Will the Minister outline the progress that has been made on the introduction of the rank of lance corporal? When will it be introduced to the Army?

The Commission on the Defence Forces report recommended significant changes for the Defence Forces and defence provision in Ireland. It covered high-level Defence Forces structures, defence capabilities, organisation, culture and human resources, the Reserve Defence Force and funding. One of the recommendations in the report was the creation of a new enlisted rank of lance corporal in the Army and Air Corps.

The detailed implementation plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces has identified that this recommendation requires further evaluation. The further evaluation will be informed by work under way in the Defence Forces on force design, which is also a Commission on the Defence Forces recommendation. The report recommended, "The Chief of Defence to initiate an immediate force design process assisted by external experts with access to international military expertise." This is the same force design process I mentioned earlier, which will help us achieve our overall targets. The Defence Forces have established force design teams within the Army, the Naval Service and the Air Corps and an overarching strategic force design office. The force design teams are working with external expertise in designing a structure for a modern force of Ireland’s size taking into account the Defence Forces' roles and the capabilities required to deliver these roles. The outcome of the work on force design will inform further evaluation on the introduction of the rank of lance corporal. Such further evaluation will also require consultation with other key stakeholders, including the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, regarding all aspects of the resource, policy, financial and legislative implications of introducing a new rank into the Defence Forces.

I also point out that the Government has implemented a range of measures aimed at addressing the recruitment and retention challenges in the Defence Forces. I have mentioned these already. They include the increase in the maximum recruitment age to 39 years for those roles that had a recruitment age below that and to 50 years for direct entry specialists. The mandatory retirement age has been increased to 62, private secondary healthcare has been rolled out to all PDF members, the patrol duty allowance has been doubled, the Naval Service tax credit has been extended for a further five years and there has also been significant progress on pay. There is more work that needs to be done. That work is happening at the moment. We will then be able to make a more informed decision on this rank.

On the evaluation of the Commission on the Defence Forces recommendations, a number of factors have to be taken into consideration before a decision can be made. These include military management advice on the introduction of the rank, the potential benefits to individual personnel, the future role of personnel at this new rank, the impact on career progression for personnel, the impact of increasingly hierarchical structures, and the legislative and financial implications, which may not be to the fore. The report noted that this rank exists in a number of other militaries, specifically those of the UK and the US. It is provided between the ranks of private three star and corporal. All of these different situations and scenarios need to be taken into consideration before this is taken on board. I believe the main reason for this ask is that it would give privates the opportunity to do a shorter course but all of this has to be looked at in the overall context of force design. There is a lot of work under way as part of general force design. This is very much part of that overall review. Decisions will be taken in the new year as to whether we will move on this.

The first thing I take from the Minister's response is that a decision has not been made to put such a rank in place. When my colleagues and I had the opportunity to meet with PDFORRA recently, the association was very clear that this was needed. The Commission on the Defence Forces has also been very clear on it. Why is there uncertainty as to whether this rank would be created? Time can be spent trying to develop the course and bring it to fruition but the decision as to whether it should be introduced or not should surely be made at this stage. Will the Minister clarify why it has not been? What impediments need to be cleared? Why is the Minister not convinced of the need for this post? How quickly will a decision be made on it?

In recommending it, the commission was of the view that the creation of the rank of lance corporal would allow earlier rank progression for enlisted personnel with leadership potential and that it would offer unit commanders and senior NCOs the opportunity to assess the leadership ability of junior personnel before further advancement. The rank would also be useful for specialist trades, allowing privates to advance and carry out supervisory functions without the need to complete the full potential NCO course. These are some of the reasons the commission made the recommendation. However, different risks or challenges were identified when the recommendation was evaluated further. After examining the benefits and the opportunities, the evaluation process also considered these risks. While I do not want to pre-empt the outcome, some of the risks considered in this further evaluation included greater rigidity in the Defence Forces as a result of an increasingly hierarchical structure, a lack of differentiation between roles, slower progression through the ranks and lack of ambition or opportunities for advancement. This is all being looked at on both sides at the moment. The review being undertaken by the Defence Forces is under way. It will not be completed until next year. It is at that stage that these decisions will be taken.