Labour will rebuild our Defence Forces and protect our neutrality
- Establish an independent review of pay and pensions.
- Implement the Working Time Directive and provide for overtime payments.
- Develop new housing for serving members.
- Maintain and protect Irish neutrality.
Labour Defence spokesperson and Kildare South candidate Senator Mark Wall has described the next five years as “crucial” for Ireland’s defence forces.
Launching Labour’s plan to strengthen Ireland’s Defence Forces, Senator Wall said:
“After years of neglect, our Defence Forces are in crisis. This Government has failed to address the core issues around recruitment and retention meaning that as it stands, the greatest threat to our national security is the falling strength of our army, navy, and air corps. Labour will immediately develop a new strategy to restore numbers to 9,500 and grow the Defence Forces up to 11,500 serving personnel.
“As someone from a part of the country where so many of our servicemen and women make their homes, I am committed to seeing this trend reversed, to rebuild our Defence Forces so that Ireland is prepared for current and future threats, and ready to continue our proud role in UN peacekeeping missions.
“The greatest issue is pay, pensions and general conditions. Our Defence Forces can’t compete with the private sector or other branches of the public service. Labour will establish an independent review of pay and pensions in consultation with the representative associations and benchmarked to international comparators.
“One change that will make a real difference is the implementation of the Working Time Directive to restore work-life balance, and help with the recruitment of new members, and especially women members. Labour will provide for overtime when working outside normal hours and time off in lieu.
“Because numbers are so low the allocated pay budget is not being spent and flexibility is now needed with that pot of money to provide the incentives needed to retain and recruit staff for our Defence Forces.
“The housing crisis permeates all aspects of Irish life and providing affordable homes for our Defence Forces personnel is a keyway to boost recruitment.
“There is plenty of low hanging fruit here. Vacant properties in the Curragh and on other sites must be brought back into use to house serving members and their families. Labour will also establish a partnership between the Department of Defence and approved housing bodies to develop non-essential sites in the Defence Force land bank to house serving members and their families.
“Earlier this year, many people were deeply concerned that the Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil would seek permission to draft a bill to end the triple lock, a key part of protecting neutrality. We will retain the Triple Lock but update it to allow for larger short-term deployments for emergency evacuations and protection missions, up from the current limit of twelve.
“Ireland’s neutrality is a hugely important foreign policy stance. It now appears that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael cannot be trusted to safeguard Irish neutrality in Europe.
“The Labour Party are clear. We will maintain and protect Ireland’s long-standing position of military neutrality and we would support a referendum to enshrine it in our Constitution.
“This Government has failed to address the recruitment and retention crisis in the Defence Forces, we have had report after report, and very little real improvement. We need to secure decent pay and conditions for members and deliver infrastructure to make us less reliant on other countries.
“There are deep rooted challenges within the Defence Forces that need to be tackled head on. That’s what the Labour Party will do.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Labour Defence Manifesto available here. https://labour.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Labour-Defence-Policy-doc-v2.pdf
Labour will develop a workforce recruitment and retention strategy to reach the current establishment strength of 9,500 and then progress plans to recruit an additional 2,000 Defence Forces personnel within the lifetime of the next government.
To improve terms and conditions, Labour will:
- Establish an independent review, in consultation with the representative associations of pay and allowances including duty rates and pension coverage to determine barriers to recruitment and retention, benchmark to international comparators, and implement recommended pay rises and pension changes.
- The review will include the need for an occupational supplementary pension as a key retention measure for post-2013 Defence Force members, and applicable to other frontline uniformed services such as An Garda Síochána, the Prison Service and Fire Service, to bridge the gap for those forced to retire early.
- Improve the work-life balance of Defence Forces personnel by implementing the working time directive and pay overtime for working outside normal hours, provide for Time Off in Lieu (TOIL), additional annual leave in certain streams, and family reunion flights for personnel deployed overseas.
- In consultation with the representative organisations, update the Defence Force Regulations (Administrative Instructions) C.S.4, revise on an annual basis to ensure more flexibility and review technical pay to improve retention.
- As recommended by the Commission of the Defence Forces, introduce Long Service Increments to the pay scales of all ranks of enlisted personnel.
- Fast track the introduction of Lance Corporal Rank following acceptance by the Commission of the Defence Forces.
- Establish workable family friendly policies to include the provision of childcare facilities for those serving both at home and overseas.