An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 25 tion of pay cuts. The LRA provides the vehicle whereby the terms and conditions of your members can be restored in a sustainable and ongoing manner." The Minister said that he respected the fact that PDFOR- RA members are fully compliant with all of the provisions of the agreements reached to date, and also referred to the "positive engagement" by PDFORRA in ongoing discussions on an agreement to be put to a vote of its members. On recruitment, the minister said that 282 general service recruits have been enlisted to date, with a further 320 due by year's end and an Air Corps apprentice aircraft techni- cian competition to enlist 25 candidates later this year. Minister Kehoe added: "There are plans in place to continue this phased general service recruitment in 2017, in a manner designed to reach the established strength figure." He finished by paying tribute to outgoing PDFORRA General Secretary Gerry Rooney, acknowledging: "Gerry has defined how the Association conducts itself and how highly it is perceived within the industrial relations community. Much of your Association's achievements can be directly linked to Gerry's style and way of doing business. He will be a real loss to Ireland's defence community". Gerry Rooney then addressed the floor, starting with a brief look back on the last 25 years of representation with the main objective of providing the best possible welfare to members of the Defence Forces. On the subject of negotiating for improvements for its members Gerry said that PDFORRA had secured hundreds of agreements over those 25 years, but ended by posing the question: "The Defence Forces Conciliation and Arbitration scheme works at some level, but does it work the same as other public service schemes?" He called on the minster and the DoD to al- low PDFORRA join the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) under Article 5/6, with a view to the right of collective bargaining being a civil right of members of the Defence Forces. Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Mark Mellett DSM took to the podium next. He told the delegates that he and the General Staff are humble in their appreciation for the loyalty to the state displayed by members of the Defence Forces. He commended their will- ingness to put themselves in harm's way at home and overseas. Vice Admiral Mellett also quoted former Defence Forces chief of staff, General Richard Mulcahy: "Óglaigh na hÉireann has been the people, is the people and will be the people." He also told the conference that on a recent visit to Lebanon the outgoing UNIFIL force commander, Maj Gen Luciano Portolano (Italy), told him that the Irish troops were "the best of the best!" Last up was PDFORRA President Mark Scally, who said this was his fourth speech to congress and he was still addressing the same old issues. He thanked those who served in the humanitarian mission Operation Pontus and told conference: "It is unbelievable that it has taken 16 months to get to adjudication on the payment of duty money." He also asked the minister and his department to support privates, airmen and seamen who didn't have the opportu- nity to gain qualifications due to their rank, by introducing a new education policy. Speaking on the redress-of-wrongs complaints proce- dures Mark said: "There have been no reports since 2014 and I ask the minister to re-introduce the position of Ombudsman to the Defence Forces to a full- time position." Mark finished by thanking Gerry Rooney, the delegates, barrack rep- resentatives, and those not present for the sometimes thankless job they do representing members of PDORRA at a local level. DF COS Vice Admiral Mark Mellett DSM. PDFORRA President Mark Scally.

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