Speaking on this Estimate last week I was referring to the recruitment of suitable men for the Defence Forces. Unfortunately, methods of recruitment have not met with the success we would wish. I suggest to the Minister that some more imagination should be used to encourage suitable young men to join the Defence Forces. Officers have visited secondary schools for the purpose of recruiting suitable cadets. Perhaps it would be possible to arrange to meet parent groups in different areas; that might meet with some success.
I have a particular objection to one method of recruitment. When FCA units go into barracks for training a regular Army officer appears, generally after the first weeks training, and he encourages the young men to join the Army. There is nothing wrong in encouraging them to join the Army but I dislike the method adopted because some of these young men have joined, without their parents' permission, and have caused a great deal of inconvenience in their homes as a result of doing so. Farm work and business have been disrupted because they have not obtained the consent of their parents before joining the Army. This method of recruitment should be stopped.
With regard to the FCA, in 1949 the young men who went for annual training received a gratuity of £6 and in 1971 an FCA volunteer going on annual training receives the same amount of money. In 1949 an FCA NCO going on annual training got £8 and in 1971 he still receives the same gratuity. An FCA officer in 1949 received £10 and in 1971 the gratuity is still £10. An OC of an FCA company received £15 in 1949 and in 1971 the figure is the same.
I would ask the Minister to be realistic. Now that our FCA is a vital force in each brigade within the Army I would ask him to give some further encouragement and to increase the gratuity to a figure which is just and which bears some relation to present day standards. I should also like to refer to the FCA uniform which is to be replaced in a year, or in a year and a half's time. Over the past 20 years I have attended conferences in The Curragh with former Ministers for Defence, with OC's of the different commands in the Army and suggestions have been made to the Ministers in regard to the best method of improving the FCA and the best method of encouraging men to continue as good members.
I can truthfully say that in those 20 years, despite the fact that intelligent suggestions were made from both regular and FCA commanders, I have never seen one of those suggestions implemented. This hardy annual of improving the uniform of the FCA has been discussed up and down the country but still the same uniforms have been mass-produced. These are ill-fitting; they are either too long or too loose and rarely can they be described as being properly fitting. I suggest that it might be worth considering measuring men for their uniforms so that they will fit them. I have seen piles of measurement forms but I have seen nothing being done about it. Every man in the FCA and in the Army should be measured so that he will have a properly fitting uniform. It has been said here that rarely do we see men in the street who are proud of their uniforms. If properly fitting uniforms were issued it would be some contribution towards having a more contented group of men.
FCA transport is deplorable. If you have not got a mobile Army and mobile units then you just get bogged down. I know two FCA battalions in which there is practically no transport. In one battalion a station wagon has been taken away and given to another battalion, leaving the former unit without any transport.
The Government should make an adequate sum of money available to the Department in order to provide adequate transport for our Defence Forces. Why this position has been allowed to continue I do not know. Trucks purchased in 1952 are still being used and no effort is being made to replace them with modern transport. It is very difficult to understand the mentality behind the decision to permit a necessary corps of the Army to degenerate in this way. It is a tribute to our fitters and mechanics that they can maintain this transport in its present condition. Any visit to a barracks will show that the transport is well maintained but the cost of doing this must be prohibitive.
I should like now to refer to some injustices in the Army. A single man who retires after 21 years service gets no gratuity. There is no good reason why such a man should be deprived of a gratuity simply because he is not married. He gave the same service and did the same duties as a married man, yet he is not being rewarded. That is an injustice which should be rectified. Another injustice exists in regard to NCOs and men in receipt of old age pensions. When they receive the old age pension they go from the high rate of increment to the low rate. That is after 21 years service. The Department should look into this. These are just a few points to highlight some defects and a few suggestions so that things can be improved in the Defence Forces.
Reference was made to Army competitions and the suggestion was made that there should be more competitions. If those who made these suggestions were familiar with the competitions already operating they would not suggest overloading the present fine programmes of training. You have inter-company competitions, inter-battalion competitions, inter-brigade competitions and command and all-Army competitions in all weapons, in all sports and in all forms of athletics. If further competitions were introduced it is possible that the necessary training would not be given to the majority of the men in the forces. When you enter a competition you train a limited number to a very high standard and because you devote a lot of time to a small group it is probable that there is not the same time available to devote to the greater number.
If we continue with the programmes we have in operation and if we succeed as well as in the past we will be doing quite well. I should like to pay tribute to the men of the regular Army who introduced into the FCA the various competitions, whether basketball, football or other sports. I consider it a worthwhile project to introduce these various competitions in the battalions. I paid tribute last year to the men who were responsible for introducing these competitions and I should like to repeat my appreciation of the work carried out by the NCOs and the officers in this regard.
