Edward Nealon
Question:33 Mr. Nealon asked the Minister for Defence the total number of serving Air Corps pilots; the number of those who have sought to leave; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Air Corps Statistics.
At present there are 79 pilots serving in the Air Corps. In addition, seven junior officers are due to complete their basic flying training course in June 1990 while a further 11 young officers who were commissioned on 7 May 1990 will commence flying training immediately.
In 1989, 17 applications to retire were received from Air Corps pilots while one further application has been received in 1990.
Does the Minister think that the total number of 17 or 18 who have applied to leave out of a total of 90 or 95 is very high? Can he say how this compares with previous years and what are the major reasons for this?
The number of applications last year was quite high. For some reason that has stopped this year. I know we are only four or five months into the year but there has been only one application for the current year. There was certainly a rush last year. I hope morale has improved. My information is that it has. With the institution of the representative bodies I feel that there will be greater understanding and consensus within the Defence Forces generally. I think the legislation we passed here will lead to much more understanding within the force as a whole.
That will depend on what the Minister does with the Gleeson report.
That is the important thing.
So also is the legislation, defective as it is, that we passed here. Let me also ask the Minister what is the current attitude of the military authorities towards granting leave to people who are seeking to leave the Army.
That would depend on the category. We are very chary about granting release to pilots. After very complex and detailed training there is an obligation to the State and to the taxpayer and it is only right and proper that following such expensive training a pilot should be retained for a reasonable period. I do not see anything wrong with that in principle.
Does it not cause major difficulty and is it not very bad for morale if there are people in the force who are discontented? Is this not a major crisis that should be approached either by making the Air Corps much more attractive to the people serving in it or by enabling them to leave when they desire so to do?
I am not pleading an easy way out but the conflict between military air forces and major civil airlines in regard to what each can afford to pay their pilots is a fact of life we have to live with.