I welcome the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

This morning, the country took a bit of a battering. We think of all of those who are out working - gardaí, local authority staff and service workers. As a House, we also send our sympathies to the family of the lady who was killed this morning in a storm-related incident. We wish safety to everyone else.

Among those responding to this weather challenge are members of the Defence Forces. They will do so with dedication and commitment, as they do in everything. The country is rightly proud of our Defence Forces, how they serve and protect us and our world and how they have contributed over many years - 60 years was marked earlier this year - in Lebanon, Syria and the Golan Heights, to mention but a few. Irish soldiers, naval forces and Air Corps personnel are valued across the globe, and we all admire them for their work at home as well as their dedication and expertise. We remember with pride their participation in the centenary of the 1916 Rising, particularly given what that participation brought to the occasion.

However, compliments and commendations do not put meals on tables. Despite many debates in the Dáil and a report commissioned by the University of Limerick on the Defence Forces, little to nothing has been done by the Government about the concerns affecting them. Members of the Defence Forces are men and women who have the same costs as the rest of us but are now finding it impossible to rear families, get mortgages and tackle day-to-day costs because they are serving our country. A large proportion of Defence Forces members have had to sign up for family income supplement, or the working family payment as it is now known.

Defence Forces personnel are leaving on a weekly basis. Expertise is being lost to the State and colleagues are losing colleagues because the private sector is putting much better offers on the table. The current numbers in the Defence Forces are the lowest in the history of the State at just over 9,000, which is 490 below the agreed strength. In her response, the Minister will say that a recruitment campaign is under way, but she will not say how many are leaving on a weekly or monthly basis and therefore nullifying the recruitment campaign. The exodus has been under way since 2012. The number of Army officers has dropped by 15% from 966 to 817.

At every level in our Defence Forces, there is a crisis. It has grown so large that there will be a parade to this House today so that attention can once again focus on the challenges facing our Defence Forces. Former members of the Defence Forces, including some very senior personnel who have given world service, and family members of current personnel have had to mobilise to draw the Government's attention to their plight.

Does the Minister accept that numbers in our Defence Forces are unacceptable and that the exodus of personnel and expertise has to be stopped? What engagement has the Taoiseach, who is apparently the Minister for Defence, or the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, had with the Defence Forces to address their concerns? What is the Government's response to today's parade?

On behalf of everyone in the House, including the Government, I offer my sincere condolences to the family and friends of the lady who passed away this morning due to the adverse weather conditions in Galway.

I agree with much of what the Deputy said. At home and overseas, the men and women of our Defence Forces serve Ireland with absolute distinction. The Defence Forces are part of a bedrock underpinning the safety and security of every person in this country and others further afield. It would be understating it to say that the Government values each and every member and the roles he or she carries out, be it peacekeeping or supporting other State agencies at home. For example, the Defence Forces are today helping the ESB because of the adverse weather conditions.

It is for these reasons that the Government has tasked the Public Service Pay Commission, PSPC, to examine the question of recruitment that the Deputy mentioned as well as retention issues in the Defence Forces, of which I will say we are well aware just in case the Deputy thinks we are not. The process is under way, submissions have been made and the commission is engaging with individual serving members. This is just one element of the efforts to improve Defence Forces members' pay and conditions. As with other areas of our public services, members of the Defence Forces are benefitting from pay increases due under the pay agreements and revised pay scales for post-2013 recruits. These have already been implemented. Those increases range from approximately 6.2% to 7.4%. They are also benefitting from the restoration to pre-FEMPI levels for everyone earning under €70,000. The first 1% increase became payable on 1 January 2018. The second increase is due to be applied on 1 October. The 5% in allowances that were cut by FEMPI legislation because of the economic and financial position that the State was in during the precarious years from 2010 until very recently are scheduled to be recovered soon.

Given the unique and demanding nature of military life, we accept that the turnover rate within the Defence Forces is probably going to be higher than in some of our other agencies. I hope I will surprise the Deputy by saying that I acknowledge the figure of 8% is too high. For that reason, we have organised recruitment and retention measures to be implemented, for example, addressing the work-life balance, conducting a comprehensive skills gap analysis across the Defence Forces, reviewing the contract of services for enlisted personnel in the context of capability requirements and appropriate age profiles, and developing and expanding the options for the direct entry of specialists and the re-entry of former members with the required skill sets.

