Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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67. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his plans to bring forward new measures to bolster the retention of serving members of the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52896/17]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Given the unique and demanding nature of military life, there is, understandably, a relatively high turnover of personnel in the Defence Forces on an annual basis. A certain level of turnover is desirable as a human resource and organisational objective, in order to maintain an appropriate age profile across the Defence Forces and to retain an approach to regular revitalisation. However, it is also important to ensure that turnover is ultimately beneficial to the organisation.

In recent years the levels of departures have exceeded intakes and this has presented challenges in meeting the establishment strength of 9,500 personnel. To address vacancies, significant targeted recruitment has taken place in 2017 which resulted, to date, in 702 personnel being inducted comprising of General Service Recruits, Cadets and specialists for the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service. This figure is expected to reach approximately 800 by the end of 2017.

In addition to my commitment to maximising recruitment I am cognisant of factors that can influence retention of existing members of the Defence Forces. I remain dedicated to ensuring that the terms and conditions of service, while remaining appropriate to the needs of the organisation, are as favourable as they can be within the current budgetary parameters.

As the Deputy will be aware, there is an ongoing programme of HR development within the Defence Organisation. I have recently announced a number of initiatives ranging from a review of the C&A Scheme, a review of the criteria governing Contracts for enlisted personnel and a comprehensive skills gap analysis across the Defence Forces. These directly address issues raised in the Climate Study. In addition the Chief of Staff is actively addressing matters relating to military management of work practices in the Defence Forces.

Following sign up by the Defence Forces Representative Associations to the Lansdowne Road Agreement, members of the Permanent Defence Force have benefitted from pay increases. These post-dated the Climate Survey. I was particularly pleased with recent adjustments to salary scales for general service recruits and privates who joined the Defence Forces since 2013 (increases of between 8% and 24% depending on scale point). The Public Service Stability Agreement 2018 -2020 also provides for further pay increases ranging from 5.75% to 7.25% depending on the individual’s current wage threshold and this is under consideration by RACO and PDFORRA.

The fact that further consideration by the Public Service Pay Commission of recruitment and retention issues is provided for under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020, is also a welcome development.

With the support of the Chief of Staff and within the resources available, the Government is committed to retaining the capacity of the Defence Forces to operate effectively across all roles and to undertake the tasks laid down by Government, both at home and abroad.