Vol. 480 No. 8
10 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Defence if he will review the current system of contract in the Air Corps and make the retirement and retention system more flexible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15139/97]
41 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Defence whether the incentive scheme for Air Corps pilots announced by his Department on 1 August 1997, has been introduced; if so, the number of pilots who had applied to retire from the Air Corps at the time of that announcement; the results of those applications; the number of those applicants who have been offered the incentive to remain in the Air Corps; the number of those applicants who have accepted the incentive to remain; the number of applications to retire which have been received from pilots since the incentive scheme was announced; the results of those applications; the number of those applicants who have been offered the incentive to remain in the Air Corps; the number of those applicants who have accepted the incentive to remain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15166/97]
47 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Defence whether the incentive scheme for Air Corps pilots announced by his Department on 1 August 1997, has been introduced; if so, the number of pilots who had applied to retire from the Air Corps at the time of that announcement; the results of those applications; the number of those applicants who have been offered the incentive to remain in the Air Corps; the number of those applicants who have accepted the incentive to remain; the number of applications to retire which have been received from pilots since the incentive scheme was announced; the results of those applications; the number of those applicants who have been offered the incentive to remain in the Air Corps; the number of those applicants who have accepted the incentive to remain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15169/97]
49 Mr. Browne (Carlow-Kilkenny) asked the Minister for Defence whether the incentive scheme for Air Corps pilots announced by his Department on 1 August 1997, has been introduced; if so, the number of pilots who had applied to retire from the Air Corps at the time of that announcement; the results of those applications; the number of those applicants who have been offered the incentive to remain in the Air Corps; the number of those applicants who have accepted the incentive to remain; the number of applications to retire which have been received from pilots since the incentive scheme was announced; the results of those applications; the number of those applicants who have been offered the incentive to remain in the Air Corps; the number of those applicants who have accepted the incentive to remain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15167/97]
57 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Defence whether the incentive scheme for Air Corps pilots announced by his Department on 1 August 1997, has been introduced; if so, the number of pilots who had applied to retire from the Air Corps at the time of that announcement; the results of those applications; the number of those applicants who have been offered the incentive to remain in the Air Corps; the number of those applicants who have accepted the incentive to remain; the number of applications to retire which have been received from pilots since the incentive scheme was announced; the results of those applications; the number of those applicants who have been offered the incentive to remain in the Air Corps; the number of those applicants who have accepted the incentive to remain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15168/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 10, 41, 47, 49 and 57 together.
An incentive scheme targeted at certain categories of Air Corps pilots was announced by my Department on 1 August, 1997 in response to the increasing number of Air Corps pilots seeking to retire to take up employment in the civil sector. The details of this scheme are being finalised with a view to full implementation in the very near future.
At 1 August 1997 a total of 16 pilots had applied to retire from the Air Corps in 1997. Of these applications ten had been given retirement dates in 1997 and six had been given dates in 1998. Six of the officers given dates in 1997 have now retired.
Since the scheme was announced a further three applications to retire have been received by the military authorities from Air Corps pilots. These applications are being processed by the military authorities and will be submitted to me for decision shortly. Each case is considered on its own merits having regard to length of service, appointment held by the officer in question and overall operational requirements of the Air Corps.
I have indicated previously that the situation will be kept under constant review over the coming months to see if there is any scope to allow retirements at an earlier date.
Any officers who have been given retirement dates for 1997 or 1998 and who wish to reconsider their applications in the light of the introduction of the incentive scheme will be facilitated.
Has the rapid and frequent movement of people out of the Air Corps had a destabilising effect on overall operations, and is the taxpayer getting value for money in the context of State investment in training pilots?
The taxpayer is getting value for money. As to the first part of the Deputy's question, the service has not been destabilised. However, the outflow of highly trained and sophisticated operational pilots from the Air Corps has created a problem which is brought about by the call of commercial airlines and the money they offer to highly trained pilots. In that sense the Air Corps is the victim of the Celtic tiger. The more commercial airlines there are the more pressure is put on highly trained pilots to leave the Air Corps.
