Revelations that the Irish Naval Services faces the immediate prospect of sending ships on patrol without functioning weapons due to lack of personnel highlights the need to continue with a “proactive” approach to recruitment within the Defence Force, Taoiseach Simon Harris has said.
The Irish Times reported on Friday that the Naval Service’s ordnance section, which is responsible for the upkeep of naval weapons, including large deck-mounted cannons, is now down to just a single technician.
Speaking to reporters at Templemore Garda College on Friday, Mr Harris said that issues of recruitment and retention within the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána merit specific attention from the government, as it is directly related to matters of national security.
“I hope, as we engage in program for government talks, we can really challenge ourselves and push ourselves to see what more can be done about recruitment and retention into the Defence Forces,” he said.
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He said that the Defence Forces has seen “significant” levels of recruitment in recent years.
On Thursday, the Department of Defence announced the highest recruitment levels in six years as a result of increased allowances and wages. For the first time since 2017, there will likely be a net increase in military personnel, albeit a small one.
Lt Col Conor King, general secretary of the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (Raco), said in written responses to questions that it would “not be good practice” to deploy a military vehicle unarmed.
“We would presume that rather than this occurring, the ship simply would not sail, as force protection is a stated priority for the Defence Forces,” Lt Col King said.
Raco was “not particularly surprised” that the Naval Service is struggling to retain “sufficiently qualified and experience personnel”, he said. This is a consequence of the organisation’s failure to compete with other public and private sector organisations on pay and conditions, he said.
Lt Col King said that a scenario arising where the Naval Service faces the prospect of deploying an unarmed vessel impacts the morale of the organisation’s personnel, causes reputational damage and can draw ridicule from some quarters.
Lt Col King said that recruitment to the Defence Forces is “going well”, but noted that the organisation has a long way to go before it becomes an employer of choice and “retain[s] the people we are investing in”.
Current challenges can be tackled through a focus on retention, he said. The introduction of planned reforms to overtime payment rules, a fairer pension scheme for personnel who joined the Defence Forces post-2013, and supports for instructors training new recruits are key issues.
“If we don’t plug the holes in the bucket then it doesn’t matter how much water we pour in,” he said.
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