GOVERNMENT spokesmen last night dismissed reports that consultants had recommended the Naval Service and the Air Corps be transformed into civilian bodies. But the head of the Defence Forces' representative body, PDFORRA, insisted there was "no smoke without fire".
Separate studies of the Naval Service and the Air Corps are being carried out by Price Waterhouse consultants under the auspices of the Government's Efficiency Audit Group. Government spokesmen said work had only started on July 22nd.
The spokesmen described as "entirely speculative" and without foundation suggestions that the consultants had urged that the two services have no further military function and should operate in future as civilian organisations.
However, Mr Jim Brady, president of PDFORRA, recalled that two years ago a general report on the Defence Forces by the same consultants had also been leaked to the media. Those news reports had also been dismissed as speculative, Mr Brady said.
There were about 1,200 PDFORRA members in the Naval Service and 1,000 in the Air Corps so most of the changes recommended by Price Waterhouse would be likely to affect his members.
PDFORRA itself was currently preparing written and verbal submissions to the consultants on the two services.
Senior PDFORRA members had met the Minister for Defence and the Marine, Mr Barrett, earlier in the summer for a general discussion. "We were delighted at the way things were going," Mr Brady said. But this mood had given way to one of concern. "There's obviously something going on there in the background." This association would "fight tooth and nail" against the civilianisation of even part of the two services, which would mean job losses for PDFORRA members.
A Department of Defence spokesman said the reports of civilianisation had "no foundation... absolutely none". A study of the Defence Forces in general had been carried out on behalf of the Efficiency Audit Group but further in depth studies of the Naval Service and the Air Corps had been recommended.
Senior Government sources said there was "no intention to civilianised the Naval Service or the Air Corps". Because of holidays, little progress had as yet been made on the studies of the two services.
For this reason, nobody could "have a clue" what the thrust of the two studies might be although it was possible there might be a recommendation that "very limited areas" of their functions be given to civilians.
The studies of the two services are expected to take the rest of the year to complete. Senior political sources said flatly that wholesale civilianisation was "politically not a runner".