BRAIN DRAIN AT DEFENCE FORCES
More than 700 vacancies as top off icers leave for private sector
THE ‘brain drain’ in the Defence Forces is now at an ‘unprecedented’ level with more than 700 vacancies in the middle ranks, as staff who are ‘pushed to the limit’ leave for the private sector.
Figures show there are now 719 vacancies in the middle ranks across the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps, and are highest at the level of sergeant, corporal, lieutenant and captain.
However, the numbers presented in the Dáil have masked the real ‘mass exodus’ that exists within the forces, as they include an additional inexperienced 438 privates and cadets in training, recruited above the required
level. The established number of cadets required is 3,880 but 4,237 are now employed in an attempt to train officers to a higher level and plug the gaps at a senior level. However, the extra 438 recruited obscures the 719-person shortfall across more senior ranks.
Minister of State with special responsibility for defence Paul Kehoe, told the Dáil that the strength of the permanent Defence Forces is currently 9,219 personnel, or 97% of the establishment of 9,500 personnel – a difference of 281.
But the real vacancy rate is 7.6% – twice the rate suggested by those figures – with the shortage including 77 lieutenants, 85 captains, 7 commandants, 8 lieutenant colonels, 204 corporals, 252 sergeants, 35 company quartermaster sergeants, 39 company sergeants, 7 battalion quartermaster sergeants and 5 sergeant majors.
The impact of personnel shortages in the Air Corps was highlighted earlier in the year when Coast Guard Rescue 116 crashed off the Co. Mayo coast, with the loss of all four crew on board. The Air Corps was, at that time, unable to provide top cover to another rescue helicopter taking an injured fisherman off a trawler about 250km off the west coast.
There are currently 142 vacancies within the Air Corps, according to
‘Overall, it’s not an attractive proposition’
the most recent figures.
Gerard Guinan, general secretary of the Permanent Defence Forces Representative Association (Pdforra), told the Irish Mail on Sunday that, across the Defence Forces, the ‘exodus of personnel has placed considerable stress on those left to undertake the job’.
‘We have a crisis in recruiting Air Corps technicians and these people cannot be replaced off the shelf.
‘The Defence Forces overall is just not an attractive proposition for people at present. People are leaving simply because there are better conditions outside of the Defence Forces and the security of tenure is not the same as what it used to be.’
He said if the Air Corps cannot perform its duties, the public will inevitably suffer.
‘If we can’t put planes and helicopters in the air because we haven’t technicians, it will be felt by the public. The extent of people’s injuries could be exacerbated without the ability to respond quickly,’ he added.
‘The Defence Forces will always do its job for the citizens of the State but we are becoming ever more stretched at the periphery and it can be seen in the ability to provide cover at nighttime through air traffic control.’
Across the Defence Forces, he said, there is ‘a downward spiral, with people leaving at a faster rate, resulting in greater recruitment. However, these people are not available for frontline duties, which places additional pressure on the people already in place.
Pdforra has called for the immediate implementation of the EU Working Time Directive for members. ‘Improved contract terms, improved conditions and improved pay are the three big issues that need to be tackled this year to ensure we do have a healthy and vibrant Defence Forces,’ said Mr Guinan.
Pay levels have added to ‘significant disenfranchisement’ within the forces, resulting in over 1,000 enlisted personnel purchasing their discharge in the past couple of years’.
Nor is there an overtime regime, with applications to join UN missions overseas ‘oversubscribed as this is one of the few areas where personnel can earn additional income’.
Pdforra estimates that enlisted personnel saved the department between €17m-€22m, after staff lost a combined 146,000 days annual leave in the last five years because they were unable to take time off.
Lisa Chambers, Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson on defence, told the MoS that pay, pension entitlements, career advancement and the demanding nature of the job are forcing personnel out of the key middle ranks. ‘While the Defence Forces is taking people in, it is losing people faster,’ she said. ‘There is a lot of talk about recruitment but the focus needs to be on retention. ‘Excellent people are being lost because they are getting better opportunities. They are the most undervalued public sector workers and they’ve taken the most cuts.’ ‘You can’t just pluck someone off the street and enlist them,’ she added.