Exclusion from legal provisions that protect Irish employees is one of the major factors behind the recruitment and retention crisis in the Defence Forces, according to an employment lawyer.
The strength of the Defence Forces has fallen below 8,000 for the first time in decades.
Barry Crushell is an employment law solicitor and former army officer, who served with the United Nations on multiple deployments.
Mr Crushell told BreakingNews.ie: "The major issue that the Defence Forces is facing surrounds pay and conditions of service. Fewer people are now being asked to do the same amount of work. Ten years ago the Defence Forces had a strength of 12,000... now it has a strength of just over 7,000 and yet the commitment that Defence Forces members has remains the same in terms of national and international obligations.
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"What this is creating is additional demands on ordinary serving members who are now effectively voting with their feet by walking out of the Defence Forces to civilian jobs, where there is better pay for the work that they undertake, long-term career prospects and better general conditions of service."
Issues facing Defence Forces members are worsened by the fact that they are not covered by provisions of Irish employment law that protect other workers.
Mr Crushell explained: "Irish employment law is generally there to protect the most vulnerable workers in society, many of the protections that would otherwise be afforded to Defence Forces...
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