Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Defence Forces are the bedrock underpinning our safe and secure society. I have never questioned the loyalty or bravery of any member of the Defence Forces if he or she is serving overseas or serving here in Ireland and facing whatever issue they have to respond to. The Government values each member and the roles that members of the Defence Forces carry out along with members of An Garda Síochána and other State agencies. For this reason, the Government has tasked the Public Sector Pay Commission to examine recruitment and retention issues in the Defence Forces. That process is under way and submissions have been made. The commission is engaging with individual serving members of the Irish Defence Forces.

Public service pay and pensions are a significant component of Government expenditure. Similar to other areas within the public service, the pay of the Permanent Defence Force, PDF, was reduced during the financial crisis. The reduction in pay was on a graduated basis with increased rates of deductions for those on higher earnings. These actions were one of the measures necessary to be taken to stabilise the financial situation which the country faced following the economic collapse.

Improvements within the economy provided the opportunity to begin the unwinding of the public service pay cuts imposed on public servants, including members of the Defence Forces. The Defence Forces' pay is continuing to increase in line with other public sector pay agreements. The Permanent Defence Force representative associations balloted their members who voted to accept the terms of the pay agreements. The focus of these increases is weighted in favour of those on lower pay.

Members of the Defence Forces received increases in pay in 2017 under the Lansdowne Road agreement. In addition, in a separate deal agreed with the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, the pay of general service recruits and privates who joined the Permanent Defence Force from 1 January 2013 was increased further.

The Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 provides further increases in pay, ranging from 6.2% to 7.4% over the lifetime of the agreement, with the focus of the agreement once again being on the lower paid. The first increase due under the agreement from 1 January 2018 has been paid to Permanent Defence Force personnel and a second increase of 1% on annualised salaries is due on 1 October 2018, which we will see shortly.By the end of the current public service pay agreement the pay of all public servants, including members of the Defence Forces, earning under €70,000 per annum will be restored to pre-FEMPI levels. The restoration of cuts to allowances will also be considered in the context of the agreement.

Basic pay and military service allowance are only an element of the overall income package for members of the PDF. Members of the Defence Forces also receive a range of duty allowances depending on their assigned tasks. Almost half of the PDF personnel receive additional technical pay per week. The rate of technical pay ranges from €420 to €7,000 extra each year depending on the job of the individual member. When these allowances, excluding overseas peace support allowance, are added to basic pay, the current average gross income for a private three star and Naval Service equivalent is just over €35,000 per year. The average annual gross income for a sergeant is just under €45,000. In the officer ranks, the average annual gross income is €52,800 per annum for captains and €88,000 for colonels.

Defence Force personnel are also entitled receive to tax-free overseas allowances while participating in overseas military operations on direction of the Government. The number of personnel serving overseas has increased over the past number of years. As of 1 September 2018, Ireland is contributing 621 Defence Forces personnel to nine missions throughout the world.

Given the unique and demanding nature of military life, there is understandably a relatively high level of turnover among Defence Forces personnel. This is not new and the PDF has always had a level of turnover that far exceeds other areas of the public service. The total number who have left the Defence Forces in recent years is consistent with long term trends.

The Government is committed to maintaining the establishment of the PDF at 9,500 personnel and recognises that a key challenge for the Defence Forces is to reach and maintain this strength. Recruitment competitions have been held this year for general service, cadetships, apprentices and direct entries. The applications from these various competitions are being progressed and successful candidates are being inducted. Another general service recruitment competition is currently in process.

In 2016, the Government established an independent Public Service Pay Commission to provide objective analysis and advice on the most appropriate pay levels for the public service, including the Defence Forces. This informed the most recent pay agreement.

Under my direction, the Department of Defence raised recruitment and retention issues as part of the submission to the commission. The Government has tasked the commission with examining these challenges in the defence sector in more detail. This work has commenced and the Department of Defence has submitted detailed material. In consultation with the senior management of the Defence Forces, the commission has commenced surveying members of the Defence Forces and is being facilitated in this work by military management.

In addition, there is an ongoing programme of HR development within the Defence Forces. A number of initiatives ranging from a review of the conciliation and arbitration scheme, a review of the criteria governing contracts for enlisted personnel and a comprehensive skills gap analysis to the implementation of the Working Time Directive have been initiated. Measures to improve the work-life balance for members of the Defence Forces have also been advanced.

The Government continues to demonstrate its commitment to ensuring that the Defence Forces are equipped and trained to best international standards to meet operational requirements, both at home and abroad. The budget allocation for 2018 delivered an additional €25 million. An additional €98 million for capital expenditure has been provided out to 2021.

These measures address a range of issues that are aimed at ensuring the Defence Forces retain the capabilities to undertake the roles assigned by Government and remain a career of choice for anyone who wants to work in a challenging and varied environment which provides opportunities for lifelong learning and self-development.