THE offer of voluntary redundancy payments to reduce the size of the Defence Forces has sparked something of a stampede, with almost one in 12 applying to leave.
The application list for the "voluntary early retirement" (VER) package has been so great that the Defence Forces is to set up a board to sort applications.
The total number of redundancy payments on offer for 1996 has been oversubscribed by 100 per cent, within two weeks of the offers being made.
The Department of Defence had provided funds for VER payments for around 60 officers and 400 enlisted personnel this year.
However, it is understood that some 120 officers and more than 800 enlisted personnel have applied for the offer since it was announced on April 23rd. It remains open until June 7th and more applications are expected.
The number of voluntary redundancies, over the next three years, was estimated at 1,500. There was considerable surprise in both the Defence Forces and Department of Defence when it emerged that two thirds of the target figure was met within a fortnight.
There has been no official comments from the Defence Forces or Department about the interest shown in the voluntary redundancy package. However, Army sources confirmed yesterday that the scheme had been heavily oversubscribed.
The level of interest in quitting the Defence Forces is likely to cause concern and embarrassment for senior management.
Army sources yesterday said interest in voluntary redundancy reflected poor morale levels since the issue of reducing the Defence Forces began some years ago.
In the last Budget, the Government allocated £13.5 million for voluntary redundancy in the Defence Forces but it may now have to increase this.
There have been continuous appraisals and reviews by consultants and committees over the past seven years, culminating in the report of the Efficiency Audit Group (EAG) late last year.
This recommended the reduction of the Defence Forces from 13,000 to 11,500 over a three year period.
New recruits are now only being contracted for five years leading soldiers to say that careers in the Defence Forces are a thing of the past.
There have also been regular statements to the effect that the "age pro file" of the Defence Forces has to be reduced and continued speculation about the closure of barracks.
The groups currently targeted for early retirement include personnel defined as medically unfit for soldiering those aged over 50 officers recruited in the early 1970s when there was an increase in cadet numbers because of the conflict in Northern Ireland and about 12 members of the Naval Service who suffer from chronic sea sickness.
The VER scheme has been criticised by both the Defence Forces' staff associations, the Permanent Defence Forces' Other Ranks Representative Association (PDFORRA) which represents the non commissioned ranks and the Representative Association for Commissioned Officers (RACO).