If we enter the EEC there will be further demands on our Army and it is essential that our equipment be maintained at a standard equal to that of other member countries of the Community. It is possible that we might have to make a contribution of, say, a battalion and should this situation arise we must be prepared to cope with it.
I should like to make reference to our Army personnel on overseas duties and I commend the Minister for the treatment he has given to Army men in this regard. Quite recently the men received some overtime payments which were due for overseas service and the Minister has the gratitude of the men. Our forces have distinguished themselves overseas, whether on the Gaza Strip, in Cyprus or elsewhere. Last year we made the complaint that they had not been paid in respect of this overtime and we are pleased that it is now rectified.
With regard to the Army bands, it is necessary to give some attention to the recruitment of men who have a flair for music. It is also desirable that the personnel in these bands should have an attractive uniform and I regret to say that I do not consider the present uniform very becoming. In the issue of uniforms to our Army personnel much more thought should be given to the design of the uniforms because it is important that the men present a neat and smart appearance. This is particularly essential when our Army appears at, for instance, the Dublin Horse Show, at functions for visiting dignitaries and on special occasions. Much is expected of our Army band and it is important that they present a smart appearance.
With regard to our equitation school, it is well known that those who have engaged in competitions abroad have brought credit to our country with the victories they have gained. However, if they are to continue to achieve good results in competitions abroad the men must have good animals. I suggest that our Army officers and those people who purchase suitable animals for our equitation school should visit the various shows throughout the country. They should take note of the animals who compete in the competitions in these shows and in this way they would be in a position to make recommendations regarding the purchase of suitable animals.
It is time we considered whether we are getting an adequate number of engineers in the engineering corps of the Army and if this is not so we should do something about it. Looking back over a number of years, I doubt whether we can feel happy about the situation. It is vital in any Army that the corps of engineers should be properly staffed and of a very high standard and this cannot be done if qualified engineers do not enter the corps.
Because of improved pay and conditions in the Army there should be a greater tendency for young men to offer their services but as the competition from civilian jobs is quite keen the Army have a difficult problem in recruitment. I am not suggesting that we should reduce in any way the method of discipline that exists in the Army because a high standard of discipline is vital. Some people have suggested that we should allow young men to wear their hair long, as in the popular trend, and they have suggested that this would encourage more recruits. However, that is a matter on which the Army authorities must use their own judgment and I realise that Army personnel must look neat and smart on all occasions.
In the matter of civil defence it is necessary to continue training throughout the country. It may not ever become necessary to cope with atomic fallout, but the information gained in civil defence lectures will be useful in civilian life. The men and women who attend these lectures gain useful knowledge; they are most efficiently trained and we should not underrate the contributions made by the instructors, wardens and Army officers who are involved in this work. We should encourage all civilians who are able to do so to volunteer their services to the civil defence effort.
Some complaints have been made about soldiers who do not get an opportunity because of age to go overseas. I am aware that a man must be medically fit before he can leave his own barracks or command. However, I have known men who went to the North of Ireland under canvas and they were able to endure their terms of duty. The age limit should be extended to give some of the soldiers an opportunity of sharing in the contribution made by their friends in the regular Army.
I am very pleased the Minister has strongly indicated his intention to improve conditions in the Army. I hope in the year to come he will continue to pay particular attention to the housing of our soldiers. The National Building Agency have, to date, erected between 400 and 500 houses for the Garda. That agency did a splendid job and they should now be directed to providing houses for our regular Army men. Men in Sarsfield Barracks in Limerick and Collins Barracks in Cork find it very difficult to get houses when they retire. Replacements have been made in Sarsfield Barracks and other places but it is only recently that effort was made. Again regular men assigned to duties in different areas should get priority from the local authority, and the Minister for Local Government, in consultation with local authorities, should allocate houses for these men. These men are assigned rapidly to an area. There is a big upset to their families if they cannot get suitable accommodation. This is a problem which has been in existence for years and it must be tackled at some stage or other.
It is gratifying to note the recent purchases of vessels for our Naval Service. We hope they will provide adequate coastal protection. This is an improvement which has been sought over a long number of years.
Although we would always hope our Defence Forces would not need to be a belligerent force and would always be assigned to peaceful missions, there should be no skimping on expenditure which is necessary to maintain and equip a modern Army. A great deal of leeway has to be made up because for years there has been far too much skimping. An effort must be made to rebuild something which has been overlooked for far too long.
