Brendan Howlin
Question:118 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Defence if it is intended to introduce legislation to allow members of the Defence Forces the right to strike; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4670/03]
Written Answers. - Defence Forces Rights.
As I indicated to the House on 12 December 2002, amending the Defence Act to allow the provisions of the Industrial Relations Act 1990 to apply to members of the Defence Forces would be wholly inappropriate. I know that PDFORRA has stressed the concept of the soldier as a "citizen in uniform" with the implication that the soldier's conditions of employment should largely replicate conditions in the civilian world. However, in a professional military organisation, this approach is simply not practical and this is widely recognised internationally. The position is that when an individual decides to join the Defence Forces, he or she voluntarily accepts, inter alia, a range of obligations and responsibilities which do not normally arise in the course of civilian employment. The taking of any form of industrial action is irreconcilable with military service.
I am satisfied that the mechanisms available to the representative association through the Defence Forces' conciliation and arbitration scheme, with its access to facilitation and arbitration and parallel discussion during national pay talks, provide a framework within which issues of concern can and should be addressed. It should be noted that members of the Defence Forces have been offered and have accepted the terms of all recent national pay agreements.