SF pledge to address Defence Forces pay and conditions
THE Sinn Féin TD for Cork East, Midleton-based Deputy Pat Buckley, has pledged his party would undertake a root-and-branch review of defence-force pay and conditions if elected to Government. Deputy Buckley said the “scandal of poverty pay” needed to be urgently addressed, promising that a Sinn Féin Government would establish a commission to investigate the issue within six months of coming to power.
“In recent years there has been a decline in Defence Force numbers, a marginalising of the Reserve Defence Forces and a decline in morale among members. This is due in no small part to Government cuts combined with the lack of appropriate pay and conditions,” said Deputy Buckley.
Recently it emerged 124 members of the Defence Forces were on such low pay they had no option but to rely on the Working Family Payment benefit to make ends meet.
Deputy Buckley accused successive Fianna Fáil- and Fine Gael-led Government’s of treating the Defence Forces with a “lack of respect”, which he claimed has resulted in personnel having to sleep on ships to save on rent or take out second jobs and personal loans to cover basic living requirements.
“The scandal of poverty pay for our Defence Forces must be brought to an end, and Sinn Féin in Government would set up a review commission on Defence Forces Pay within six months,” he promised.
Deputy Buckley listed a set of proposals that Sinn Féin have pledged to implement, which include an action plan for the implementation of the Organisation of Working Time Act; the introduction of a capital investment plan for the upgrading of military barracks; a voluntary extension period allowing personnel to serve beyond the current age limit; and the automatic granting of a medical card to anyone forced to leave service due to a medical condition.
He said the party would draw up an action plan to address the ongoing health problems experienced by personnel as a result of taking the anti-malaria drug Lariam, an issue that Deputy Buckley has raised on a number of occasions in the Dáil.
Under their plan, Sinn Féin would also give the Defence Forces the right to collective bargaining on pay, terms and conditions and to affiliate with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and increase numbers to a baseline of 9,500 members.
“The current situation simply cannot be allowed to continue. A Sinn Féin Government would restore the respect that our Defence Forces deserve by introducing a package of measures to strengthen pay and conditions,” said Deputy Buckley.