Southern Editor
More than 100 members of the Army, the Naval Service and the Air Corps are gathering in Killarney, Co Kerry, for the annual conference of the Defence Forces' representative association, PDFORRA, which begins later this afternoon.
Pay, recruitment and retention are expected to dominate the three-day conference.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Simon Harris, will address the conference later today.
He is expected to announce that he intends to bring a memo to Cabinet to extend Ireland's participation in the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon by another 12 months.
The Defence Forces have been contributing to peacekeeping in Lebanon since 1958. Since then, more than 30,000 Defence Forces personnel have served in Lebanon.
Some 340 Irish troops are currently deployed to southern Lebanon with the 125th Infantry Battalion, and Mr Harris is expected to tell delegates at the PDFORRA conference that renewing the Irish mandate will send a signal that Ireland supports peace and stability.
He is also expected to outline to delegates plans by the Government to increase spending on defence.
The response from PDFORRA General Secretary Ger Guinan is expected to reiterate the association's calls for greater efforts to be made to retain staff in the Defence Forces.
The association believes the pay and conditions of Defence Forces members are directly related to the retention issue.
Delegates at the conference will debate motions on the payment of long service increments, as well as calls for a review of duty payments and the establishment of a specialist pay review body.
The conference will continue until Thursday.