Minister’s speech from debate on the Seanad Private Members Motion, Wednesday, 21st January 2026.

Motion:

That Seanad Éireann:

Recognising that:

1. Irish people take great pride in our Defence Forces and the contribution made by the Permanent Defence Force, the Reserve Defence Force and by Civil Defence;
   
2. The single greatest asset the Defence Forces has is its personnel.

Introduction

''I’m very pleased to be here this afternoon and to respond to this important debate on behalf of the Government.

I am grateful to Senators O’Loughlin and Wilson for tabling the motion that is the subject of today’s debate, which comes at a time of volatility and uncertainty security environment across the world -- from Ukraine, to Gaza, to developments much closer to home.

Defence and security issues now rightly command greater public attention than they did even a few short years ago. All of us are understandably concerned about the direction that geopolitics has taken, and it is both timely and appropriate that this house is debating national security and the capability of our Defence Forces.

I look forward to further engagement with you, as Minister for Defence, as we progress our legislative programme. The first Bill that I intend to have before you will be the Defence Amendment Bill aimed at changing the basis on how we deploy our Defence Forces personnel overseas, which includes changing the Triple Lock. It is not acceptable, particularly in light of recent global turmoil, that any one of five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council have an essential veto on Ireland participating in Peacekeeping missions overseas, and this Bill will aim to address that.

In every debate on defence, one constant always emerges, the deep respect, admiration and pride felt for the women and men of Óglaigh na hÉireann. They are, without question, the Defence Forces’ greatest strength.

Support for Defence Forces’ Personnel

The Government is committed to ensuring the Defence Forces have the equipment, resources and capabilities required to fulfil the roles assigned to them.

At the heart of that commitment is a clear focus on people. Our personnel are our greatest asset and supporting them – in their careers, their wellbeing and their development – remains my central priority.

The motion before the House rightly acknowledges the substantial progress made in recent years. Meaningful improvements have been delivered in pay, medical care, retirement and recruitment ages, and in working conditions, including the commencement of the application of the Working Time Directive across the Defence Forces in January 2025.

There is real and tangible progress underway. Last year saw an increase of almost 200 personnel in strength. While it may be regarded as a modest step, it is nonetheless to be welcomed and reflects a positive trajectory on which we need to continue.

Indeed, the motion before the House this afternoon recognises the enormous strides that have been made in recent years, whether that is in relation to progress on pay, the extension of private medical care to all ranks, increases in the maximum age of retirement the age of recruitment or the commencement of the application of the Working Time Directive across the Defence Forces in January 2025.

That said, I think it should be acknowledged that, in the context of an almost full employment economy, these challenges are in no way unique to the Defence Forces and, indeed, they are challenges being faced by Armed Forces right across Europe.

What is increasingly clear is that the reforms introduced are beginning to make a difference. Last year saw an increase of almost 200 personnel in strength. While it may be regarded as a modest step, it is nonetheless to be welcomed and reflects a positive trajectory on which we need to continue.

It is also very positive to see that interest in a career in the Defence Forces continues to grow, with a total of 16,510 applications received to join the Defence Forces in 2025.

The next step now is converting those applications into inductions. I am looking forward to receiving the Strategic Workforce Plan, which the Defence Forces are currently formulating.

This plan will set out a clear, evidence-based pathway to achieving a strength of 11,500 personnel, aligned with future capability needs.

Sustaining the progress made in 2025 is essential, which is why the Defence Forces are targeting the recruitment of more than 850 personnel this year.

Because today’s motion recalls most of the positive measures introduced in recent years, I don’t intend to dwell on them, though I would like to say a few words about the progress made on pay.

Pay and conditions are an important part of ensuring the Defence Forces can recruit and retain the people they need. Significant progress has been made in this area and it is important that the facts are clearly understood.

Following the successful completion of training, a recruit begins their career as a three-star Private on a starting salary of €41,880.

In the case of cadets, the starting pay of a graduate cadet on commissioning is €51,584 inclusive of Military Service Allowance. A school leaver cadet, on commissioning as an Officer, starts on €45,795 whilst in full-time third level education.

Progress made in this regard stands to be further enhanced with an additional pay award due on February 1st under the terms of the current public sector pay agreement.

Investment in the Defence Forces

As Senators will be aware, I recently launched the Defence Sectoral National Development Plan (NDP) 2026-2030, which sets out a clear and ambitious vision for the future of our Defence Forces.

I am committed to providing a record level of capital funding to ensure the ongoing transformation of the Defence Forces. Capital funding of €1.7 billion has been allocated to Defence in the National Development Plan for the period 2026-2030, which is an increase of €600 million or 55 per cent on the previous baseline figure of €1.1 billion.

This investment will modernise and transform the Defence Forces’ capability across all domains and ensure that Ireland continues to meet its national and international security responsibilities. Key elements include record multi-annual investment rising from €300m in 2026 to €360m in 2029–2030, with major capability upgrades across land, air, maritime and cyber domains.

This will include full delivery of the Military Radar Programme by 2028, with phased rollout beginning in 2026. This is an essential step in the Government’s plan to enhance national security and the need to continuously strengthen our Defence capabilities, as set out in the Programme for Government.

The Defence Sectoral Action Plan also provides for Air Corps modernisation. Other key equipment investments include procurement of subsea domain awareness capability for the Defence Forces, which will make a critical contribution to the overall maritime picture available to the Naval Service and the wider Defence Forces.

I am also pleased to report that there has been significant investment in defence infrastructure. At the end of 2025, over €270m worth of capital projects were at various stages of the procurement pipeline, from design planning and construction to substantial completion.

