Page 29 - Signal Winter 2019

then the greater the political action will be taken in terms of its implementation which is crucial for a successful development of the resources in our waters.
One of the challenges to any vessel putting to sea in the north east Atlantic now is the increasing sea and swell height. Over the last few decades this sea state coupled with more severe gales, storms and near hurricanes has made the environment very challenging and tiring to work in. So we need larger and more suitable ships capable of providing a safer and healthier working platform for our sailors to operate from.
What are the major challenges in terms of retention and manpower and what is your understanding of their impacts?
Our Navy requires further resources, at present Human Resource has to be the main priority and I welcome the Government’s latest decision to address this long term problem by introducing tax credit for sea-going naval personnel from next year who spend at least 80 days at sea, they will be eligible for the credit worth €1,270 per annum. This is a small but important step which recognises the sacrifices that these personnel make to guard our waters when away from their families for extended periods at sea.
The key technical and highly trained staff include Officers and Petty Officers who are highly employable outside of the Navy. A properly negotiated retention allowance is required to keep these personnel well motivated and passing on their expertise and experiences which were hard earned. Some of these personnel are needed ashore to train up new entrants and recruits. In a rapidly changing electrical, communications, navigations and marine engineering environment it is important to retain sufficient members to allow for a handover of this knowledge and experience. This ensures that the Naval Service can be at a high state of operational readiness and capable of being successful in all tasks given to them.
| JOHN LEECH |
What would some of your suggested remedies for the current situation and how could they be implemented?
The Naval Service and Air Corps have completed some very successful exercises, tasks and operations together. The primary mission of the 101 Squadron in the Air Corps (“Eyes over the sea”) is to support the Naval Service operations at sea in our very large territorial waters, ten times the size of our modest island. It is essential that they are equipped with the best Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) which is in need of an upgrade. Naval Service ships at sea operating without top air cover of MPA’s is poor value for money and far less effective. A ship alone is limited in its operational effectiveness but when married to MPA’s operating at sea then they are far more effective and successful in all of their operations. It is vital that this fleet is replaced as soon as possible and that adequate pilots and aircrew are recruited and trained to maintain these MPA’s over our waters to support the Naval Services roles at sea.
The Central Statistics Office continually reports that Defence Forces personnel are the lowest paid public sector employees, conversely the Institute of Public Administration has consistently reported that the Defence Forces is the most trusted public service organisation in the State, with a ‘trust score of 82%. So why don’t we get treated fairly like other public and civil servants? Because DF personnel forfeit their normal employee rights as a condition of their service to the State, it is, therefore, the responsibility of Government to recognise this and ensure that they are fairly treated.
It is time for the Government to examine the establishment of a statutory based, permanent and independent Defence Forces Commission to address remuneration (including pensions), service and retention conditions and the conciliation and arbitration architecture.
Despite the challenges I’d like to finish with a positive quote:
“The Navy has both a tradition and a future ─ and we look with pride and confidence in both directions.”
Admiral George Anderson, 1st August 1961.
Lt Cdr (Ret’d) Leech with colleagues on the naval diving course.
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