The Naval Service is continuing to play catchup after years of under investment as they struggle to attract recruits to the service.
Early indications are that personnel numbers are beginning to grow due to increased wages and allowances and the introduction of free healthcare for all military personnel.
Irish Naval Service recruits now get a basic of €39,000, which is helping the recruitment campaign however the service is still critically short of certain specialists.
PDForra president Mark Keane, who's a petty officer chef based at Haulbowline, told RedFM News while the improvements are welcome more needs to be:
"There's still work in excess of 80 or 90 hours a week at sea that have no set working week. It's long hard roles at sea. We now need to work on the other side of this which is the Working Time Directive to implement the working week and also to implement a structure where people are rewarded for to premium hours they work."
