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Niall Carson

Representative group for Defence Forces officers set to criticise Government over 'ticking retention timebomb'

RACO will tell the Committee on Defence and Foreign Affairs that cuts to the military budget is to blame for the retention crisis.

A GROUP REPRESENTING Commissioned officers in the Defence Forces is set to launch a stinging critique of Government when its members appear before a Dáil committee today.

The Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO) will appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence.

RACO’s main disagreement with the Department of Defence is centred around the retention crisis.

The issued is centred around soldiers, sailors and aircrew leaving the Defence Forces over pay and conditions. RACO have said this is caused by cuts to pay and conditions.  

In a statement RACO said they will highlight the ongoing retention crisis in the Defence Forces.

“(It) stems from the failure to adequately resource Defence in order to retain highly qualified and experienced personnel to maintain capability.

“The greatest challenge to the Defence Forces today is simply staffing its appointments, particularly at the middle ranking officer and NCO level. It has been demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt that we cannot hope to recruit our way out of this retention crisis,” the statement said. 

RACO said that following the commissioning of the latest in a line of large cadet classes, 35% of all Commissioned officers have less than 5 years’ service. 

“This has severe implications for governance and supervision and increases organisational risk. It is telling that of all the White Paper projects reportedly closed thus far, five years into the process, none have had any tangible impact on the retention of personnel.

“Since 2016 the organisation has inducted 3,116 personnel while losing 3,679 (41% of the average strength for those 5 years). This rate of churn has also led to a crippling recruitment effort, delivered by our members, with inadequate supports,” it added. 

RACO said that that a plan, entitled ‘Strengthening our Defence Forces’ introduced by Government in July 2019 has failed.

“Disappointingly it has been allowed to fail by Defence senior management, and by government, through a lack of political will to resource it, and an absence of meaningful oversight.

“Having 7 of 15 projects still behind schedule 2 years into a one-year plan would be unacceptable at any time, but the fact that this is occurring in a government plan sponsored and monitored by the Department of An Taoiseach, in the face of the well documented DF recruitment and retention crisis is unconscionable.

“This does not bode well for future expansion to meet unmet defence and security needs that the ongoing Commission on the Defence Forces will surely identify,” the statement added. 

RACO said that they have sought engagement from the Department of Defence on the implementation of the Working Time Directive in an effort to “vindicate the rights of our members”. 

RACO also claimed that large numbers of officers who joined the Defence Forces over the last eight years are already planning to leave the organisation well in advance of their mandatory retirement age, due to inadequate pension provisions.

“To put this in context, this cohort makes up 45% of our membership.

“This is the ticking retention time-bomb that will undo any other good work done by our members who have worked so tirelessly to facilitate the unprecedented induction training levels.

“If this is not resolved, then all the effort put in to inducting and training the recent extraordinarily large cadet classes will have been for nothing.

“It is the very antithesis of ‘Value for Money’ and threatens future organisational viability,” the body said. 

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18 Comments
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    Mute high ho silver
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    Jun 29th 2021, 11:31 AM

    Everything under funded in this country except TDs and civil services pay and golden pensions has always been like that

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    Mute Sean Walsh
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    Jun 29th 2021, 11:46 AM

    @high ho silver: Upper civil service employees you mean.

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    Mute Brian Murphy
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    Jun 29th 2021, 11:07 AM

    Wages are so low, can’t blame people for not applying.

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    Mute Stephen Deegan
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    Jun 29th 2021, 1:17 PM

    A was an NCO in DF for 20+ years. Qualified to instruct and actively instructing junior personnel for years. Went to college twice, paid for by the taxpayer. Enjoyed the work and the challenges, especially mentoring on the job. Struggled financially until I saw the pay scales of similar jobs outside the DF. Left the DF for better money and never looked back. I’m just one of hundreds of instructors that have walked because of terrible pay.

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    Mute Muckser Maher
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    Jun 29th 2021, 11:42 AM

    Dept. Of Taoiseach.
    As a tax payer can we see DF v Civil servant pay difference. Obviously there is a major discrepancies that our force is not being managed. Equality & fairness. So do your job.

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    Mute The next small thing
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    Jun 29th 2021, 12:26 PM

    @Muckser Maher: You can check the salaries online, I don’t know how you could compare them against each other but at least you will have the figures.

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    Mute Alan Leahy
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    Jun 29th 2021, 11:50 AM

    People leaving due to understaffing.
    More work is given to those that stay.
    More people leave due to understaffing.
    A bit of a vicious circle.

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    Mute Pauline Cahill
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    Jun 29th 2021, 12:24 PM

    Defence forces lowest paid civil servants

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    Mute Twitruser2021
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    Jun 29th 2021, 11:40 AM

    I think everything is a ticking time bomb with this rudderless government. I think they are hoping to throw the bomb at Sinn Fein if they get in next election time.

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    Mute iohanx
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    Jun 29th 2021, 11:37 AM

    I hear you join, get paid while you study, get a qualification then leave. Apparently.

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    Mute The Grand Nagus
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    Jun 29th 2021, 12:00 PM

    @iohanx:
    Army Officer’s do yes.
    The rank and file don’t

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    Mute Craig Clancy
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    Jun 29th 2021, 12:37 PM

    @iohanx: the years that you are studying are to be worked back when you qualify. So 4 year apprenticeship means another 4 years back to them as a qualified mechanic, with an amazing top up of a whole extra 50-100 extra a week on your take home.

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    Mute David Connor
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    Jun 29th 2021, 1:03 PM

    The courts should make repeat young offenders enlist as part of their conditions learn some discipline, respect and structure to make them part of a functional society while in creasing the numbers in the defense forces 2birds one stone

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    Mute Padraig Kavanagh
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    Jun 29th 2021, 1:39 PM

    @David Connor: no thanks. We don’t need petty criminals in our organisation thanks.

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    Mute Eddie O'Neill
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    Jun 29th 2021, 12:25 PM

    I presume this, like the Housing Crisis, is by design. That it is not incompetence or mismanagement but what they want, they want less people working in the DF and this is their way to achieve it.

    It would be admirable and a lot easier if they just came out and said that though, no?

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    Mute Shawn O'Ceallaghan
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    Jun 29th 2021, 11:16 AM

    Nothing to do with being able to buy your discharge papers from anywhere between €100-€500.

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    Mute Alan Breen
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    Jun 29th 2021, 7:35 PM

    @Shawn O’Ceallaghan: nope, because that’s not true. Leaving during the period of required service will cost up to €30,000, depending on the qualifications you have received.

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    Mute Barry Glynn
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    Jun 29th 2021, 9:30 PM

    Sadly the general Irish public and successive Governments don’t give a dam about our Defense Forces.
    Pay them what they are due and resource the DF accordingly.

    11
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