Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 November 2021
74. Deputy Cathal Berry asked the Minister for Defence the action he has taken to address the service limits that apply to personnel who enlisted in the Permanent Defence Force after 1 January 1994; when he proposes to provide clarity to these persons in relation to their service contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56304/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe most urgent, pressing and important matter in the Defence Forces at the moment is the need to bring clarity to the situation pertaining to employment contracts for enlisted personnel who joined after 1994. It is an issue of huge concern and is causing a lot of angst, frustration and anger across the Defence Forces. I ask the Minister to bring clarity to the situation if possible.
As the Deputy is aware, military life places unique demands on individuals and it is necessary that Defence Forces personnel are prepared to meet the challenges of all military operations. For this reason compulsory retirement ages for ranks in the Permanent Defence Force are considerably lower than in many other forms of employment. The age and fitness profile of the Permanent Defence Force has been the subject of a number of reviews. A range of policies were introduced to ensure an appropriate age profile and levels of fitness including fixed-term contracts for certain ranks enlisted from 1994 onwards.
Arising from an adjudication in 2015, it was agreed that a further review of contracts of service for line corporals and privates and corporals in receipt of technical pay 1 and 2 would be conducted. It was subsequently agreed with PDFORRA that all privates and corporals recruited post-1994 would be allowed to continue in service to 31 December 2022 or until they reach the age of 50, provided these personnel meet certain criteria during the interim period including medical grades and fitness tests. This agreement was extended to include post-1994 sergeants who can also continue to serve to the same date, subject to their meeting similar criteria in the interim period. These measures are in place to provide time for the review to be completed.
A joint civil and military review of mandatory retirement ages of all ranks in the Permanent Defence Force has been conducted. The review has taken into account the report of the Public Service Pay Commission on recruitment and retention in the Permanent Defence Force which included in its recommendations the need to consider options to tackle barriers to extended participation in the Permanent Defence Force.
The recommendations in the joint civil and military review require consideration from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to implications on costs and pensions. Discussions with PDFORRA will take place following consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. I have said previously that I want to provide clarity on this issue before the end of the year but this is not solely my nor my Department's decision. We have to work with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform as well. Nonetheless, that is a commitment I have given and my Department will continue to work to deliver on it.
I thank the Minister for his helpful response. I appreciate his commitment to honour his previous commitment to provide clarity by 31 December, which is only a few weeks away. That commitment will be appreciated across the military community provided it is honoured, which I presume it will. The important point to remember is that this is not just about the hundreds of troops who may be mandatorily discharged next year against their will but also about the people who left yesterday and who will leave today and tomorrow because of the uncertainty of the situation. The sooner the Minister can clarify with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform the situation with regard to these people's contracts, the better.
Is the Government's commitment to maintain the level of the Defence Forces at 9,500 an aspiration? Is it the Government's stated or actual position because the numbers are hovering at around 8,500 and have not really increased in the last 18 months.
We are 1,000 people short. That is the straight answer to that question. We need to get back up to 9,500 and if the commission recommends more, we will have to consider that and we will do so, as a Government.
On the 1994 contract issue, I have spoken to quite a few personnel who are affected by this. I have given them a commitment that we will give them clarity 12 months out, well before it would take effect at the end of next year, should there be changes. I want to try to deliver on that but it is not within my gift alone. We are working with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform which has a job to do here in terms of the cost and pension implications. We are trying to finalise those discussions so that I can give clarity, as I said I would, before the end of the year. I want to try to give a full 12 months notice vis-à-vis any changes that may be made. I have spoken to PDFORRA about this. It knows my views and I will meet the association again next week.
That is quite a useful response and will provide some measure of reassurance to the hundreds of impacted troops and their families. On a more general note, I take the Minister's point that we want to have young soldiers. We also want to have young gardaí, firefighters and prison officers but entrants to those three professions are not subjected to the same types of contracts as military personnel. In that context, we need to overhaul the contractual employment situation for Irish troops. When people join the Irish Prison Service, the fire service or An Garda Síochána, they get to stay for life and there are incentivised early retirement schemes in place to move people along. That is the model we should be using for the Defence Forces. Rather than have very restricted and finite terms and conditions that lead to very precarious employment situations, we should move towards the Garda model for our Defence Forces.
In the next few weeks we are going to see what I hope will be a very considered and detailed report from the commission on the recruitment and retention issues more generally across the Defence Forces. We will have to take on board the commission's recommendations and try to be as effective as we can be in ensuring that a career in the Defence Forces is attractive and exciting and provides opportunities for promotion, advancement and upskilling. We also have to make sure that we have a Permanent Defence Force that is fit for purpose and can perform the very demanding roles it takes on. We must ensure that the fitness profile and human capacity is there to be able to deliver on the challenges faced by the Defence Forces. We can get that balance right. As I have said previously, people are fitter for longer now and that should be reflected in our staffing strategy across the Defence Forces. Let us get the decision made in relation to the 1994 issue and let us see the detail of the commission's work. Then we can make further decisions.
