Vol. 402 No. 2
3 Mr. McCartan asked the Minister for Defence if the Government accept all of the recommendations of the Gleeson Commission report; the recommendations, if any, which have been implemented to date; if a timetable has been set for the implementation of the full report; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
31 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence if he will outline the current proposals in relation to improvements in Army pay and conditions; if these proposals are fully in line with the recommendations of the Gleeson report; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
34 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Defence the current situation in regard to Army pay; the additional resources he estimates will be required to meet pay increases next year; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 3, 31 and 34 together.
Shortly after the receipt of the Report of the Commission on Remuneration and Conditions of Service in the Defence Forces the Government decided to accept the recommendations relating to remuneration. The recommendations which have been or are being implemented are: new pay scales for line officers, special service officers and non-commissioned personnel; new rates of military service allowance; new rates of overseas allowance; new rates of prison allowance for security duty at Limerick and Portlaoise prisons; specialist pay for medical specialists; allowance for officers-in-charge of military hospitals; revised rates of flying pay for certain Air Corps personnel; revised allowance for foreign language proficiency; essential services allowance; explosive ordnance disposal duty allowance; new urban/rural rates of FCA allowance and new rates and revised arrangements for the payment of security duty allowance to officers.
The remainder of the recommendations in the report are acceptable in principle and I propose to proceed with their implementation subject, where appropriate, to consultation with the representative associations for military personnel which are at present being set up. These recommendations will be implemented as quickly as possible. The time frame for implementation will, of course, depend on the complexity of the individual items and on the consultative process with the representative associations.
The additional cost in 1991 resulting from the payment to members of the Permanent Defence Force of increases in pay and allowance will be in the region of £24 million and an appropriate provision will be made in the 1991 Estimates.
I am glad to see that the Minister was not covered by the ban on emblems in respect of the Presidential campaign which was agreed this morning at the meeting of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges and to say that he is welcome in the House.
He is an emblem himself.
He is a national symbol.
Would the Minister confirm that none of the recommendations in the Gleeson Commission Report, apart from those on pay, will be acted upon by the Government until a consultative process has been engaged in with the new representative bodies and that his statement, as carried in one of the national newspapers on 1 October that a special committee are considering the report and that he will not act before receiving their recommendations which are expected within a month, is inaccurate?
They are an internal Army committee and of course their recommendations will be considered by the representative bodies and acted upon by both the Government and me. Discussion has reached an advanced stage on one very valid recommendation in the report concerning the promotion system within the Army.
Would the Minister accept, given the complex nature of the discussions on the terms of reference and structures of the representative associations, that it will be some considerable time before the recommendations of the Gleeson Commission will be acted upon? Would he not consider it acceptable, given that all these bodies through the representative bodies made submissions to the Gleeson Commission, that the report should be acted on sooner rather than the later timescale he has now indicated to the House?
We are proceeding with all due expedition and I am hopeful we will get a revised and acceptable promotion system in place reasonably quickly. I can assure the Deputy that that matter is being pursued in a very thorough way at present.
Let us proceed to Question No. 4.
May I ask one other supplementary question?
It must be very brief. Let us not forget our obligation to complete the five questions.
Can the Minister undertake that any pay increases implemented as a result of the Gleeson report will not be offset by curtailment in the numbers to be recruited or in the closure of barracks around the country?
The Deputy is deviating now to another matter.
I do not want to speculate ahead to that extent.
Let us have a reply to Question No. 4.