I thank the Minister. She stated the Government "values each and every member". Platitudes do not put food on the table. The pay structure of the Defence Forces is unique, in that allowances are a key part, but these have not been restored. Our Defence Forces do not get overtime. Defence Forces personnel on duty for the papal visit were given a paltry amount compared with others who did overtime. This is why there is a parade today. They do not have confidence in the PSPC or the initiatives that the Minister outlined because they have been on the waiting list and put on the long finger for too long. The exodus of personnel has been happening since 2012.

When one reads the words of someone who has served the State across the world, ex-Brigadier General Gerald Aherne, who has said that the bond between the Defence Forces and State has been broken, then that is the reality. It is the feeling among personnel at every level in the Defence Forces, including senior personnel. That is why there is a parade today. When members of our Defence Forces - Óglaigh na hÉireann, to whom we owe so much respect - are dependent on the working family payment to supplement their wages, it is an indictment of the Government.

I am not interested in platitudes and I hope I do not engage in them for the most part. Rather, I am interested in the substance of the actions that have been taken by the Minister for Defence and, by extension, the Government. The significant improvements in pay under the Lansdowne Road agreement and the further increases over the lifetime of the public service stability agreement from 2018 to 2020 are not platitudes. They constitute a substantial action taken by the Government, and we have only been able to take it thanks to the recovering economy.

The Public Service Pay Commission has been tasked with providing a detailed and objective analysis of recruitment and retention in the defence sector. That is not a platitude. It is a tangible target and project for the agency and will reap dividends. The Government has increased the number serving overseas by an additional 100 personnel to be deployed shortly to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL. That is also not a platitude but a tangible, substantial increase in confidence in our ability to defend other nations overseas. We are not interested in platitudes. I am sorry that people are parading outside today. It gives an opportunity to me, Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh and everybody else in this House to talk about the pride we have in the Defence Forces and instilling a recruitment and retention process to make sure the numbers will be up to what we expect and to also talk about a recovering economy in providing the proper pay and conditions every single part of the public service should be enjoying but which were depleted because of the actions of previous Governments in recent years.

I too extend solidarity to the families and former members of the Defence Forces who are currently parading through the streets of Dublin and making their way towards Leinster House. Members of the Defence Forces and their representative organisations have consistently been sidelined in public service pay negotiations and are excluded from trade union membership or affiliation to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU. They are legally prevented from engaging in public demonstrations or protests about their terms and conditions, which is why they have to rely on their representative organisations to raise the issues, or their family members and former members to parade through this city. The Government has taken full advantage of their loyalty, as a former brigadier general has said. He has outlined that the bond between members of the Defence Forces and the State has been broken. I recently met the representative organisations of the Defence Forces. They confirmed to me that there was chaos in the Defence Forces, which are haemorrhaging members, not just long-serving members but also many new recruits. This is exerting extra pressure on morale which is already low. Morale is a foundation any army, navy or air corps has to have. The Government is well aware of this and was made aware of it before the University of Limerick report in 2017.

Recently the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, was forced to go to the High Court to vindicate the rights of members of the Defence Forces in the context of the provisions of the working time directive. They were forced to go to the European Committee on Social Rights to vindicate the right to engage in collective bargaining on working terms and conditions. That members of the Defence Forces have had to fight the Government tooth and nail, both at home and elsewhere in Europe, to have basic rights ensured is a disgrace. It is even more disgraceful that the Government has still not taken action to implement court decisions. The Defence Forces are expected to lose another 700 members this year, with many moving to the private sector for better pay and working conditions. Since members of the Defence Forces are unappreciated by this and the last Government, the State has had to outsource many services and some of work that was done, for example, by the air ambulance service, which is penny wise and pound foolish.

Will the Minister explain the reason for the delay in the Department making a submission to the Public Service Pay Commission? Is there a dispute between the Department and the military authorities on the content of the submission? Will the Minister explain when the Government intends to give effect to the rights of members of the Defence Forces under the working time directive? Will she provide for collective bargaining rights for members of the Defence Forces?

