Conor King: Manning up to our defence responsibility

The Irish Defence Forces have never been weaker, but a new commission provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform and modernise it, writes Conor King

Members of the Irish Defence forces at a Covid-19 testing facility at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Picture PA

Ireland has never had a greater need for a strong and resilient Defence Forces as part of our State’s security apparatus. 

We are facing into an uncertain post-Brexit future, in the midst of a devastating pandemic, and about to assume our seat on the United Nations Security Council, but our Defence Forces, and consequently Ireland’s security has never been weaker. 

This security is the bedrock on which our society’s cultural, social and economic achievements are built. A strong Defence Forces, as the State’s insurance policy, is vital for the continued inflow of foreign direct investment, essential for our small open economy. 

However, the threats are endless, and well documented.

Ireland is home to over 30% of all EU data, and to the European headquarters of many of the world’s leading technology companies. The country’s economic success is therefore closely tied up with its ability to provide a secure environment for these companies to operate. 

Policing of our sea lanes and airspace is a mammoth task that must be tackled. Our difficulties in retaining highly skilled Army, Naval Service and Air Corps personnel due to inadequate remuneration and conditions of service has had a severe impact on our operational capability, which has left us vulnerable.

The Covid-19 pandemic hit every aspect of Irish society equally hard. The best-laid plans were cast aside in the face of unprecedented economic uncertainty. Unfortunately, the recent conduct of the public sector pay negotiations was regrettably all too familiar. 

There was once again an absence of recognition of our restricted industrial relations status, and a failure to place a premium on the prohibition on industrial action. This outcome cannot have been lost on the civil and military management of the defence organisation, which has once more fallen foul of the ‘one size fits all’ model of public sector policy.

High stakes

Expectations are unsurprisingly high for the recently announced Commission on the Defence Forces; indeed, the stakes could not be any higher.

2020 was the year the Defence Forces recruitment and retention crisis should have been resolved. 

The conditions were perfect coming into the New Year; a healthy economy; a bespoke high-level Implementation Plan aptly titled ‘Strengthening Our Defence Forces’ endorsed by central Government that was going to implement real change in the defence organisation and make the Defence Forces once again an employer of choice; and unanimity across the political spectrum that something had to be done, and quickly. 

2020 was the year the Defence Forces recruitment and retention crisis should have been resolved. 

Things could only get better — couldn’t they?

But it is not all doom and gloom. We have both a new Minister and Secretary General in Defence who have made welcome commitments to enhanced openness and transparency and decisive action. This is badly needed for an organisation suffering a crisis not only in retention and recruitment, but also of confidence and trust in the willingness of the State to go beyond mere words in recognising and compensating for the unique nature of military service. 

We have a Commission on the Defence Forces, with reasonably broad and ambitious terms of reference leading to a permanent Defence Forces Pay Review Body. It is a wonderful opportunity to reform and modernise the way we do defence in this country that must be grasped in an inclusive and holistic manner. That makes the omission of the civilian element of the Department of Defence from the Commission’s scope all the more puzzling. 

It should have been seen, not as a threat but as an opportunity, one that has seemingly been missed. The exclusion of the civil element of the Department of Defence means that the Commission may be like ‘Hamlet without the Prince’: to ignore a key part of the defence organisation is simply bizarre. I hope we do not come to regret it.

Threats to the State

This commission is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to have a serious conversation about the range of threats facing the State, and where the defence organisation fits in to the mitigation of these threats. It has the scope to make a real difference to the organisation, and it cannot be allowed to fail. 

We are trying desperately to replenish our strength, but until we significantly improve the ‘offer’ then we will only ever be running to stand still. Currently, we have just over 8,100 fully trained personnel on our books, which is 85% of our minimum designed strength, before we even look at those numbers deployed overseas.

Former Justice Secretary General Aidan O’Driscoll will lead the review of the Defence Forces.

The commission has brought together a very impressive collection of experts under the stewardship of former Justice Secretary General Aidan O’Driscoll to review the Defence Forces, and we wish them well in their task. 

We welcome the establishment of a permanent pay review body, ‘reflecting the unique nature of military service in the context of the public service’ and look forward to seeing how this uniqueness will be recognised, particularly given that all recommendations by the commission or the successor body and their implementation ‘must be consistent with national public sector wage policy’.

Proper resources

Finally, noting that ‘in arriving at its findings and recommendations for arrangements for the effective defence of the country, the Commission will have regard to the level of funding provided by Government for Defence, it is earnestly hoped that this funding will be adequate to meet the demands generated by the commission’s expert recommendations, and these recommendations will not be constrained by the resources available. 

Planning without resources is simply dreaming, and we have a poor track record of policy implementation in the defence sector, from the White Paper on Defence to the High Level Implementation Plan. If this commission is to have any credibility, and deliver real reform, then its recommendations must be fully resourced and accompanied by a strong implementation oversight body, to ensure that its good work is not in vain. Expectations are high, and the commission must deliver.

Commandant Conor King is general secretary of the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO).