'Scandal' that Defence Forces officers paid less than €4 an hour overtime on 24-hour shifts

When troops are called out to help in weather-related emergencies, they do not get any overtime payments, which is also considered very unfair because they are often working alongside local authority employees who do, conference told.

It’s “a scandal” that some Defence Forces officers undertaking mandatory 24-hour duties three times a month are getting as little as €3.89 an hour for the 16 hours of overtime involved in those shifts.

The national minimum wage is set to increase to €12.50 per hour, but the 24-hour duty rate has not been increased for many years.