Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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356. To ask the Minister for Defence the position regarding the conciliation and arbitration scheme review for members of the Permanent Defence Forces in PDFORRA's request regarding privates and corporals serving beyond 21 years. [49476/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As I have outlined previously to the House, a claim has been received from the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association (PDFORRA) in relation to this matter and it is being dealt with under the Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme for members of the Permanent Defence Force.

Discussions have been taking place with the Representative Association, with regards to their claim, under a special Subcommittee of Conciliation Council. As discussions under the Scheme are confidential to the parties involved, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the matter at this time, other than to emphasise that in dealing with this issue the manpower and operational needs of the Defence Forces must be the primary consideration.

As Military life places unique physical and psychological demands on individuals it is necessary that its members be physically and mentally prepared to meet the challenges of all military operations and to undertake their duties on deployment overseas. It is vital the age and health profile of personnel be such as to ensure that operational capability and effectiveness are not compromised. As such, in order to maintain the age profile of the PDF to carry out the operational tasks required by Government, it is necessary to have a constant input of recruits into the PDF. The maximum age for personnel who have enlisted in the PDF post 1 January 1994 provides the mechanism through which a satisfactory age profile can be achieved.

While there was significant progress made in recent discussions between PDFORRA and Civil and Military Management on this issue, it was not possible to reach full agreement. As a result, the issue is being referred to third party adjudication for a ruling. It is planned that the adjudication hearing will take place on 30 January 2015, following the exchange of submissions between the parties.

In the meantime work is continuing on exit support measures to support those due to be discharged. A number of military courses and other skills courses are already accredited with various third level institutions and professional bodies. In addition, a comprehensive training course to aid transition to civilian life for these personnel, which involves a skills appraisal and review of a person’s service history and training already provided, is currently being piloted.