2026-05-07

76. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Defence her plans to increase cadet pay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33119/26]

85. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence her views on the matter of entry-level cadet pay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33405/26]

93. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Defence to provide an update on her actions to date to ensure cadet pay is increased to bring cadets in line with other entrants into the Defence Forces; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33214/26]

This question is a logical follow-on from the one posed by Deputy Stanley. It asks the Minister about action on cadet pay. I ask it against the background of the continuing crisis in recruitment and retention. It is not just a question, but a call for urgent action.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 76, 85 and 93 together. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. He would probably agree that significant progress has been made on pay and conditions for Defence Forces personnel, particularly over the last six years. I have met with the various associations. I met with RACO on 22 January and its representatives raised the issue of cadet pay with me. As the Deputy will know, the matter is currently on the conciliation and arbitration agenda. At that time, I said that I would see whether we could give further consideration to the issue beyond what is being done through that system. I have asked my Department to look at that. During those discussions with RACO, I also outlined that any cost-increasing claims have to be addressed within the parameters of public pay policy. When dealing with our public servants, including members of the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána, we have to work within that public pay policy. As the Deputy will be aware, different pay scales apply during the training period for both cadets and recruits. The current pay scale applicable to cadets ranges from €26,248 to €39,026, depending on various qualifications. In addition, cadets are provided with accommodation and meals free of charge for the duration of their training. This is part of the overall package. For many young people starting off, rent and food make up a large chunk of the bills they have to pay so the fact that these are included is very welcome and certainly helps with the overall costs facing cadets. Cadets are required to complete a training period that is approximately 11 months longer than the training programme provided to recruits. They have to complete this programme before they are commissioned and operational. When they are commissioned, their starting pay ranges from €46,359 to €51,748, depending on whether they came in as school leavers or as graduates. In the conversation surrounding the pay and conditions of members of the Defence Forces, it is important to point out that, in addition to basic pay, certain positions in the Defence Forces attract specialist and technical pay. There is additional pay to attract those with specialist qualifications. There is also scope for further income from duty allowances for specific duties carried out on an ongoing basis as well as the possibility of earning a tax-free duty allowance, which starts at €15,000, for a six-month overseas deployment. Many of those in the 128th Battalion, which is heading to Lebanon in the time ahead, will receive that allowance. Members of the Permanent Defence Force are a party to the current public service pay agreement. This provides for local bargaining. Parties can bring forward proposals up to a maximum value equivalent to 3% of basic pay, with 1% to be paid from the current agreement and the balance to be paid under any successor pay agreement. There is an opportunity to examine pay and conditions, including cadet pay, through that particular process. To the Deputy's question, negotiations are ongoing. The matter is on the conciliation and arbitration agenda. I would like to see that process concluded as quickly as possible. I have also asked my Department to look at other ways to support them on top of that. I can come back to that in my next response. It is about making sure we are investing in the physical environment and in our Defence Forces and that we are making it an attractive career, whether you come through as a cadet or through any other route.

I acknowledge the Minister's positive disposition to this matter in many aspects of her response but the general secretary of RACO, Conor King, recently set out in the Irish Examiner the fact that cadets are paid far less than the enlisted soldiers they work beside in their first five years. This anomaly would be indefensible in any other profession. Cadetship is a gruelling high-intensity apprenticeship like no other. As well as undergoing long hours of education and training, cadets may be deployed as an aid to civil power operations and are routinely used as the go-to unit for State ceremonial events, representing Ireland at moments of national and international significance. They demonstrated their usefulness during the course of the Covid crisis. We have a problem with recruitment and retention. Much has been done in that area but low cadet pay is a serious blockage in recruitment and needs to be addressed urgently.

The Minister has given indications in the past and she has talked about addressing this issue but it has been six months since she took office and ultimately nothing has changed. Cadets are still paid well below the minimum wage. That is damaging to recruitment and retention. Their pay is the lowest in the Defence Forces at €503 per week. That compares with €550 for a recruit. Considering that is weekly pay, there is a considerable distance between the two. Recruit pay rises to €627, which is considerably above that €503. They remain on this pay for the entirety of their first year, earning 40.7% less than enlisted counterparts. This has a knock-on impact on pension contributions so it has a whole-career impact. This is undermining recruitment and retention. These are the future leaders of the Defence Forces. It is crucially important they are supported. I understand RACO has said it has been left with little alternative but to recommend that cadets enlist as a recruit in the Defence Forces before entering a cadetship, which unnecessarily lengthens the progress of their career.