The Minister of State engages regularly with the two representative bodies the Deputy has just described and hears loudly and clearly not only the concerns but sometimes the objections members of the Defence Forces raise with us. We take them very seriously, as we take the pride in the Defence Forces. I will again say what I said to Deputy Dara Calleary. The Defence Forces are the bedrock which underpins the safety and security of both society and the nation. I cannot overemphasise that point which is evidently true. That is why the Government has taken significant actions in the past few years, through improvements in pay under the Lansdowne Road agreement; further increases over the lifetime of the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020; the Public Service Pay Commission being tasked with providing a retention and recruitment action plan to make sure the concerns that have been raised by those who remain in the Defence Forces will be addressed; and recruitment to bring numbers which have been depleted by 470, as Deputy Dara Calleary said, back up to make sure we will have a full complement of men and women who provide for the security and safety of people both in this country and abroad. The Minister of State will accept the submission from the organisers of today's parade. We will look at it very carefully and respond once the submission's objectives or recommendations have been analysed.

There is no delay in making the submission. It is being worked on and, when it is finished, will be presented to the body. I will have to come back to the Deputy on the working time directive because I do not have a response about it. It is fundamental that every single man, woman and child in this country has pride in the Defence Forces and what they do to protect peace and provide for the safety and security of Irish people both here and abroad. We have had difficulties with pay in the past few years but not without good reason. Every single public and civil servant had his or her pay cut for a number of years because of the economic crash. Thankfully, we are in a position where we are able to unravel the cuts and bring forward new pay and stability agreements for the years ahead. It is because the economy is recovering that we can do this and it is because we value and want to retain personnel in the Defence Forces that we have an action plan for retention and recruitment to ensure they will be at full capacity.

I agree with the Minister on the pride Irish society has in the Defence Forces, but this is not just about pride. It does not put food on the table and a roof over the heads of those young recruits who have to sleep in cars because they have been rostered for duties in barracks or far from their homes and it is not feasible to drive home and then back again. Current recruitment levels will not fill the vacancies. The vacancies are causing a huge increase in the workload of remaining members, which means extra shifts, longer hours, not seeing their families, not enough hours between rosters, having to sleep in tents in the rain, as we saw in the Phoenix Park when personnel of other emergency services were being appreciated and able to go home or accommodated in safe and secure accommodation. Why would anybody join the Defence Forces knowing they would face the prospect of having to sleep in a car outside the barracks? Why would one volunteer for duty overseas when one would have to take suspect medication which has left colleagues debilitated or when one cannot afford a home or rent, despite the fact that one is doing one of most dangerous jobs in the State? Why would one join to become a bomb disposal expert, for instance, when one could be faced with 120 hours on duty because of the flood of soldiers leaving the Defence Forces? Why is there a delay in the making of a submission to the Public Service Pay Commission? Will the Minister look again at the issue of a supplementary pension to bring the Defence Forces into line with other public service workers? Will she assure the House and those who are parading outside that measures to be taken in the budget this year will appreciate properly, once and for all, the members of the Defence Forces?

The Deputy asked on a number of occasions why anybody would join the Defence Forces. He has listed a litany of things he thinks are wrong, yet people have joined and are joining the Defence Forces.

They are leaving.

The reason they have joined and are joining the Defence Forces is they have a grá for public service-----

Yet the Minister is taking advantage of them.

-----and take pride in the security they provide for every man and woman who safely go to bed at night in this country.

Please respect the Minister.

That is why people join the Defence Forces. In case I was not clear, I will reiterate the substantive actions we have taken in recent months and will continue to take. We are benefiting in the Defence Forces from the increase in pay, ranging from 6.2% to 7.4%, following the cuts made because of the economic crash in recent years. Members of the Defence Forces are benefiting from pay restoration. Under the FEMPI legislation, there was a cut of 5% in their allowances.

I wish to God none of those cuts had been made, as I am sure every single person in this House does, but they were made. Now the country is in a position financially to be able to restore pay and to look forward to a new stability process of pay agreements between 2018 and 2020. We are lucky as a country that we can recognise with pride the people in our Defence Forces and are able to pay them effectively. In addition, the Government is investing in capital equipment and platforms, including those that increase the force's protection, such as armoured personnel carriers and in the building of infrastructure. Projects worth €35 million are at various stages of implementation, ranging from design to construction, and €14.2 million has been provided for the delivery of the infrastructural development projects between now and 2018.