THE Minister for Defence and the Marine, Mr Barrett, yesterday insisted that consultation would continue with military representative associations over cuts in the Defence Forces.
Mr Barrett said he regretted the "public agitation" of the staff association for enlisted soldiers, which yesterday called for his resignation over what it claimed was a breach of faith on plans to rationalise the Defence forces.
At a special delegate conference, the Permanent Defence Forces Other Ranks Representative Association (PDFORRA) also called on the Taoiseach to intervene to stop a crisis of morale in the Defence Forces.
Mr Barrett said there had been consultation. He had met PDFORRA on five occasions and officials had had "numerous" meetings with the association. "It has been made clear to the association that the consultative has not been concluded," he said.
He regretted that PDFORRA "has chosen public agitation rather than constructive dialogue in voicing its concern" and called, on the association to outline its concerns in detail through the representative structures.
The call for the resignation of the Minister is the culmination of a prolonged dispute between the soldiers' representatives and the Department of Defence. Two weeks ago, a meeting between PDFORRA negotiators and two Department officials broke up, with the PDFORRA delegation walking out.
The association represents 10,000 members from the enlisted ranks and has complained of a severe drop in morale over the Government's rationalisation plans. PDFORRA insists the Department is reneging on promises to negotiate with the staff association on proposals to reduce the size and age profile of the Defence forces.
The Department's voluntary redundancy scheme, offered to members of the Defence Forces in the past two weeks, has been massively oversubscribed.
The PDFORRA conference heard there was a crisis of morale and uncertainty among service personnel who wished to remain in the Defence Forces but felt they were being forced out.
The association's general secretary, Mr John Lucey, said that in its implementation plan, the Department had introduced provisions which would allow for people to be made redundant against their wishes.
He pointed to a section the implementation plan which said that soldiers' service would be considered "with due regard to requirements". There was also another provision about the "capping of service", which PDFORRA believed could mean that soldiers who reached certain ranks could be forced to leave after a fixed period.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Lucey said: "The high number of applications for the voluntary early retirement package, double what was requested, is indicative of the low morale in the Defence Forces."
The conference adopted a motion calling on PDFORRA's national executive to "seek the resignation of the Minister for De fence on the grounds that the implementation plan is seriously flawed". It also called on the Taoiseach to intervene and appoint a mediator.