In these six months, I have been clear that I want to see us do more for cadets. There are quite a range of entry points, starting at €26,248 and going up to €39,026. A person's entry point depends on whether they enter on the higher scale as a graduate or otherwise. I cannot step into another role. The Representative Association of Commissioned Officers has sent in a claim. This is being dealt with through the conciliation and arbitration scheme for members of the Permanent Defence Force. Those discussions are confidential. While I would like to resolve the matter myself, I cannot do so. However, I would like to see it resolved as quickly as possible. We may have an opportunity to increase pay for our cadets and other members, including recruits, through local bargaining or otherwise through the public sector pay agreement. It is essential that we look in the round at how to attract more people to the Defence Forces. Of course, an important part of that is pay and conditions. I accept that. We all know that. That is why, in recent years, we have made significant advancements on overall pay through the public sector pay agreements, on the health supports that are provided, on specific supports for those in the navy with particular programmes they are engaged in, on direct entry, and on allowances for specialised areas. More recently, issues around holiday pay, bank holidays and double time have been resolved. We need to make sure that, where issues and challenges arise, we respond to them quickly but in the context of the overall public sector pay agreement. As the Deputies will appreciate, this is not relevant only to the Defence Forces but we must make sure that our Defence Forces are represented and that, where there are increases, members at every level, including cadets, feel the benefits. I will finish where the Deputy has alluded to very clearly. Cadets are valued members of Defence Forces as is the work they do. I know many people who have gone in through the cadet programme and are doing really well. They are people we are extremely proud of in the roles they are in. We need to make sure we provide every opportunity for people to enter and progress within the Defence Forces and to continue the really important work they do on the ground at home and overseas. That is my commitment in the time ahead as Minister.

I have to proudly state that those who emerge from cadet schools are people of an extraordinary calibre that we are all enormously proud of. Low pay might be tolerable if the cadetships were short or if the financial impact disappeared once training ended but under the single pension scheme, earnings are averaged across an entire career and, therefore, at the end of a career, the cadet is still being penalised by virtue of the reduced pension they will receive. That is not a tolerable situation. The recruitment age for cadets has been increased to 39 years. If people are 30-plus and have a family and a mortgage there is no way, unless they have very substantial savings, that they could afford to become a cadet and take the vastly reduced pay available at that level. The good step of increasing the age profile is being hampered and impeded by the low rate of cadet pay. It really needs to be resolved. On a completely different but related matter, the cadet school has ended its relationship with Malta. For many years, the Irish cadet school trained members of the Maltese military in a really beneficial and impressive manner. I regret this has ended. Can something be done to restore that programme?

I would love to hear about local bargaining. Local bargaining seems to be the solution to cadet pay, the service commitment scheme and to specialist staff. However many per cent it is, the scope clearly does not exist to expect it to be like the miracle of loaves and fishes and solve all the problems. There is scope to do a bit with local bargaining but ultimately the Department needs to recognise that these are strategic considerations in the development capability and the personnel numbers of the Defence Forces. This is intolerable. Deputy Ó Fearghaíl is entirely correct. If people are coming from a different sector to become cadets, it will not be sustainable for them to keep up mortgage payments on that kind of pay. I will give a brief mention to something else in another training sphere, namely Air Corps apprentices. One category of them, not the most recent, is actually on lower pay than the class coming just behind them because of the recategorisation. It is a small category. Some sort of ex gratia scheme or approach should be made to support them because it is not fair to have one class on a lower scale even though it is a year advanced than the next category.

An investment in the men and women in our Defence Forces is an investment in our security and the security of our State. We all fully agree and we are all aligned in that. We all fully agree we need to expand and grow our Defence Forces and expand our capabilities. That means more money but it also means making sure that pay and conditions are as strong as they can be. We have made significant progress in the past number of years. Conditions not just for our cadets, but across the Defence Forces, have improved. Through public sector pay agreements, overall pay has increased. There has also been investment in specialities and particular roles as well as encouraging people to come in with different qualifications. I accept if somebody is coming in later in life with a mortgage and family, we need to be able to look at that and see how we attract those types of people and make sure it is viable for them. That is where accommodation comes in and where paying for meals and other elements are important. We need to make sure it is accessible to people and they are not living in Donegal and having to go to Cork. We are looking at where training takes places and are trying to address all the different challenges, particularly when we have increased the age threshold. I welcome that and I witnessed the impact that had on recruitment to An Garda Síochána. I also see how it is starting to trickle through when it comes to our Defence Forces. Both Deputies mentioned training. Whether it is maritime security strategy, the information sharing environment we are now part of at a European level, our PESCO programmes, the European Defence Agency or, indeed, the Partnership for Peace programmes we are involved in with the UN, much of what we do is around training. Our recruits are going to other countries and training troops on the ground there and exchanges that take place are a really important part of that overall training. For example, that type of exchange and training is a core part of the most recent memorandum of understanding with the UK. While I cannot speak directly to the Malta programme with Deputy Ó Fearghaíl at the moment, I am happy to follow up on that. I assure him that training and exchanges right across the EU and beyond and various different types of programme, peacebuilding or otherwise, are a core part of what we do. It is essential to the overall training of our own teams as well. The training we provide is seen as world-class. That is certainly something I am prioritising in every programme we are developing and in every exchange that is taking place with other international and European partners.