144. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he is proposing to review current duty rates in the Defence Forces; the last time these duty rates were reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42517/24]

The Conciliation and Arbitration (C&A) Scheme for members of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) provides a formal mechanism for the PDF Representative Associations, i.e. RACO and PDFORRA, to engage with the Official Side - Department of Defence, Military Management and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform - on a range of issues, to include pay and conditions. As such there is regular, ongoing engagement with the Representative Associations on matters that come within the scope of representation, via this C&A Scheme.

The C&A Scheme is that avenue available for the Representative Associations to raise matters of concern, to include issues regarding the payment of allowances and any specific reviews of same. Officials from my Department continue to work with the Representative Associations in a positive and collaborative process within the C&A Scheme to resolve issues.

In addition to general round pay increases, to include all allowances in the nature of pay (i.e. pensionable allowances, which make up the bulk of a wide range of allowances available to Defence Force personnel) arising out of ongoing national pay agreements, members of the Permanent Defence Forces have also benefitted from the implementation of increases in Defence Forces duty allowances, as recommended by the Public Service Pay Commission in 2019.

For those Defence Force personnel who have specialist appointments, based on training or qualifications, there is a range of additional allowances available to them. For example, members of the Army Ranger Wing currently receive an allowance of over €300 per week, in addition to their salary.

Finally, it is important to note that any review of existing duty rates must take account of public pay policy and national pay agreements. The current national pay deal, Public Service Agreement 2024-2026, contains within it an equivalent general round 1% increase, under a Local Bargaining mechanism. All Unions and Associations who have signed up to this pay deal can put forward proposals for consideration for the benefit specific cohorts of their respective membership, including targeted increases in duty rates.