Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Táimíd buíoch go bhfuil an t-ádh agam labhairt ar an ábhar seo and tá sé i gconaí tábhachtach. Mar atá sé ráite ag cainteiorí eile, ár mbuíochas a ghabhaíl lena fir agus na mná sna Forsaí Slandála.

I always welcome the opportunity not only to welcome the Minister of State but to commend the commitment and dedication of the men and women of the Defence Forces, not least those who have undertaken such impressive and awe-inspiring search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea.

I will make a number of points before putting a number of questions. I will go through them as succinctly as I can because most of them have been raised by colleagues. Since 2009, the salaries and allowances of Defence Forces personnel have been cut significantly. Many rely on family income supplement as the pay is so low.

There is a serious problem with recruitment and retention in the Defence Forces, particularly at officer level, to which the Minister of State alluded in his contribution. Many are taking up better paid jobs in the private sector and, therefore, we have a brain drain. Senator Dolan asked a fair question about what is being done not only to react to the brain drain but to invest to ensure there is not a repetition of this in the future among those who are recruited. The fact that the Public Service Pay Commission has prioritised the examination of recruitment and retention issues in the Defence Forces demonstrates the seriousness of the problem. The Minister of State needs to outline when the Department’s submission to the commission will be completed. He also needs to outline if he has engaged with PDFORRA, the representative of the ordinary rank and file members, in preparing this submission in order that the views of ordinary members of the Defence Forces are represented in this regard.

The European committee of social rights recently recommended that members of the Defence Forces should have the right to collective bargaining. Sinn Féin supports this right and has introduced legislation in the Dáil to give effect to it. We are calling on the Minister of State to immediately introduce an effective mechanism to give effect to the decision of the European committee. We also commend PDFORRA for taking this action. It is a disgrace that members of the Defence Forces were forced to go to Europe to have this basic right vindicated.

On the issue of European militarisation and neutrality, I would appreciate if the Minister of State could clarify if he supports the position adopted by the four Fine Gael MEPs in respect of our neutrality and if this is now considered Government policy. Fine Gael MEPs recently voted in the European Parliament in favour of a report calling for each member state to spend 2% of their current GOP on defence. Currently, Ireland spends 0.3% of its GDP on defence. The Minister of State needs to clarify if he supports this position and if he intends to increase defence spending in line with other member states. While Sinn Féin supports increased investment in our Defence Forces, in particular to address issues such as pay, we have huge concerns at proposed increases to align us with the European militarisation agenda, particularly given the demands in terms of housing and health within society.

I raised with the Minister of State's predecessor the issue of planning and administering recruitment drives throughout the State. We are approaching a time, for example, where universities will be holding freshers' fairs and there will be any number of events throughout the summer. What obstacles does the Minister of State face in instructing the Defence Forces to recruit nationally and to attend universities in the Six Counties and other such events where appropriate? This would give young people from the North who may wish to avail of a career in the Defence Forces the easiest and most comfortable avenue to do that. Perhaps it is an unfair question to throw at him now but could he reflect on that and revert with a response?