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Defence Forces Remuneration

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 October 2018

Wednesday, 3 October 2018

Questions (50)

Bobby Aylward

Question:

50. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his plans to address the problems with recruitment and retention across the Defence Forces; his plans to improve pay and working conditions for members of the Defence Forces; his plans to improve pensions, benefits and retirement packages for former members of the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39965/18]

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Oral answers (7 contributions)

What are the plans of the Minister of State with responsibility for defence to address the problems with recruitment and retention throughout the Defence Forces, his plans to improve pay and working conditions for members of the Defence Forces, and his plans to improve pensions, benefits and retirement packages for former members of the Defence Forces? Will he make a statement on the matter?

Given the unique and demanding nature of military life, there is, understandably, a relatively high level of turnover among Defence Forces personnel. This is not new and the Defence Forces have always had a level of turnover that exceeds other areas of the public service. To balance personnel turnover, there is ongoing recruitment at enlisted and officer level. This includes general service recruits, apprentices, cadets and direct entry officers.

In 2017, under my direction, the Department of Defence brought issues of recruitment and retention in the Defence Forces to the attention of the Public Service Pay Commission. The Department of Defence has provided data as requested by the commission for consideration. The commission's work is ongoing. The Department will continue to engage with the commission throughout the process and will give due consideration to the findings and recommendations that arise from the work of the commission.

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. Members of the Permanent Defence Force have received the pay increases due under the Lansdowne Road agreement. New entrants to the Defence Forces will also benefit from the measures that were recently announced on amendments to the pay scales for new entrant public servants recruited since January 2011.

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. The first increase, due from 1 January 2018, has been paid to Permanent Defence Force personnel and a second increase is due to be applied from 1 October 2018. Further increases are scheduled for 2019 and 2020. By the end of the current public service pay agreement at the end of 2020, the pay of all public servants, including members of the Defence Forces, earning under €70,000 per annum will be restored to pre-financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, levels. The restoration of the 5% reduction to allowances cut under FEMPI is also scheduled in the agreement.

The Department operates within the broader context and framework of public service pension policy. I am advised that military pension schemes, in the round, compare very favourably with the generality of pension arrangements applicable across the public service. There are no plans to amend the existing pension arrangements of Defence Forces personnel.

The first step in solving a problem is to recognise one exists. The Minister of State has not realised we have a problem on our hands. I had hoped to hear an admission or acknowledgement from him that the Government recognises the scale and impact of the issues facing members of the Defence Forces and their families. I come from Kilkenny, a town with a military barracks, and I have met members of the Defence Forces and their families. Their situation is dire with regard to take-home pay and other benefits. Over the summer, I met a former member of the Defence Forces in Leinster House. His wife was suffering from cancer and he should have been at home looking after her. He explained to me that he had promised his fellow soldiers that he would do everything he could on retirement to lobby politicians and turn the tide for those who serve.

Does the Minister accept that morale is very low within the Defence Forces, that pay and conditions of service are very poor and that there is a retention crisis? Will he go into further detail in his supplementary response on his plans to address these issues in the context of the impending budget?

I thank Deputy Aylward for observing the time limit.

I am not sure if the Deputy heard but I have recognised the challenges facing the Defence Forces on various occasions recently. We are going through a process. As I stated in my original reply, under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020, PSSA, anybody with a salary of under €70,000 will have his or her salary restored to pre-FEMPI levels by 2020. The work of the Public Service Pay Commission is ongoing and it has received a robust, comprehensive joint submission from civil and military management, with detailed and evidence-based data. I expect a report on that shortly although I do not have a specific date. I will shortly receive a report on an earlier submission on pilot retention.

I wrote to the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, this week to start a dialogue about outstanding adjudications, which I hope the Department can discuss with PDFORRA over the next number of weeks.

I am listening to the Minister of State but I am talking about reality. What he is saying here is all rhetoric. As I said, I come from Kilkenny, a town with a military barracks. I know families who are affected by pay. Soldiers of this country are being badly left behind compared with other civil and public servants. They need a helping hand. Why are they on the working family payment, WFP? I know several military families in Kilkenny who are getting WFP. If they have a job in the public service, why are they on WFP? There is a reason for that and the Minister of State needs to wake up and see what is happening on the ground.

I will comment on the situation that has left many members of the 57th Infantry Group in an awkward position in Syria. There is much dismay among the families of those affected due to the manner in which this matter is being handled. A number of those affected by the delay have plans for vacation time with their families after six months' service in Syria, and they will now be forced to incur the costs of missed flights and accommodation deposits. Will the Minister of State and his Department investigate the possibility of assisting those affected in covering the associated costs of missing out on their travel commitments? I bring this up because four or five families contacted me yesterday whose husbands and fathers are serving in Syria where they will be stranded until 24 October. They need to be compensated for that and the families need to be looked after. I ask the Minister of State to take that on board also.

I announced this morning that the contingents will return home on Tuesday, 16 October. I took the decision this morning that personnel delayed in returning home will receive a €1,000 ex gratia payment in recognition of the disruption caused. I announced that in recognition of what the families are going through. This was done before the Deputy raised the issue. I have spoken to some of the families, many of whom are from Wexford, and members of my party have contacted me about this issue in recent days, including Deputies Phelan and Heydon, and a number of people from Cork. I understand the families will suffer and they may have had holidays planned, but they will receive an ex gratia payment of €1,000.

The Deputy spoke about the working family payment. Fewer than 1% of members of the Defence Forces and staff of the Department of Defence are in receipt of the working family payment. That payment is provided for a reason. Staff across the public sector receive the payment, as do employees in the private sector. The Defence Forces and the Department of Defence are not alone in this respect; other people also receive the payment. The working family payment is provided to assist families.

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