PDforra is calling on the Government to provide 'a fair and reasonable allowance' for those participating in the EU BattleGroup.
Insufficient allowances are stopping Irish Defence Forces personnel from signing up to EU BattleGroup, while sailors’ lives are being put at risk due to a lack of medics, according to representative body PDforra.
General secretary Gerard Guinan said his association is calling on the Government to provide “a fair and reasonable allowance” that reflects the onerous commitment associated with participation in the EU BattleGroup over the course of the next two years.
“Government had made commitments to the deployment of personnel as part of the new ‘Rapid Deployment Capacity’ (RDC) under the Battlegroups last year. This mirrored the procedure a number of years ago where government made a commitment to deploy naval vessels as part of Operation Pontus. Similar to a number of years ago, government have left the payment of personnel as a secondary consideration,” he said.
Currently, almost half of the BattleGroup places are filled, and it is expected that the shortfall will be filled by mandatory selection.
Mr Guinan said such a move is “unprecedented” in the history of the Defence Forces.
“Ireland has a proud history of overseas service, and members generally enjoy the prospect of serving in different countries and experiencing the interaction between contingents. However, the current (BattleGroup) mission, while mostly home-based, does impose significant restrictions on members and their families in the potential year of deployment with only minimal windows of opportunity for leave being granted and this can be revoked at extremely short notice,” Mr Guinan said.
Irish military personnel will also have to undertake exercises in Germany as that country is leading the latest BattleGroup.
“Government has made the commitment to deploy 180 personnel as part of the RDC, we now impress upon them to match their commitment with money for personnel who deserve to be appropriately remunerated for their commitment,” Mr Guinan said.
Meanwhile, the conference backed calls from delegates to increase the number of medics on ships.
Currently, navy ships on patrol are operating with just one qualified EMT (Emergency Medical Technician). Patrols operate up to 250 nautical miles off the coast, however, rescue helicopters can only access ships if they are within 200 nautical miles.
Naval Service delegates pointed out that if an emergency happens far out at sea, a sole medic will have to deal with a patient on their own while the ship sails to within range of a rescue helicopter.
If the medic themselves happens to be the casualty, which is possible, there is nobody onboard to help them, delegates said.
“This is putting our crews and epically our sole medics' lives seriously at risk,” one delegate said.
Delegates also called on the Department of Defence to issue a centenary medal to all full-time and reserve personnel. Their 100th anniversary occurs on October 1 this year.
Some speakers pointed out that An Garda Síochana issued medals to all its members in 2022 to mark its centenary. The same should apply to the military, they said
While Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin said that a significant amount of money is being spent on upgrading living-in accommodation in barracks, delegates claimed a lot of accommodation is still substandard and this urgently needs addressing.