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SUBMISSION to the Commission on the Defence Forces 16 Feb 2021 SUBMISSION TO THE COMMISSION ON THE DEFENCE FORCES 16 FEB 2021 Unit 12, 4075 Kingswood Rd, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24 (D24WE54). Tel: 01-413 3324 Email: [email protected] RACO Submission to the Commission on the Defence Forces Table of Contents Page INTRODUCTION 2 Context – A Defence Forces in decline 3 Positive Aspects of Military Life 3 Relationship between Staffing, Structure and Military Capability 5 STAFFING 6 Turnover 7 Retention vs Recruitment 9 Government HLIP ‘Strengthening our Defence Forces’ 11 STRUCTURES 13 Command and Governance of the Defence Forces 13 Army / Land Component Structure 14 Naval Service / Maritime Component Structure 15 Air Corps / Air Component Structure 16 Inadequate Defence Forces Establishment 17 Portlaoise Prison 18 HR Structures 18 Career Management 20 Pay and Conditions Determination Model – Pay Review Body 22 Single Pension Scheme and Supplementary Pension 23 EU Working Time Directive 24 CAPABILITY 26 Army / Land Component Capability 26 Naval Service / Maritime Component Capability 27 Air Corps / Air Component Capability 28 Defence Funding 29 Intelligence 30 Overseas 30 Training 31 Training Establishment 32 Facilities / Infrastructure 33 Reserve Defence Forces 34 SUMMARY OF RACO PROPOSALS 36 LIST OF ANNEXES A – L 37 1 16 February 2021 COMMISSION ON THE DEFENCE FORCES – RACO SUBMISSION INTRODUCTION RACO welcomes the establishment of this latest independent commission to make an extensive review of defence requirements in the medium to long term. As the statutory body representing leaders and decision makers, a key stakeholder in the review process, and a key enabler to delivering its outcomes, RACO is in a unique position to bring you the observations of members who operate from the tactical to the strategic level and live the Defence Forces experience every day. The Defence Forces have been in a state of slow decline for almost a decade and has reached the point where this decline is becoming irreversible. Numerous reviews and Commissions have touched on the root cause of this decline, without actually addressing it; the failure to adequately resource Defence in order to retain highly qualified and experienced personnel to maintain capability. This Commission on the Defence Forces is a once-in-a-generation, and perhaps final opportunity to address the issues that have brought us to this point. Our submission is based not only on the work that RACO has undertaken over the last decade; it is the culmination of a wide consultation of currently serving and recently retired Defence Forces officers1. Over the past 3 decades the Defence Forces have undergone numerous separate commissions or reviews, most of which have resulted in a reduction in personnel numbers. These include: • Commission on DF Remuneration and Conditions of Service 1990 (The Gleeson Commission) • Efficiency Audit Group (EAG 1) 1991 • Efficiency Audit Group (EAG 2) 1992 • Efficiency Audit Group (EAG 3) 1994 • Defence Forces Review Implementation Plan (DFRIP) 1996 • Air Corps and Naval Service Reviews 1999 • White Paper on Defence 2000 • Army Reorganisation 2011-2012 • Value for Money Review of the Reserve Defence Forces 2012 • White Paper on Defence 2015 • Climate Survey 2016 and Focus Group report 2017 • Public Service Pay Commission (1-3) 2017/2018/2019. 1 Research conducted by RACO on over 100 former members who have recently voluntarily departed the organisation since 2017 contained in Annex B. DF HR Branch has not been able to conduct this research of late. 2 RACO members recall the flawed and inadequate Report of the Public Service Pay Commission2. The research3 underpinning this report concluded the following: “The conclusions from this study suggest that the Defence Forces is at a critical juncture. The findings presented intimate that without immediate and substantial intervention, particularly in respect of pay, allowances and pension entitlements, the organisation may, within a short time, face major difficulties in maintaining its personnel and in carrying out its mandate.” The Pay Commission then went on to make NO recommendations on either Pay or Pension Entitlements, and the organisation has continued its cycle of Dysfunctional Turnover and decline. Members note with a sense of dismay approaching resignation, the failure to progress key commitments in the White Paper on Defence 2015 and the Government High Level Implementation Plan4, and they could be forgiven for approaching this latest process with a degree of scepticism; indeed, some have. Nevertheless, RACO pledges to spare no effort in contributing on behalf of our members to this process and hopes to remain fully engaged for the duration. There should be no doubt that in spite of the many positive aspects of a military career, we are dealing with an organisation