Martin Heydon
Question:69. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the measures being considered to improve retention rates among the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34381/18]
View answerTuesday, 24 July 2018
Questions (69)
Written answers
The nature of military service requires that the age and health profile of personnel in the Defence Forces must be appropriately managed to ensure that capability requirements are met. In this context, the Defence Forces have a higher level of turnover than other areas of the public service and this is a feature of military organisations internationally.
Rates of pay and conditions of employment in the Irish public service have traditionally been set by, amongst other things, reference to levels of pay across the various sectors of the Irish public service. Defence Forces pay is increasing in accordance with public sector pay agreements. The focus of these increases is weighted in favour of those on lower pay. Following on from previous pay increases, the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 provides for increases in pay ranging from 6.2% to 7.4% over the lifetime of the Agreement with the focus of the agreement once again being on the lower paid. A 1% increase in annualised salaries due from 1 January 2018 has already been paid to members of the Permanent Defence Force.
In 2017, under my direction, the Department of Defence raised certain recruitment and retention issues as part of the submission to the Public Service Pay Commission. In a further acknowledgement of these issues the Government tasked the Public Service Pay Commission with examining these challenges in the Defence Sector in more detail. The Public Service Pay Commission has commenced this work and has requested detailed information from the Department of Defence. Defence management have forwarded some material and further material will be sent to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in the coming weeks. The Public Service Pay Commission is due to complete this work in the second half of 2018. The findings and proposals arising will be considered at that time.
There is an ongoing programme of HR development within the Defence Organisation, of which part is aimed at ensuring that there is an appropriate work-life balance and addressing matters such as promotion and training and education. These are important factors which contribute to work satisfaction across the Defence Forces.
The measures I have set out address a range of factors and are aimed at ensuring that the Defence Forces retain the capabilities to undertake the roles assigned by Government and remains a valued career choice.