Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 April 2017
393. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the progress which has been made in his talks with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to secure funding to retain specialist personnel in the Defence Forces; and the status of efforts by his Department to improve the capacity of the Air Corps. [18859/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Public Service Pay Commission is expected to report in the coming weeks. Once this report is available, the Government intends to initiate negotiations on a successor to the Lansdowne Road Agreement. I can confirm that my Department has also recently submitted initial observations to the Commission, via the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform. As these matters are under deliberation, I trust the Deputy will appreciate that I am not in a position to disclose the content of the Department’s submission at this point in time.
Given the improvement in the domestic economy and demand for experienced pilots, the retention of experienced Pilot Officers in the Air Corps has been a significant challenge for the Defence Organisation in recent years, and there has been an outflow of experienced Air Corps Pilot Officers, both rotary and fixed wing. A Working Group comprised of Civil and Military personnel was established to look at ways of addressing the issue of how to retain sufficiently experienced Pilot Officers within the Air Corps. The Working Group’s report contained a number of recommendations ranging from increasing recruitment levels to examining the current terms and conditions of pilots. Work on the implementation of the Working Group’s recommendations is currently ongoing by both Civil and Military staff of the Defence Organisation. While there are a number of initiatives underway, realistically it will take time for a return to previous levels of capability in the Air Corps as pilots within the system progress to become aircraft commanders and newly qualified cadets become co-pilots.
With regard to efforts being made to improve the capacity of the Air Corps, there are four Air Corps Apprentice Aircraft Technician classes totalling 41 personnel in technical training. 5 Apprentice Technicians are due to qualify this summer. In addition, on March 13, 2017, new Apprentice Technicians began their training, and upon successful completion, they will qualify as Aircraft Technicians on the Air Corps Fixed and Rotary winged fleet. It is anticipated that these 10 Aircraft Technicians will qualify in Q2 2020.
It is planned that up to 25 Apprentice Aircraft Technicians will be inducted in Q3/4 2017. There are 6 Air Traffic Services personnel currently in training and a further 8 students commenced their training on Monday 27 March, 2017.
The Air Corps Pilot Officer Cadetship competition launched on 22 March, 2017 with a planned intake of up to 12 Cadets in Q3 2017. There are currently 3 Cadet Classes, comprising 27 personnel at various stages of their Pilot Officer 'Wings Course'. The 7 Cadets of the senior Cadet Class are due to be commissioned as Pilot Officers in Q4 2017.
