taoiseach claimed in the Dáil that allowing ex-personnel to return would be an effective measure to address the retention crisis. We now know that to have been empty rhetoric. The Taoiseach's waffle about a re-entry scheme diverts from the systemic retention crisis over which the Minister of State presides. Not only has this policy not seen anyone return to the Defence Forces, there appears to be no interest in such a scheme at all, as the Minister of State has put on the record. It seems to be a tactic to cloud the Government's disregard for Defence Forces personnel. The Government needs to address the real issues at the heart of the retention and recruitment crisis, for example, decent pay and working conditions, so that the Defence Forces can be an attractive career option. These are the facts and figures. Interest can be measured in single digits, never mind how many people have actually re-entered. In the context of the ongoing crisis, the Minister of State's words are hollow.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I assure the Deputy that they are not hollow. It is interesting that, while he originally asked about enlisted personnel, he never mentioned them in any of his supplementary questions. I will mention them. They are equally as important as the officers. Without enlisted personnel, we would not have the Defence Forces. We would need to legislate to accommodate enlisted personnel who wished to re-enter. Were I to introduce such legislation, I would ask for the Deputy's support. A number of former enlisted personnel want to return to the Defence Forces. Regardless of whether that number is five or ten, they should be allowed to do so. The same applies in the case of officers. It is a changing organisation. Most armies across the world allow former officers and enlisted personnel to re-enter. I agree with that. We are in a changing society and world with different personnel and opportunities. We must allow former personnel to re-enter. I fully support the proposal.