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| PRESIDENT’S SPEECH |

“We Always Get The Job Done, But We

Need Change”

Commandant Shane Keogh, RACO President, delivered the following speech to delegates
and guests at RACO’s BDC, including the Minister with Responsibility for Defence, Paul
Keogh TD and the Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett DSM.

t traditionally falls on me, as RACO’s President of the
day, to capture and summarise the truly sterling or re- Commandant
Shane
Imarkable efforts of our three services, the Army, Air Corp Keogh,
and Naval Service, in my speech to conference…. I pro- RACO
pose not to do so today. It is not a decision I took lightly President
I can assure you. And it is not that these ongoing efforts
are not worthy of special mention today. In fact, the op-
posite is the reality. Because, for the reasons I will outline,
the daily tasks we undertake have become all the more
burdensome on the individual, on all of the individuals that
collectively make up our Defence Forces.
The reason I have elected to take a different path today
is because I feel the need to give a voice to the frustra-
tions of those serving today, a voice to the individuals I just
mentioned, in the hope that we can find common ground
together, by acknowledging our current reality, and leading
our way out of this current downward spiral.
It is not my intent to be to be unnecessarily negative in
my outlook. Nor is it my nature to do so. However, it be-
hoves us to be realistic and truthful about where we now
find ourselves… let’s be honest…..we are in a state of CRI-
SIS. It is only in this truth that we can possibly find a way
to evolve. Find a way to take that pressure back off the I also welcome your commitment to undertake a review
shoulders of the individual, allowing us to get on with the of the Defence Forces Industrial Relations mechanisms,
job at hand, and reigniting our inherent esprit de corp. and in particular the Conciliation & Arbitration Scheme,
If I may, I want to touch on three separate topics in my which is tragically no longer fit for purpose and remains
address today, those being: Change management, risk inadequate relative to the schemes available to other pub-
and morale. lic service employees. We need to have something that’s
works not only for our members Minister, but also works
Change Management for you and your Department!
The association felt the need to redefine itself of late. It is imperative that the Defence Forces have an effective
We undertook a journey of self-exploration, with a view to Industrial Relations architecture, with access to the Work-
empowering our members, and to determine our strategy place Relations Commission and indeed the Labour Court
out until 2025, and in doing so, we developed our vision if need be. And I welcome your comments, Minister, to
statement: To champion the wellbeing of all members. conference this evening in this regard.
Put simply, it is RACO’s mission to improve the pay and In 1990, when providing legislation for Representation,
service conditions of all of our members. And in doing so, Government and the Minister for Defence, displayed great
we not only improve their working environment, but we ul- foresight and recognition of our unique employment sta-
timately improve the wellbeing of those who loyally serve in tus, during what was a time of great difficulty for the De-
the service of the State. fence Forces. However, our current industrial relations sta-
However, RACO’s task is simply not possible within our tus is no longer effective, particularly so in an environment
current Industrial Relations structures. I welcome your ef- where the Trade Unions are the indisputable domineers of
forts Minister to address this. I want to also thank you for influence in terms of negotiations on employees pay and
meeting with the Association on numerous occasions over conditions. We have not created this dynamic, we are be-
the last number of years and particularly in the lead-up into ing left on the outside, looking in. So, there is now a clear
to conference. opportunity for your Dept. Minister to effect the required

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