PDForra: Hundreds bail out of naval service over pay

The naval service is haemorrhaging enlisted personnel because of poor pay and a recruitment drive to plug the gaps will not work unless wages are significantly improved, it has been claimed.

Gerry Rooney, general secretary of PDForra, the association that represents frontline soldiers, sailors and aircrew, said the low level of entry pay will “totally undermine” the ambitious recruitment plans announced by Defence Minister Simon Coveney.

A year after initial entry, the pay of a private soldier or seaman is just €21,828, and PDForra claims that, in some cases, sailors are receiving less than the minimum wage while working on Operation Pontus, the humanitarian mission in the Mediterranean.