Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 December 2025
227. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Defence for an update on the issue of chaplains who are without representation despite working for and being paid by the Department of Defence. [72053/25]
View answerThe issue of representation of chaplains has been raised by the Representative Association for Commissioned Officers (RACO) with the Department.
Chaplains are currently appointed to a military installation by their Bishop or religious Superior after consultation with the Head Chaplain and following approval by the Minister for Defence. They are free to to join almost any union or representative association, if they wish, with the exception of military representative associations. Chaplains are not captured by the Defence (Amendment) Act 1990 and therefore cannot be represented by RACO or any other Defence Forces Representative Association.
Officials are exploring the possibility of amending existing primary legislation to address the matter of enabling military representative associations to represent military chaplains. In the interim, the Department has written to the Head Chaplain to advise that chaplains are of course free to bring any matters of concern to them to the Department of Defence.
