Aindrias Moynihan
Question:84. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Defence his considerations to immediately address the staffing issues in the Irish Naval Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34204/22]
View answerTuesday, 28 June 2022
Questions (84)
Written answers
The Government has previously acknowledged the recruitment and retention difficulties in the Naval Service which are presenting ongoing challenges. In response to these challenges, I approved a comprehensive Naval Service Regeneration Plan in 2021 which is being progressed and monitored by a high-level civil/military team.
The aim of the Plan is to address the issues facing the Naval Service in the context of Human Resources, Operational Capacity, and Infrastructure. A number of the staffing measures in the plan have been implemented and these include:
- The seagoing service commitment scheme, introduced in January 2021, aimed at retaining experienced personnel and incentivising sea-going duties. Discussions are ongoing with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to this Scheme.
- Revision of terms and conditions for certain specialists which resulted in the age limit for Naval Service technicians being increased from 27 to 29 years of age. In addition flexibility in respect of the starting pay for Marine Engineering Officers was introduced and is being progressed for certain other Naval Service specialists.
I remain committed to maximising recruitment capacity and introducing measures to return to, and maintain, the establishment strength in the Naval Service and the Defence Forces as a whole.
Such measures include ensuring that, in addition to ongoing traditional recruitment, the scope of direct entry competitions is kept under consideration. Of the 12 direct entry competitions being utilised in 2022, 8 are in respect of the Naval Service. The campaign to re-enlist and re-commission former members of the Permanent Defence Force has also boosted specialist numbers.
In relation to retention, there has been significant progress on pay arising from the Public Service Pay Commission recommendations along with increases from recent pay agreements. In addition to the Naval Service commitment scheme, which followed from the reintroduction of a successful service commitment scheme for Flying Officers in the Air Corps., a tax credit for sea going Naval Service personnel is another example of targeted measures I introduced.
The PSPC report on recruitment and retention in the Defence Forces made a range of recommendations with a view to addressing recruitment and retention issues and these have been progressed through a series of projects.
Furthermore, consideration of the recommendations of the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces is ongoing. I intend to revert shortly to Government with a proposed response to those recommendations and a high-level action plan, which will set out proposed timelines and oversight arrangements for its implementation.
In the interim, my focus remains on restoring all branches of the Defence Forces to the current agreed strength and in that context, as outlined above, significant work has been, and continues to be, undertaken.
Question No. 85 answered orally.