Vol. 419 No. 9
3 Mr. Belton asked the Minister for Defence if he will now consider paying to soldiers a similar Border duty allowance to that paid to gardaí on Border duty; whether, following his attendance at the PDFORRA conference, he is convinced of the inequality that exists relating to this matter; and when he expects to be in a position to make a constructive proposal on this matter.
18 Mr. Nealon asked the Minister for Defence if he attended the PDFORRA Conference in Galway last week; and the plans he has to take constructive action on the areas of concern discussed.
43 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Defence if, taking into account the serious statements made by PDFORRA regarding pay and conditions in the Defence Forces, he will outline the steps he proposes to take to remedy this; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
59 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Defence if he will outline his response to calls for an end to discrimination and the introduction of new pay structures for the Defence Forces made at the PDFORRA conference; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
62 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for Defence if he attended the PDFORRA conference in Galway last week; and the plans he has to take constructive action on the areas of concern discussed.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 3, 18, 43, 59 and 62 together. At the invitation of the national executive of the association I attended the first PDFORRA annual delegate conference in Galway on 13 May 1992 where I addressed the delegates from the four commands, the Air Corps and the Naval Service.
As regards pay and other conditions of service the position is that these matters were the subject of an independent review by the Gleeson Commission. The commission received submissions from teams representative of privates, non-commissioned officers and officers and undertook a thorough examination of all the issues involved. Their findings represented an objective assessment by an independent body. The implementation of the financial aspects of the commission's recommendations — pay, allowances and so on — was approved immediately by the Government following the issue of the report.
In addition members of the Permanent Defence Forces now, for the first time, have representative structures, through which to represent their members in regard to conditions of service. A commitment has also been given to establish a scheme of conciliation and arbitration. The scheme will provide that where there is no agreement at the conciliation level and the matter is arbitrable it may be referred to an independent and unbiased arbitrator.
It is open to the associations to pursue the various matters which come within their scope of representation by formulating proposals and presenting them through the newly-established machinery. Any such proposals will be carefully and fully examined by my Department.
Will the Minister of State agree that Army personnel engaged on Border duties carry out the same duties, often under bad conditions, as members of the Garda Síochána? Is it not the Minister's duty to compensate the security forces for their poor working conditions?
This matter was addressed by the Gleeson Commission who specifically referred to the fact that the provision of aid to the civil power necessarily involved contact on a regular basis between Defence Forces personnel and members of the Garda Síochána. However, the commission came to the conclusion that the great majority of military personnel were engaged in duties that were quite dissimilar to the work of the Garda Síochána and that the work of the military and the Garda Síochána was not broadly comparable in most respects. The commission made this point clearly.
As I stated the conciliation and arbitration machinery is open to members of the Defence Forces and they should use this mechanism to pursue any claims they might have.
Will the Minister give me an assurance that there is support for increasing the allowances of Army personnel on Border duty?
I can give the Deputy an assurance that any recommendation put to the Minister and the Department will be fully and carefully considered as were the recommendations of the Gleeson Commission which were put to the Government. They were acted on very quickly.