I introduced an incentive scheme involving the payment of gratuities of £10,000 per annum to selected pilots in return for an agreed contract of service. It is envisaged that around one third of the pilots in the Air Corps will qualify. The scheme applies to experienced officers who are qualified to fly larger twin-engined aircraft. This incentive scheme is available only to pilots, that is, flying officers in the strict and unequivocal sense of that word. It will not be available to anybody else. It is a scheme that might attract some of these men who have given terrific service to the Air Corps, who are of the very highest quality in flying and personal achievement terms. I would like to think the scheme will be considered seriously by them because the taxpayer gets extremely good value for money, and the scheme might solve a problem. However, I cannot, and will not, force people to go anywhere in the service of their country, nor will I force anybody to stay in the Air Corps against their wishes and will do my best to facilitate them to leave the Air Corps when it does not affect the overall good running of the Air Corps. I am not in the business of compelling people to stay in the organisation.
I take the Minister's point. Is the net complement in the Air Corps affected by the 16 people who applied to leave before August this year and the three who have applied since? Will replacement personnel be recruited as these people are given leave to retire from the service?
The Air Corps is hugely attractive to young men and women, so there will be no problem about recruitment. The problem is the length of service. The Deputy will appreciate that a new recruit learning how to fly is less valuable than a pilot with 15 years service. There has been a problem in that regard. There are currently 92 pilots in the Air Corps. If all officers who have applied for retirement to date proceed with their applications the number of pilots will be reduced to 79. I will give some figures which will put the Deputy's question in context. In 1993 one pilot retired; in 1994 six pilots retired, in 1995 four pilots retired and in 1996 nine pilots retired and, to date, in 1997 six pilots have retired. The current upturn in the civil aviation industry and resulting financially attractive packages available to a number of Air Corps pilots seeking to retire has contributed significantly. Rather than imposing compulsory retention on such personnel, it is proposed that an incentive scheme will be offered instead. Such incentive schemes are not uncommon in Defence Forces in other countries where similar difficulties exist in retaining qualified personnel.
The Air Corps could not sustain full operational capacity if the current loss of experienced personnel were to continue at the 1997 level. The incentive scheme will apply primarily to the experienced personnel who fly the Gulf Stream, Beach Craft, CASA and Dauphin aircraft which are the principal operational aircraft in the Air Corps. The number of officers engaged in flying duties or in direct management of these aircraft represents one third of flying officers in the Air Corps.
The incentive scheme is being introduced with a view to retaining senior pilots who occupy key appointments in such areas as sea and air rescue, search and rescue, maritime surveillance and ministerial air transport. The gratuity of £10,000 per annum is designed to strike a balance between the demand of the commercial environment and the need to exercise responsibility in relation to public service pay. The gratuity will be payable to those officers who undertake to remain in the service for a further, three, four or five year period.
No officer has been refused permission to retire. It has not been possible however to permit all officers to retire on the date sought. I will place no obstruction in the way of any member of the Defence Forces who wishes to leave. I will do my best for them. Many of them have given honourable and decent service and they should be treated honourably and decently.
The Air Corps does a magnificent job and it is extremely important that there are enough pilots to maintain the range of services it provides. Has the incentive scheme been introduced or is it still the subject of negotiations? Is the Minister concerned about the possible effect of such a scheme on other members of staff? The Minister has to strike a balance in providing an incentive to retain staff — this is critical — but there is a danger that other members of staff may become discontent. How does the Minister propose to deal with this?
The incentive scheme is still the subject of negotiations. If a scheme is introduced for a particular group another will be disappointed. I am sorry if people are discontent but the scheme will be available only to those who are flying aircraft. If people decide to leave there will be angst and concern but I will not stand outside Baldonnel Aerodrome to prevent them leaving. I would like them to avail of the scheme as I wish to retain their expertise in the service for a three, four or five year period. In the context of the overall need to contain public pay, the offer is a generous one. It is directed specifically at pilots, the men in the flying machines, nobody else.
The Minister may have to consider introducing a separate incentive.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
