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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 19 Feb 2003

Vol. 561 No. 5

Written Answers. - Defence Forces Career Development Plan.

Liz McManus

Question:

134 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Defence when the promised new career development plan for the Defence Forces will be introduced in regard to the commitment given in An Agreed Programme for Government; the main features of the plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4676/03]

A draft integrated personnel management system, or IPMS, has been prepared by the military authorities and is now being considered by the Department's civil-military strategic management committee. The IPMS will encompass a new career development plan.

The requirements, which the IPMS must meet, are set out in chapter 4.5 of the White Paper on Defence. The focus is on ensuring the availability of military personnel with the appropriate skills to undertake whatever tasks the State requires. In this regard, the IPMS will try to ensure that personnel policies and practices keep pace with current best practice to the benefit of the organisation and its people.

In simple terms, the IPMS will deal with the broad range of personnel and human resource management and development issues. These include manpower policy and planning, equality of opportunity and treatment and the right to dignity at work, recruitment, terms of enlistment, induction, training education and development, physical and medical fitness, career guidance management and development, promotion, the regulatory framework, retirement, and pensions.
Within that broad context, it is intended that there would be a career development plan for all Defence Forces personnel. It is important to note that the issues which the IPMS must address are very complex and that the details, including the details of the career development plan, have yet to be finalised and agreed.
I do not want to pre-empt the discussions taking place in the strategic management committee. However, in a general way a career development plan would seek to ensure that people joining the Defence Forces are aware of the career opportunities available to them and are also aware of the standards to be reached and maintained. The plan would be designed to give to all personnel the right blend of skills training, education, work assignments and experience to equip them to carry out their tasks, to enhance the quality of their work life and to enable them to compete for promotion opportunities.
There would also be an updated performance management system and performance appraisal and feedback, which would have an appropriate element of career guidance and management built into it. All personnel, whether officers or enlisted personnel, would be covered by the plan.
As I mentioned already, the IPMS is being discussed by the strategic management committee. Once these discussions are completed, I expect that a final draft of the IPMS will be submitted to me. Before any final decisions are taken, it is my intention that the Defence Forces representative associations will be fully consulted in a spirit of partnership in accordance with the system of representation. I hope to see the IPMS finalised later this year.
Question No. 135 answered with Question No. 130.
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