Irish Navy sailors are getting paid so little that some are sleeping on ships when they're off duty, a committee has heard.
Morale in the Irish military is said to be "on the floor" due to the lack of investment.
President of PDFORRA, which represents rank and file Defence Forces members, Mark Keane said up to 90 sailors are staying on ships after they 26 day patrol due to a lack of accommodation.
He told the Oireachtas Committee: "These ships have 11 berths in them, so it means you have 11 personnel in a room. Now if you picture this deputy, they do 26 day cycles patrols.
“So they’re 26 days away from a naval base, that’s where they spend their time.
"They come back in for 16 day self-maintenance periods, they spend their time on that ship again. Now these people work 60/70 hours-a-week on average at sea.
"We take the larger ships, they do up to three to four months at sea away from home, which is the norm in any navy.
"They come back, again they’ve a sixteen day cycle, they’re back in the naval base.
"They also have to perform military duties on that ship, they’re forced to live in where they work. We wouldn’t ask anyone else to.
"We’ve heard a lot in the media about citizens we can’t afford accommodation, our members are citizens in uniforms as well. They deserve a place to put their head at night, they deserve a place where they can get off these ships.
"These men and women, they served their country, they do us proud.
"You’ve seen them in the Mediterranean, you’ve seen them overseas and then we bring them home and ask them to live in these ships? That’s what we give them back?"
PDFORRA General Secretary Gerard Guinan said mental health among personnel has been affected due to pay and staff shortages.
He told the committee: "These staffing shortfalls have, as articulated previously, resulted in extreme stress and anxiety for personnel and their families.
"The lack of proper remuneration has further impacted on the morale of personnel, which ultimately reflects on operational effectiveness."
