Seanad debates

Wednesday, 24 May 2017

10:30 am

Photo of Robbie GallagherRobbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach seo inniu. Ba mhaith liom fosta fáilte mhór a chur roimh na daoine ó PDFORRA agus na clanna atá i láthair. I welcome the Minister of State. I also extend a warm welcome to the members of the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, and their families in the Visitors Gallery.

Irish people take great pride in the Defence Forces and in the contribution made by the Permanent Defence Force, the Reserve Defence Force and Civil Defence. We all agree that the single greatest asset the Defence Forces have is its personnel, yet the Defence Forces are facing huge difficulty in retaining and recruiting sufficient personnel. They are now seriously below strength and it is time to rebuild them significantly. The decline over recent years has left the Defence Forces with just 9,070 personnel, 430 below the current agreed strength. Even though a new recruitment campaign was launched in 2016, in the year to last February the number in the Defence Forces fell from 9,146 to the current number. The ongoing exit from the Defence Forces at all ranks is running at between 40 and 50 per month, a startling number. Given the horrendous actions across the pond in the UK and the real threat of terrorism, Ireland must recommit to the Defence Forces and its defence capability. Fianna Fáil believes we should seek to increase the Defence Forces strength to 10,500 in the coming year. We also believe it is important to retain the number we already have.

Since 1992 the Defence Forces have gone through eight re-organisational reviews, an average of one every three years. It is little wonder that the Defence Forces are recognised as being to the forefront in public service transformation. However, there is a significant downside to this. The Defence Forces have been the scapegoat for the Government, the easy option where it can make cuts. This has resulted in turmoil, relocation, uncertainty and confusion for all members of the Defence Forces and their families. Such tension and family displacement are not conducive to optimal operational viability and certainly not to good morale.

Figures provided to Fianna Fáil last month show there are now just 817 Army officers in the Defence Forces, a fall from 966 officers in 2002. It is a drop of more than 15%. There has been widespread concern in recent years about the depletion of the officer ranks and it is clear from the figures that the situation is becoming extremely serious. If the exodus continues and the issues continue to be ignored, there could be a serious impact on the operating capabilities of the Defence Forces. It has been reported that last year 75 officers left early, a rate that is simply unsustainable. Representative organisations say they have attempted to engage with the management to have their concerns addressed but, unfortunately, with little success. It is not just the Army that has experienced a drop in the number of officers. The Naval Service is down 7.5% and Air Corps personnel has fallen by 13.5%. It is essential that steps are taken to address the attrition rate in the Defence Forces and the loss of many highly-qualified, trained and skilled officers.

With the continuing fall in the numbers in the Permanent Defence Force, Fianna Fáil has consistently highlighted the grave concern that the departure of so many personnel could affect Defence Forces' operations and capabilities. I have had many conversations with the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, which has warned that the military is critically short of specialised officers, including pilots, aeronautical engineers and bomb disposal experts, and that a contributing factor to this brain drain has been the Department of Defence's refusal to honour conditions of service, such as previously agreed career promotional terms. The association said that this led many officers to quit as they saw no future for career development in the Defence Forces. The bomb disposal service is at half of its officer strength.

The Air Corps has been significantly short staffed in the aeronautical engineering department and has only 70% of the pilots it requires. It is estimated that 25% of senior Air Corps pilot posts remain unfilled due to the absence of suitably-qualified and experienced candidates. With known retirements this will soon increase to 38%. This starkly came to the fore following the awful tragedy off the coast of Mayo a short time ago. The Air Corps was not in a position to assist due to staffing difficulties. According to the general secretary of RACO, Commandant Earnan Naughton, the continual loss of organisational corporate memory and specialised knowledge requires immediate attention. He said that the investment required to deliver complex military capabilities requires human expertise to meet the broad spectrum of an increasingly technologically driven security environment.

The results of the Defence Forces climate survey undertaken in 2015 and published last year broadly found that personnel had become less happy with their work situation over the intervening years. While many of the respondents from all ranks said they still enjoy their work, there is a perception of a lack of justice and low morale in the organisation. Just under half of the respondents were unhappy with their career progression prospects and opportunities for promotion. There is an evident disconnect between what employees expect and how their expectations are met in many areas of pay and promotion. Almost 70% felt loyal to the Defence Forces and their values. Just 23% of members felt obliged not to look for work elsewhere. In transfers to other geographical areas some 30% felt obliged to move as requested.

Fianna Fáil believes the Defence Forces are of critical importance to both the State and society. Sadly, it has not always been clear that the Governments since 2001 have valued the defence organisations sufficiently. The decision in March 2011 to assign the defence portfolio as a subsidiary role to the Minister for Justice and Equality indicated a lack of respect for the portfolio. While it was not unreasonable to assign it with another Cabinet portfolio, to do so with the justice and equality portfolio, one of the busiest Departments, was a retrograde decision. What we require now is regular updates to be published by the Department of Defence on the progress made towards achieving the 88 separate actions. This should be done twice a year - once at the end of the year and once mid-year. The Minister could also attend meetings of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence to update members on it, perhaps a fortnight or three weeks after the publication of the report. Members of the Oireachtas could then have a detailed discussion each January, when the Houses resume, and each July, before the summer recess.

Finally, it is clear that serious steps must be taken to address the lack of respect for the Defence Forces in how they are treated. All they are seeking is to be treated with dignity and respect. We must ensure they are properly remunerated for the jobs they do, that we retain the officers we are fortunate to have at present and that we make the job more attractive so more people will join the Defence Forces.

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