Overtime compensation for 2,100 Defence Forces personnel

The navy has been the worst-hit by the personnel crisis in the Defence Forces, with just one ship at a time capable of patrols. Picture: Valerie O’Sullivan

The number of military personnel compensated for alleged breaches of the Working Time Directive has risen to nearly 2,100, with figures expected to increase further, given that the cut-off date for such claims has not yet been reached.

However, the technology required to electronically record hours worked by personnel may not be implemented in all military installations until the end of the year.

Raco, the association which represents officers in the Defence Forces, has confirmed to the Irish Examiner that it has successfully aided almost 450 claims for financial compensation and/or time in lieu for alleged breaches of the directive.

The Raco disclosure comes after PDforra, which represents enlisted members of the military, recently announced it had successfully negotiated 1,636 compensation claims for excessive hours worked and time off denied.

The problem stemmed from a rapid decline in Defence Forces personnel in the past 15 years, which resulted in many double- and treble-jobbing to fill gaps across the army, navy, and air corps.

Personnel levels in the Defence Forces are currently the lowest they have been in 50 years.

Raco deputy general secretary Lieutenant Colonel Derek Priestley said it had successfully helped nearly 450 of its members to get similar compensation.

As far back as 2019, Raco highlighted significant breaches of the Working Time Directive (WTD) at its annual conference.

It used data from a survey of its members which stated that many officers were working up to 70 hours a week and carrying out additional duties, as so many of their comrades had left the Defence Forces.

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Raco initially started lodging claims of breaches to the WTD in 2020 when officers serving in two UN detachments in Lebanon were denied their entitled leave.

Additional successful claims were made in respect of officers serving excessive hours guarding high-security inmates at Portlaoise Prison.

Officers serving in the bomb disposal squad were in such short supply that those left to fill the gaps were working around the clock, mainly as a result of a significant rise in drug dealers using pipe bombs to attack or intimidate rivals.

It is also mandatory that officers undertake 24/7 duties around eight times a year. However, being forced to plug gaps due to unfilled vacancies, they were often forced under military protocol to continue working additional hours on such shifts, in some cases up to 33 hours in total and without getting the recompense time off.

Raco also successfully represented navy officers on similar overworked rostering, dating back to 2013. The navy has been the worst hit by the personnel crisis, which is so bad that a lack of specialists has resulted in just one ship at a time being capable of Atlantic Ocean patrols.