The recent Tonight Show discussion on Ireland’s defence and security highlighted a problem that has existed for years.
Politicians from both sides recognise that the Defence Forces are in serious decline. However, recognising the problem is not the same as understanding it, and it is certainly not the same as solving it.
At the end of March 2026, the Permanent Defence Force had just 7,778 personnel. That is almost 2,000 below its established strength.
Sinn Féin correctly raised the continuing decline in Defence Forces strength. However, much of the contribution quickly returned to the familiar political arguments surrounding neutrality and the Triple Lock.
There was little serious discussion about pay, pensions, accommodation, contracts, family pressures or career prospects. These are the everyday issues affecting personnel and their families. These are also the issues that determine whether someone remains in the Defence Forces or decides that they have had enough.
Fianna Fáil pointed to increased funding, new helicopters, improved communications equipment and new infrastructure.
However, we have heard it before.
New equipment is always coming. New buildings are being planned. Additional funding has been announced. Another review is underway.
Meanwhile, experienced personnel continue to leave.
The pattern continues.
Helicopters cannot fly themselves.
Ships cannot sail without crews.
Communications equipment cannot operate or maintain itself.
New equipment may improve capability, but only if trained and experienced personnel are available to use it. Without them, expensive equipment becomes little more than another political announcement.
The discussion also failed to properly address the Single Public Service Pension Scheme.
Defence Forces personnel recruited since 2013 are placed on a career-average pension scheme integrated with the State Pension. Military personnel, however, may be required to retire many years before they reach State Pension age.
That creates uncertainty and the possibility of a serious gap in retirement income.
Pensions are not something that should only be discussed when a person is preparing to retire. They are part of recruitment. They are part of retention. They are part of the commitment made to someone who agrees to serve the State under military discipline and accept the restrictions that come with that service.
Differences in pay, contracts and pension arrangements have created a two-tier workforce.
It would be wrong to claim that every new entrant earns more than every experienced soldier. However, pay anomalies and unequal pension outcomes do exist.
Personnel wearing the same uniform, accepting the same risks and carrying out the same duties should not receive fundamentally different treatment simply because they joined on different dates.
This problem is not confined to the Defence Forces.
Gardaí, firefighters, paramedics, prison officers, nurses and doctors are all experiencing recruitment and retention difficulties.
Governments repeatedly reach for the same easy solution. They announce another recruitment campaign, increase the number of places in training or produce another advertisement encouraging people to serve.
Recruitment may bring people through the gate.
Retention determines whether they stay.
There is little value in recruiting hundreds of new personnel if trained and experienced people continue walking out the other side.
We now have an Emergency Services Day to recognise the service of those who protect and support the public.
Recognition is welcome. However, it also reminds me of Covid.
We stood outside our homes and applauded nurses, doctors, paramedics and other frontline workers. We called them heroes.
When the crisis passed, many of those same people faced delays, exclusions and disputes over the remuneration they had been promised.
Applause costs nothing.
Ceremonies and speeches are welcome, but they are not a replacement for fair pay, proper pensions, adequate staffing and promises being honoured.
Ireland’s Defence Forces and emergency services do not lack dedication. The men and women serving in them have repeatedly demonstrated their commitment to the State and to the public.
What they lack is a government willing to move beyond announcements, slogans and future promises.
This is a systematic failure by successive governments to properly recognise, reward and retain the people who serve the State.
The State does not honour service simply by applauding it.
It honours service by keeping its word.