Minister to address RACO army conference in Naas hotel today

The Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO) will make an urgent appeal to the Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney when he addresses delegates at their Annual Delegate Conference at the Killashee Hotel in Naas. 

 Despite the recommendations contained in the Commission on the Defence Forces report, RACO says it still needs to be convinced that there is a meaningful commitment to reform, reinvigorate and restore a depleted Defence Forces which is currently not fit-for-purpose.

 General Secretary, Lt Col Conor King was speaking before the conference and said that Defence Forces strength is at an all-time low, but there are solutions available, if the political will exists. 

He said: “The only KPI that counts is the strength of the Defence Forces, and by any measure, we are witnessing a failure in policy. There are six motions tabled at our Annual Delegate Conference this year that capture the deep-rooted problems in the Defence Forces right now.

"These all relate to significant problems with fundamental service conditions, such as a total lack of respect for the working time of members, a failure to staff operational units, and inferior career progression and pension arrangements that have been well documented but unfortunately ignored to date.”

 Minister Coveney will address delegates at lunchtime and it’s expected he will directly address the issues raised by delegates. 

 RACO President, Comdt Martin Ryan commented on the challenges of maintaining an adequately manned Defence Forces. 

 “RACO has consistently highlighted the inadequate and deteriorating officer manning levels in Defence Force operational units. This impacts on health, safety and wellbeing of our members by reducing mentoring, supervision and governance, and increasing risk. 

 “This high instance of vacancies and persistent dysfunctional cycle of turnover remains unacceptable and is one of the primary reasons why officers continue to leave the Defence Forces in such high numbers. RACO calls on the Chief of Staff to place the manning levels of units on the strategic risk register.”

Motions to be debated at the conference include:

• Payment of Specialised Instructor Allowance;
• Implementation of the Working Time Directive
• Payment of Supplementary Pensions to post-2013 commissioned officer,
• Payment of Rate 2 Pay to Specialist Officers;
• Medical Services;
• Strength-in-Station.