Notable projects for completion in 2026 include the Military Medical Facility in Baldonnel, at a cost of €16.2m; the Block 1 accommodation complex in Collins Barracks, Cork, at a cost of €4.9m; and a new Dining Hall in Aiken Barracks, Dundalk, at a cost of €5.5m. The total allocation for infrastructure capital works this year stands at €69.5 million, with another €13.5 million set aside for us by the Defence Forces in the maintenance of existing infrastructure.

Such investments will deliver the equipment and capabilities our Defence Forces need to operate safely and effectively, at home and overseas.

Meanwhile, Budget 2026 provided a record allocation of €1.49 billion for the Defence Sector, an increase of €145 million on 2025. These funds include provision for the recruitment of a net 400 additional PDF members per annum.

C&A Scheme

Turning to a number of the specific points raised in the motion, I want to assure the House that I am committed to ensuring a fully functioning Conciliation and Arbitration system for the Defence Forces, one that operates effectively, transparently and with the confidence of all parties.

The Conciliation and Arbitration (C&A) Scheme for members of the PDF provides a formal mechanism for the military Representative Associations - the Representative Association for Commissioned Officers (RACO) and the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association (PDFORRA) - to engage with the Official Side on matters which come within the scope of the Scheme. In the event of disagreements, one or other of the parties can seek adjudication or arbitration on the matter.

I appreciate that we do not currently have an Adjudicator in place for the Defence Forces C&A Scheme. I understand that the Adjudicator in place for the other public sector Conciliation and Arbitration schemes was not acceptable to the Defence Forces Representative Associations. However, I know a lot of work has been undertaken by all sides to try and resolve this matter and I hope it will be resolved shortly.

In relation to the Arbitration Board, I am pleased to say that the Government yesterday approved the appointment and re-appointment of members of the Arbitration Board. Their new terms will run until 7 November 2026.

Pensions

Issues relating to pensions, including those affecting Single Scheme entrants since 2013, continue to be raised by representative bodies. These matters arise from public-service wide legislation and are kept under ongoing review.

The Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012 is applicable to all new entrants to the public service, including the Defence Forces.

In recognition of the need to retain experienced and skilled personnel and to enable personnel to extend their career in the Defence, the mandatory retirement age for members was extended to 62 years of age with effect from 19 August 2024.

This move aimed to address, in part, the provision of extended career opportunities for members if they so wish.

A number of matters set out in the motion are currently being considered through the C&A process, which remains the appropriate and effective forum for their resolution.

Representation of Director of Military Prosecutions and Chaplains

Progress continues to be made on representation matters relating to the Director of Military Prosecuturions and Defence Forces Chaplains. I expect the issue regarding representation to the DMP to be concluded shortly.

Before addressing the specific issues of representation for Chaplains, I want to recognise the very valuable work that Chaplains undertake with our Defence Forces personnel. Indeed, I very much look forward to presenting a Distinguished Service Medal to Fr Paul Murphy in Galway next month.

The issue of enabling RACO to represent chaplains is being examined. Contrary to some suggestions, this is a complex piece of work.

I must also take full account of a 2023 WRC Ruling, which found that the current practice appointing Chaplains is not compliant with the Employment Equality Act and therefore, can no longer be used to fill vacancies.

In this context, my officials are examining the status of Chaplains going forward and the legislative underpinning needed to provide for such status.

It is accepted that proposals will necessitate amendments to primary legislation. This work is a priority for me and is being progressed under my guidance as Minister for Defence with careful consideration.

Local Bargaining

I want to briefly turn to the matter of Local Bargaining. I know that the Representative Associations have worked constructively with the Department and military management on identifying proposals for the payment of the 1 per cent allocation, due for implementation in September 2025.

A number of claims have been submitted to D/PENDR for its consideration and are currently going through a verification process. It is hoped that approval will be received shortly on those claims.

Once any issues identified by that Department in this first round of claims have been clarified and resolved, it is proposed that the remaining proposals will be submitted in the coming weeks.

There are also a number of pay-related matters called for in the motion here today.

I am sure you will appreciate that we must operate within the parameters of public pay policy. The local bargaining mechanism is the vehicle through which cost increasing claims in the public service are addressed and I understand that there will be a further local bargaining pot available under the next Public Pay agreement. We will continue to work with the Representative Associations in relation to their specific claims through the agreed machinery. I have highlighted already the positive progress that has been achieved to date in terms of starting pay, following training, for both recruits and cadets.

We are seeing the benefit of that progress and, indeed, the benefit of other enhanced terms and conditions introduced, through the increase in interest in joining the Defence Forces and in retention in the Defence Forces.

One of the significant changes, long campaigned for by the Representative Associations, has been the introduction of the Organisation of Working Time Act in January 2025. As part of its introduction the Defence Forces Representative Associations have sought to define what a Working Day and/or Working Week is for their members.

This work, known as Strand 3, is underway. I appreciate that it is a complex piece of work, in that it impacts across a range of areas, but I look forward to it being brought to a conclusion.

I am meeting the Representative Associations this week. I look forward to this initial engagement being the start of a positive and mutually fruitful relationship during my term as Minister for Defence.

Conclusion

Colleagues, I am very proud to be Minister for Defence and as I have said before, I know that the dedication, duty and patriotism demonstrated by members of our Defence Forces is second to none.

My commitment is clear: to continue strengthening our Defence Forces, supporting those who serve, and ensuring Ireland has a modern, capable and respected military fit for the challenges of the future.''

Ends