Defence Forces
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-07
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Seán Ó Fearghaíl (FF), Kildare South

I acknowledge the Minister's positive disposition to this matter in many aspects of her response but the general secretary of RACO, Conor King, recently set out in the Irish Examiner the fact that cadets are paid far less than the enlisted soldiers they work beside in their first five years. This anomaly would be indefensible in any other profession. Cadetship is a gruelling high-intensity apprenticeship like no other. As well as undergoing long hours of education and training, cadets may be deployed as an aid to civil power operations and are routinely used as the go-to unit for State ceremonial events, representing Ireland at moments of national and international significance. They demonstrated their usefulness during the course of the Covid crisis. We have a problem with recruitment and retention. Much has been done in that area but low cadet pay is a serious blockage in recruitment and needs to be addressed urgently.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-07/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-07