Defence Force pay levels rise in bid to retain staff amid ‘poaching'
starting salaries for recruits who have completed basic training have risen by 49 per cent to more than €41,000 as the Government battles to retain staff amid 'poaching', TDs and Senators have been told.
The pay of graduate cadets starts at more than €50,000, the Oireachtas Committee on Defence and National Security heard on Tuesday.
Jacqui McCrum, secretary general of the Department of Defence said the Government was battling to modernise the Defence Forces and retain staff against private commercial operators who 'poach' Defence Forces members 'with an open chequebook'.
Ms McCrum told the Oireachtas committee that retention of staff was especially challenging in relation to those working in air traffic services, particularly air traffic controllers.
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Ms McCrum said this particular risk was 'crystallised' earlier this year in relation to a private sector operator 'close on our doorstep, effectively, in Baldonell, which was Weston'. She said there was 'potential there for them to poach our own staff, and that did materialise and certainly job offers have been made, and that's the position in which we find ourselves now.'
She said the problem of staff being poached 'came to a very acute level just in May this year.'
Among the potential measures to retain staff was a commitment scheme, similar to that which is in place for the pilots in which candidate undertake to remain with the Defence Forces for a fixed period after training. That 'could be potentially extended to the air traffic controllers,' she said.
Ms McCrum said salary changes were also being introduced for air traffic controllers: 'We are going from something where there's a pay band of about €58,000 to €126,000," she said. 'With the service commitment scheme it will change from €85,000 up to €140,000 and that is quite a significant jump. But there are terms and conditions that surround that and they're being worked through at the moment'.
The committee was also told Budget 2025 provided a record allocation of €1.35 billion for the defence sector, including more than €130 million for capability development investment. Some €55 million of this relates to essential aircraft projects including strategic reach aircraft; a light utility helicopter project and the acquisition of C295 military transport aircraft.
However, Independent Senator Gerard Craughwell said an internal military report commissioned as far back as 2021 warned of the impending 'crisis' in personnel and this became a reality in October 2024. He was critical it was only this year the measures were being considered.
Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy said the 2021 report set out a series of recommendations of which a number of measures were adopted.
'However, despite extensive efforts, staffing challenges have persisted as a competitive commercial aviation market has targeted this highly specialised, highly trained stream within the Air Corps.
'While I wish to acknowledge the significant uplift in the remuneration package for the Defence Forces, in general over the last number of years, a disparity between the pay rates of highly specialised military personnel and their civilian equivalents remains.
'This disparity makes it extremely difficult to retain the services of such personnel, including trained air traffic services personnel. These are not excuses. This is the reality of the environment the Defence Forces and indeed the wider public sector are operating in. But be assured we continue to seek solutions to these challenges' he said.
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