Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 May 2024
2. Deputy Cathal Berry asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence to outline the additional allowances payable to Defence Forces Irish contingent personnel participating in the EU battle group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22068/24]
View answerI want to associate myself with those comments relating to Lieutenant General Seán Clancy as well. It is a great bit of news for the general personally, his family, the Defence Forces and Ireland. I very much welcome that appointment.
My question this morning relates to allowances payable to Defence Force personnel involved in the EU battle groups. I would be grateful if the Tánaiste could make a statement to the House.
Ireland’s active engagement in EU battle groups demonstrates our commitment to the development of EU capabilities in the area of crisis management and contributes to our overall credibility within the Union. It enhances our capacity to influence the ongoing development and evolution of the rapid response capacity of the EU, in particular, the role battle groups can play in reinforcing and acting as a strategic reserve for UN operations.
It also supports the development of rapid deployment skills and capabilities within the Defence Forces, together with improved interoperability with like-minded states. Our participation reflects our support for the UN where successive Secretaries General of the UN have endorsed the development of the EU battle group concept and Ireland's participation therein.
At an individual level, personnel who partake in the EU battle group are afforded a unique opportunity to train alongside EU defence personnel, an opportunity that should be seized upon.
The allowances that will be paid will be in line with duties being carried out by personnel participating in the EU battle group. It is important to note that Ireland has previously participated in the Nordic battle groups in 2008, 2011 and 2015, the UK-led EU battle group in 2016 and the German-led battle groups in 2012, 2016 and in 2020. In these cases no new allowances applied.
I can confirm that the following allowances and payments will apply to EU battle group 2025: personnel in receipt of technical pay will retain their technical pay for the duration of the tour of duty with EUBG 2024-25, once posted into a technical appointment; security duty allowance, at the appropriate rate, which is paid up to and including captain rank, will be paid for the duration of the stand-by period, that is, January 2025 to the end of December 2025, when personnel are on standby in barracks; personnel attached or posted to EUBG 2024-25 that are currently in receipt of border duty allowance will retain this allowance during the stand-up period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024; while engaged in multinational certification exercises off-island, personnel will be entitled to the daily course allowance; and in the event that personnel are operationally deployed, as part of the EUBG 2024-25, armed overseas peace support allowance will apply.
I thank the Tánaiste for that response.
I acknowledge and welcome the progress that has occurred over the past four years from a pay point of view in the lifetime of this Dáil, particularly from a basic pay perspective and also from the offshore allowances for the Naval Service perspective.
On the EU battle group, when I compare the positive trends in previous years for basic pay and the offshore allowances with the trend in EU battle groups, I feel we can do a bit better. I welcome the principle of a standby allowance and the principle of additional allowances paid if our troops are deployed operationally or on exercise to the Continent but the quantum needs to be looked at. If they go abroad, they get paid €13 extra a day before tax, which is the equivalent of a Big Mac meal. They should not be out of pocket deploying to the Continent. I would be grateful if the Minister might take a personal interest in the quantums here and see could they be adjusted upwards.
This is the first time ever that there has been a change in terms of allowances and supports for participation in an EU battle group. As I said, in the previous ones there were no allowances as such and this represents progress. The nature of the participation in the battle group is somewhat significantly different from that, say, in a UNIFIL mission or other mission abroad.
There is a claim before the conciliation council under the conciliation and arbitration scheme and that claim will be considered in that space. I cannot comment on that while it is within, but I have taken an interest in this and have pushed for and worked across government to get the changes that I outlined earlier in the latter part of my reply, which represent progress in respect of the EU battle group.
It is a significant opportunity as well in terms of experience and working with peers across Europe. It is not the intention that anybody would be out of pocket.
When the Tánaiste doubled the offshore allowances on 1 January last, it had a very positive effect on the Naval Service. I am encouraged that there is a claim before the conciliation council relating to the EU battle group. If the Tánaiste could take a personal interest in that claim, it would be very much appreciated.
There is one other anomaly I want to highlighted, which he mentioned. These allowances are payable up to the rank of captain only, which is unusual because a couple of commandants are to be deployed as well and they will not be entitled to any additional pay whatsoever. That is an anomaly. It is probably an archaic regulation from decades ago. If the Tánaiste could take a personal interest in modernising that, it would be hugely appreciated as well.
As he will be aware, Defence Force personnel cannot go on strike, and rightly so. They have reduced industrial relations status and that is why a personal intervention from the Cabinet table at government level is really important. I would be grateful for the Tánaiste's intervention in this regard.
I was pleased to attend the PDFORRA conference yesterday in Cavan. We had a good exchange and a good discussion. They acknowledged a lot of progress in the past 15 months and I appreciate the Deputy has as well in respect of a range of issues, not only pay and allowances but the progress we have made on the working time directive, the retirement age, etc.
We have made further progress here. I hear what the Deputy has to say on the anomaly in respect of captains. The Deputy calls it an "archaic regulation". I will examine that. The framework that has evolved over the years can be quite complex but we need to be careful when we change that we do not have unintended consequences either. Given the pay structure within the Defence Forces, allowances are important as well. We have substantially increased the starting pay but the structure of the military is such that, say, from the initial years, members are depending on promotion and various allowances to top up the pay. That is a structural historic issue and that is why the allowances are important.
