Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom fáilte mhór a chur leis an Aire Stáit go dtí on Teach. Like many Irish people, I am deeply proud of our Defence Forces and the Civil Defence and the contribution they make to our communities.Their contribution to Irish society cannot be overestimated and when we talk about our Defence Forces, especially those overseas, we cannot forget about their families who also pay a high price for the role that their loved ones take on behalf of the State. We should always remember that and appreciate that in our comments.

It is saddening to see that the figures for the Defence Forces currently stand at 9,057. I am sure the Minister of State would agree that is a low number and is 443 below the agreed recommended strength. Despite the fact that in 2016 and 2017 we had recruitment campaigns, the problem still exists. That tells us that we have a real problem in attracting new people to the Defence Forces and a serious problem in retaining the numbers we have. That in turn raises another question, namely, what is the problem? Clearly the terms and conditions which those members of the Defence Forces enjoy, if that is the right word to use, need to be looked at. Clearly people are speaking with their feet because they are not joining and large numbers of those who are here are leaving, which is disconcerting. As a result, this issue remains to be solved to a level that is satisfactory to all concerned, despite the Minister of State's best efforts. A report in todays edition of the Irish Examinernewspaper claims that last year alone, the taxpayer spent €15 million to replace Defence Forces personnel who left because of pay issues.

That is a very concerning fact and a lot of Defence Forces personnel depend on social welfare payments to put bread and milk on their table. A recent survey of Defence Forces personnel who are in receipt of family income support tells its own story. A total of 792 privates, 519 corporals and 58 captains are getting family income support. It goes to show that this problem stretches right across all ranks. If we are serious about it, the elephant in the room is pay and conditions. Other Members have alluded to it. To be fair, it is not a problem the Minister of State faces in his area alone but is a problem faced across many sectors including the nursing and teaching professions. It is an issue that needs to be tackled if we are going to retain people and attract new people to join the Defence Forces. It is right and proper to acknowledge the reasonable work done by PDFORRA and the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, on behalf of their members. Their approach and contribution on these issues has been very measured, as I am sure the Minister of State, with whom they have a good relationship, will agree. I hope that with their best efforts, we can see some progress in this light. It has to be said that this Fine Gael-led Government's decision to not have a full Ministry at the Cabinet table for defence is a backward step and it is one I would like to see reversed. I am sure the Minister of State himself would like to see his feet under the Cabinet table and I am sure he is well capable of doing that. It does not make his job any easier when he goes to his colleagues and he tries to make a case for the hard-working men and women of the Defence Forces but if we are serious about doing that, this is something we need to look at.

To conclude, I thank the Minister of State for his continuing efforts to address this important issue. The security of our State is what we are talking about. It is about basic respect for the men and women who stick on a uniform to defend that State and all they are looking for are reasonable terms and conditions in order for them to stay within that job.