The Minister for Defence has announced a number of "early actions" arising out of the report of the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces including pay rises for some members.
Simon Coveney was speaking at the PDFORRA annual conference in Ballybofey in Donegal. The organisation represents 6,500 enlisted members of the Defence Forces.
Mr Coveney announced the changes which will result in rises in the pay rates for Private 3 Star/Able Seaman in their first three years of service starting at €34,798 in Year 1, €36,128 in Year 2, and €37,353 in Year 3.
In relation to the issue of compulsory retirement for post 1994 Sergeants when they reach the age of 50, the Minister said he hopes that issue will be resolved within days. He told Sergeants that he wanted to assure them he will not be turning his back on any of them.
The Minister also annouced that his department had approved a 52% increase in the Daily Ration Rate, from €4.20 to €6.40 per person which PDFORRA had earlier highlighted as being meagre to provide three meals a day for serving personnel.
PDFORRA earlier called on the Government to fully implement the findings of the Commission on the Future of the Defences Forces as they relate to pay and conditions.
It passed a motion calling on the Government to "frontload the pay structure measures, including the reform of sea-going allowances, the introduction of Long Service Increments for enlisted personnel - as recommended by the Public Service PAY Commission in 2019 and the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces in 2022".
PDFORRA General Secretary Gerard Guinan said: "Our members have endured years of hardship with report after report and commission after commission reporting on the perilous state of the Defence Forces.
"We have ships that cannot go to sea for want of crews, aircraft that are having to be serviced away from the Air Corps and increasing numbers of personnel who are being mandatorily selected for overseas service due to lack of numbers.
"It's remarkable that despite the relatively positive pronouncements by the commission that we continue to haemorrhage personnel from the Defence Forces at an alarming rate", he said.
Mr Guinan said that PDFORRA is worried "with good cause" at the lack of movement on the issues of pay structures despite their recommendations in the commission's report.
"When matters related to pay structures went before Government there were numerous caveats and stays put in place. These are not the actions of a Government committed to building a credible defence".
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The General Secretary said that while the association welcomes the increased budget announcement and the pronouncement of intent to increase numbers in defence by an additional 400, "this will be unattainable in the absence of movement on pay and allowance rates, which have not changed in any considerable manner".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Guinan said the Defence Force has a shortage of personnel and needs around 1,500 new recruits.
Because of that shortage, he said, personnel are "stretched to the limits, they're having to undertake duty rosters faster, having to go to sea on a more regular basis, and it means less family time at home".
He said that the Government is launching a major recruitment campaign but, he said, that from PDFORRA's perspective the absence of appropriate working time allowances and contracts for personnel will inhibit the ability to attract people in the numbers required.
"The Future Defence Forces [report] recommended a restructuring of the payment system and that is welcomed by PDFORRA. However, I think that there are issues to do with allowances and working time. If your pay is set at a rate that you're supposed to be working 40 hours a week, but you're actually working 48, well then, obviously there's a deficiency in the pay."
PDFORRA called for overtime payments for soldiers, sailors and aircrew.
The organisation said they are denied the right to seek payments for hours that would, in the rest of the public sector, be classed as overtime.
PDFORRA is calling on the Government to alter the terms of their conciliation and arbitration scheme to allow members seek overtime payment for hours worked beyond normal working hours.
Mr Guinan said: "While the recent Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces addressed the area of pay structuring, it was prohibited from engaging on the issue of pay rates. As a consequence, citizens will have watched as both representative bodies were forced to highlight their grievances on allowances through the media as a result of deployment to Dublin Airport.
"Our association simply wants a fair rate of allowance for additional hours worked above the normal routine.
"Our lodgment of a complaint under Articles 2.1,.2.2, 4.1.and 4.2 of the European Social Charter were an effort to highlight and address the inequitable allowance system that governs payments to members of the Defence Forces.
"The lack of an appropriate allowance system coupled with the failure to implement the Working Time Directive in a fair manner has had consequences - namely the dysfunctional turnover rates and inability to recruit personnel in sufficient numbers. No singing and dancing campaign is going to turn that around."
Mr Guinan said that PDFORRA needs Government to be proactive to grasp the nettle as it relates to proper allowances and ask themselves "is it fair to pay personnel €56 before tax for an additional 16 hours overtime work?"
He said that this year there has been a net loss of over 300 personnel, when you factor in the recruitment levels.
Minister Coveney said that recruitment and retention continues to be an ongoing and key challenge for the Defence Forces.
In real terms he said we need to recruit 6,000 new people over the next six years.
Judge-led review over Defence Forces allegations
Minister Coveney said that he expected to receive the report of a judge-led independent group which reviewed sexual abuse and bullying allegations in the Defence Forces before the end of this year.
The Minister said that a key concern for him, and an objective of the review, was to assess the systems, structures and the culture within the Defence Forces to ensure a safe workplace for all.
He said the review is seen as a critical and vital first step to ensure that each member of the Defence Forces is able to carry out their duties in a safe workplace, underpinned by dignity and equality, where there is zero tolerance of unacceptable behaviour, and where lessons are learnt from historical experiences.
Earlier, Mr Guinan said that he was not been briefed on the content of the review. However, PDFORRA has contributed to the discussion with the Independent Review Group.
He said the organisation is "eagerly awaiting this report".
