Dail Éireann · 2025-06-12
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We have made very good progress on recruitment and retention in the Defence Forces, but we have a lot more to do. Since my appointment as Minister for Defence earlier this year, my initial focus has been on stabilising the numbers of Defence Forces personnel and facilitating the capacity for further increases. The Government has introduced a number of measures in recent years to try to make progress on recruitment and retention in the Defence Forces.
When the review body is established and given terms of reference, it should do a deep dive into the levers that can be used to make the Defence Forces an attractive career, rather than just the fact they are trained up by some of the best instructors. The Deputy’s point about the deep dive into the specialist areas, the pinch points and how the Defence Forces are doing at a time when the country has full employment is important.
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While the Minister has addressed this issue earlier, the greatest challenge for our Defence Forces is the constant drain of skilled technicians. It is seriously hindering our operational capability, especially in the Naval Service where ships are tied up at dock. Will he commit to establishing a specific review body tasked with examining how we can stem the flow of knowledge and training out of our military?
Although it is a phrase I might not use too often, Deputy Crowe is right. This is a real issue which he has rightly challenged.
We have made very good progress on recruitment and retention in the Defence Forces, but we have a lot more to do. The Deputy's question gets to the heart of the fact that the statistics I can quote belie or ignore the fact there are real pinch points in respect of certain technical skills our Defence Forces require. When we lose those numbers of specialist personnel, we see how quickly it can cause real operational difficulties in Casement, as we have discussed this morning, as well as in other parts of the Defence Forces we have discussed previously. I thank the Deputy for putting this question down.
Since my appointment as Minister for Defence earlier this year, my initial focus has been on stabilising the numbers of Defence Forces personnel and facilitating the capacity for further increases. I am determined to achieve real progress on this issue and I have been very clear with the Chief of Staff of our ambitions in that regard. Challenges undoubtedly exist, particularly in the recruitment and retention of specialist personnel, as the Deputy referenced. This specific challenge is presently felt by employers across the economy at a time when we have full employment.
The Government has introduced a number of measures in recent years to try to make progress on recruitment and retention in the Defence Forces. There has been significant progress on pay and we should not forget that. Recruits on completion of training now start at €41,465 in year 1, which represents an increase of 49% over the past six years. School-leaver cadets upon commissioning earn €45,341 while in full-time education, and the pay of graduate cadets now commences on €50,667. A further pay increase of 1% is due under the current pay agreement in August and a number of additional pay-related items are being negotiated as part of local bargaining arrangements. Increases in the recruitment age to 39 years for those roles that had a recruitment age below that, and to 50 years for direct entry specialists, have been introduced. The mandatory retirement age has been increased to 62. Private secondary healthcare has been rolled out to all members of the Permanent Defence Force. The provisions of the working time directive have been extended across the Defence Forces, subject to certain exemptions.
Whether it is pay, conditions, pensions or, dare I say, accommodation, there must be something we can do to compete with the private sector. When the review body is established and given terms of reference, it should do a deep dive into the levers that can be used to make the Defence Forces an attractive career, rather than just the fact they are trained up by some of the best instructors.
I welcome the initiative on air traffic controllers but it should not be a one-off. We need to look right across the services. It is could and should be done.
I agree with the Deputy. What I am saying is I have a very open mind on his question. I believe we will need to do something in this space and I am considering what would be the best structure to put in place to examine this is because we should not just talk about recruitment and retention in general in respect of the Defence Forces. I hope and think we will be able to make more progress. We made some last year and I think we will make more this year. The Deputy’s point about the deep dive into the specialist areas, the pinch points and how the Defence Forces are doing at a time when the country has full employment is important. These people are highly skilled. It is not really an issue to recruit them but it is an issue to retain them. As the Deputy noted, the service commitment scheme we brought in for air traffic controllers is good. That is one area. There are also other pinch points, including in the Naval Service.
We have local bargaining structures. They are meant to advance some of this but I am very open to considering, with colleagues in the Government, whether there is a better way of doing a deep dive. I intend to consider this with my officials over the summer and will come back to the Deputy in the autumn with my thinking on it.
I welcome the fact the Tánaiste will look at it. We have seen the strains in different elements of the different services, such as ships not being able to be deployed. It is not just happening in Ireland. Services are facing these challenges across the world. I welcome the Tánaiste's indication that he will look at this over the summer and come back to us in the autumn. If there is common agreement across the Government, this review needs to be established sooner rather than later. I look forward to the Tánaiste’s report in the autumn.
I thank the Deputy. As I said, we have objectively made good progress on pay, with a 49% increase in pay for a recruit entering the Defence Forces for training compared with six years ago, and rightly so. A school leaver can now be in full-time education and earn €45,341, while graduate cadets now commence on €50,000. We have also extended access to healthcare, brought in the working time directive, increased the mandatory retirement age and the recruitment age and made the patrol duty allowance payable the Naval Service. There is also the decision we took this week regarding air traffic controllers, and the new Naval Service tax credit has been extended for a further five years. Good things have been done, in addition to the extensive training opportunities provided to all personnel, but there is no doubt more needs to be done. I will explore with Government colleagues and my civil and military management teams how we can look further at this and whether we need to bring in external expertise to inform this work.