in crisis, and the Commission has an extremely important, extraordinarily complex, though not insurmountable task on its hands. Positive aspects of Military Life It is important to outline the unique nature of military service and the very positive aspects of a life in uniform for our members. There are few careers today that can offer the sense of identity, camaraderie, and individual and collective pride that a life in the Defence Forces can. Research conducted for the Public Service Pay Commission and Workplace Climate Survey5, and on RACO’s behalf by Amárach Research6, all showed that personnel feel positively about the peer support they receive and the value of their service to the community. The Public Service Pay Commission reported that “A career in the PDF is not comparable with that of any civilian occupation. It is well established that there are special disadvantages associated with military life. They include unsocial hours of duty, prolonged periods of separation from family, exposure to danger, and restrictions associated with military discipline. It is clear from the research undertaken in the preparation of this Report that those who join the PDF do so 2 https://paycommission.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/Dept-of-Defence-PSPC-report-2019-WEB-1.pdf 3 https://researchmatters.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Recruitment-and-retention-study-Defence-Forces- Summary.pdf 4 https://assets.gov.ie/30647/dcd2f11e73114ef3ab1d1df8f0e3b627.pdf 5 https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/884c8c-workplace-climate-in-the-defence-forces/ 6 https://paycommission.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/05.03.2019-RACO-Amarach-Report-20336.pdf 3 for a variety of reasons, but most are motivated by a desire to serve their country, which they do with pride and dedication.” The Climate Survey Focus Group Report explained how focus group participants were asked what they enjoyed about working in the Defence Forces and how the answers varied significantly depending on rank, contract and tenure. “While many participants expressed a strong commitment to what the organisation stood for and a pride in the uniform, this was predominantly a theme in the more senior focus groups. For example, those with longer tenure and higher rank cited camaraderie as an important positive aspect of working in the Defence Forces – but many of them followed this with the observation that this was no longer the case for newer recruits. Worryingly though, those occupying the lowest ranks did not feel there were many positives associated with working in the Defence Forces and struggled to answer this question.” Likewise, the Defence Forces Public Perception Survey in December 2020 showed that 74% of those surveyed valued the DF’s role in ensuring Ireland's National security and 79% valued the work the Defence Forces do in supporting their communities. For most Defence Forces personnel, the opportunity to serve abroad, whether on UN peacekeeping or maritime humanitarian missions, is the pinnacle of service and the greatest opportunity to develop and employ skills and practice command and leadership. A significant pillar of Ireland’s Figure 1: Extract from Defence Forces Public Perception Survey Dec 2020 successful campaign to obtain a seat on the UN Security Council, was the tradition of peacekeeping which our Defence Forces has maintained unbroken for over 60 years. The men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann are immensely proud of the service they provide to the maintenance of international peace and security and, as the data in figure 1. above demonstrates, so too are the people of Ireland. Unfortunately, this willingness to serve and esprit de corps are being undermined by the inadequate conditions that currently exist around the nature of military service in Ireland. Our members feel undervalued and overstretched and are leaving the Defence Forces for more stable opportunities in the public service, or better paid positions in the private sector at an unsustainable rate. We will outline in the sections below the factors that have brought us to this point and try to identify some feasible solutions that can be implemented with the political will to really strengthen this proud and wonderful organisation. 4 Mindful of the terms of reference of the Commission and the guidelines contained within the invitation to speak here today, we will address three broad themes: Capability, Structures, and Staffing. Generation, maintenance and delivery of defence capability is the overarching goal of any military force. Indeed, the NATO Capability Construct, ‘DOTMLPFI’7, includes Organisation (Structures) and Personnel (Staffing) under its umbrella. However, this submission separates out Staffing and Structures as per the riding instructions. RACO’s mandate is “to champion
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