Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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74. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence for an update on the progress made to date in ensuring the provisions of the working time directive are applied, where appropriate, to members of the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28235/24]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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97. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the action he is taking in relation to the removal of the blanket exemption in the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 for the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28150/24]

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I ask the Tánaiste for an update on the progress made to date in ensuring the provisions of the working time directive are applied, where appropriate, to members of the Defence Forces

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 and 97 together.

I wish to reassure the Deputy of my ongoing commitment, as Minister for Defence, to the removal of the blanket exemption which currently applies to the Defence Forces in the Organisation of Working Time Act. Significant progress has been made recently on this body of work. Earlier this year, I approved the final management position, which was presented to me following extensive consultations involving the PDF representative associations and civilian-military management. While the military authorities have advised that a high percentage of the normal everyday work of the Defence Forces is already in compliance with the working time directive, the final approved management position provides for the exemption of certain military activities, due to their specific nature, as well as a number of agreed protections for those exempted activities.

The next step is to develop the appropriate legislative mechanism. To this end, I recently wrote to my colleague the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Peter Burke, whose Department holds responsibility for this legislation, notifying him of the final management position approved by me. My officials are now currently engaged in formal dialogue with that Department to remove the blanket exemption and to provide for activities that are considered outside of the scope of the directive. My officials are also progressing the necessary underpinning required for those agreed protections associated with the activities which are deemed to be exempt from the scope of the directive due to their specific nature, and this element of the process is continuing.

I am sure the Deputy will agree that this is a very significant piece of work which will benefit the entire Defence Forces. The implementation of the working time directive across the Defence Forces will also serve as an important retention measure which will ensure that health and safety protections as prescribed in the directive are afforded to serving personnel. The pilot time and attendance system undertaken by the military authorities recently, and the follow-on procurement process now under way for a long-term electronic solution, will lead to the development of a robust system to record the daily working hours of every member of the Defence Forces. This will be a critical enabler in taking forward the implementation of the directive.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The Commission on the Defence Forces published its report in February 2022. One of the recommendations of the report was the expeditious removal of the blanket exclusion of the Defence Forces from the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, subject to the application of the derogations permitted by the working time directive. This is key and probably the single most important thing that needs to be done to address the retention crisis and, in turn, deal with the recruitment crisis within the Defence Forces. The detailed implementation plan for the report signposted that legislation was being progressed by September this year. In May, in a reply to a parliamentary question I submitted, the Tánaiste stated that his Department had commenced formal dialogue with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on the agreed management position, bringing forward the appropriate legislative framework for removing the blanket exemption from the Organisation of Working Time Act. We are now seven weeks on from that and it would be beneficial if the Tánaiste could update us on what progress has been made in the intervening period. Is there now a final, agreed management position? Has the necessary legislative stage which the Department of Defence was formally discussing with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment been progressed sufficiently and is it still envisaged that this will be fully progressed by September?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy may have missed an earlier answer to this. I have progressed this. I have got agreement with the defence representative organisations on an agreed military management position following discussions. It has been sent to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The legislative process has commenced. I made it a priority when I became Minister for Defence to introduce the working time directive to the Defence Forces. I am determined that we complete this now. The process of legislation has commenced. Officials in the Department of enterprise are working on this. I look forward to its completion.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The commission believes that the implementation of the directive will improve retention, well-being and productivity in the Defence Forces. The Tánaiste is saying it has progressed in the seven weeks. Is September still the date we will see the legislation progressing?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are progressing the legislation now. We agreed a position more than seven weeks ago; I would say perhaps two months ago.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The last parliamentary reply to me stated that you were still in negotiation and at that stage working out the details of the final management position was still under way.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is all done now.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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That is completed and it is now progressing. We can expect this to be progressed by September.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Apologies to the Deputy for interrupting. That is all done. That negotiation process is well and truly over for quite a while now. It has gone to the Department of enterprise. The next challenge is to make sure we get the legislation drafted and published and, with the co-operation of everybody in the House, to get it through the House. That would the desired objective, probably now in the autumn session.