A Galway TD has told the Dáil of a soldier being forced to buy his own boots because a new pair could not be issued to him at his local barracks.
Independent Deputy Noel Grealish cited the incident as an example of how the reorganisation of the Defence Forces had been ‘an unmitigated disaster’.
In a Priority Question to the Minister of State at the Department of Defence, he also asked why soldiers from Galway were being transported to Cork every day, to carry out their duties, and soldiers from Finner in Donegal were being transported to Dublin.
“Does the Minister of State accept that the reorganisation of the Defence Forces into a two brigade structure has been an unmitigated disaster?” he asked.
“At present, the Naval Service is short 38 staffing officers. One of our naval vessels was unable to put to sea because no engineering officer was available.
“Soldiers are having difficulty accessing basic items such as replacement uniforms. Last month I heard of a soldier who had to buy a pair of boots because a new pair could not be issued to him locally.”
The Galway West Independent TD also suggested that In light of Brexit, the reorganisation of the Defence Forces had left Ireland exposed, should a managed Border become necessary.
And he asked if the reorganisation was a significant factor in the negative findings of the Defence Forces climate survey of 2015, a survey of members of the Defence Forces aimed at measuring satisfaction or otherwise on a wide range of ‘well-being’ issues.
In reply, Junior Minister Paul Kehoe said that the re-organisation of the Defence Forces, finalised in October 2012, resulted in a reconfiguration of the Defence Forces operational processes from a garrison-based system to a more flexible, deployable system that made more efficient use of all resources, including personnel.
“The Deputy referred to personnel having to travel from barracks to barracks or from where they live to a barracks that may not be in their locality.
“Bearing in mind the brigade structure, I have asked that when recruit classes are being taken in, personnel be located in the barracks closest to where they live. That will solve a considerable number of the problems.
“A considerable number of problems arose after the reorganisation. We are trying to solve them and relocate personnel to the barracks closest to where they live. For personnel with expertise in specific areas, it does not always work that way.”
Pressed by Deputy Grealish, Minister Kehoe said he was not aware of a naval ship not being able to go to sea because of an issue associated with engineering personnel. Nor was he aware of personnel not being able to get parts of their uniforms, but he would like to hear about such incidents.