Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Duncan Smith. He has given me a good introduction for my response. I propose to deal with the two Departments for which I have responsibility. I have just under nine minutes to do so. I will deal with the Department of Defence first.

The total allocation for the defence sector for 2022 is €1.107 billion comprising €836 million for Vote 36 and €271 million for Vote 35, the Army pensions Vote. This represents an overall increase of €35 million on 2021 and reflects the Government's ongoing commitment to defence. The White Paper on Defence highlights the importance of capability development and the necessity for continued renewal, upgrade and acquisition of military equipment and infrastructure. To this end, the certainty provided by multi-annual capital funding of €566 million for defence out to 2025, including €141 million for next year, is particularly welcome as it will enable the planning and delivery of further key equipment and infrastructure projects over the coming years. Among the major defence equipment upgrade and replacement programmes set to be prioritised over the coming years are the land forces capability development and force protection programmes, the Naval Service vessel renewal and replacement programme and the Air Corps aircraft renewal and replacement programme.

A significant number of defence infrastructural projects will also advance under the Defence Forces built infrastructure programme. These projects will boost ongoing efforts at modernising and upgrading defence built infrastructure over the coming years and include the provision of a new cadet school in the Defence Forces training centre at the Curragh Camp, the provision of a new military medical facility at Casement Aerodrome and accommodation upgrades in military locations throughout the country such as Collins Barracks, McKee Barracks and the naval base at Haulbowline.

The defence pay and allowances allocation has increased by €11 million to €545 million and provides pay funding for more than 10,400 public service employees within the defence sector, including a Permanent Defence Force of up to 9,500 personnel. With the support of the Chief of Staff, I remain absolutely committed to maximising Defence Forces recruitment and retention. However, as I have previously acknowledged, there are ongoing staffing challenges in the Defence Forces. With the agreement of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, my Department will continue to use any unused pay provision to reinvest in the Defence Forces.

The allocation for Vote 35, which relates to Army pensions, has increased by €8 million to €271 million. This ensures that sufficient funding is available to meet the retirements benefits of some 12,750 ex-members of the Defence Forces and certain dependants.

The Commission on the Defence Forces will report by the end of this year and will make recommendations informing decisions regarding the future development of the Defence Forces. The Government will consider any recommendations the commission makes at that time. I look forward to having a debate in this House with regard to the recommendations of that commission. I hope this will be possible before the end of the year.

I will use this opportunity to acknowledge the ongoing contribution of the Defence Forces in response to the Covid-19 emergency. Since early 2020, they have provided ongoing support to our health services, which significantly boosted the Health Service Executive's capacity to deal with the myriad challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The recent issues raised by the Women of Honour and a group of women serving in the Defence Forces are of the utmost seriousness. I assure all Members of this House that I am committed to addressing these issues comprehensively.

With regard to the Department of Foreign Affairs, budget 2022 underlined the Government's continuing commitment to Ireland's ambitious, visible and active role on the international stage. I am pleased to see a strong focus on increased overseas aid, investment in passport services and increasing Ireland's global footprint. The budget includes increased investment in Irish Aid, bringing Ireland's annual overseas development aid budget to over €1 billion for the first time, with development assistance across government rising from €868 million in 2021 to €1.074 billion next year. The increased allocation responds to a number of key Government priorities. It is the right thing to do and is also an investment in Ireland's security and prosperity.

Our key priorities in 2022 include health systems. To strengthen our collective ability to withstand future pandemics, we will ensure a focus on getting Covid vaccines to those who need them through support for Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access, COVAX, and continued investment in health systems in partner countries, working closely with the HSE and the Department of Health. Thanks to the increased allocation for development aid in budget 2022, climate action will be a particular area of focus, reflecting the political focus we are bringing to this issue on the United Nations Security Council. We will also prioritise work on education, particularly the education of girls, and on responding to increased hunger worldwide. Our ability to respond to crises, such as those in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Yemen and Syria, builds our credibility on the UN Security Council, which also helps us to address the underlying causes of such crises.

Global citizenship is a key part of our membership of the EU. It is also an expression of our values and interests as a nation. Increased overseas development aid is more than empathy and compassion; it is an investment in our security in the face of multiple complex global challenges. Our Global Ireland strategy aims to double Ireland's global footprint by 2025. Next year, we will open four new missions in key locations around the world.

As travel continues to open up, budget 2022 will see us invest an additional €10 million in passport services in response to the increasing demand for passports both at home and abroad. We expect to have to issue up to 1.7 million passports next year. The highest number we have ever achieved before now was just under 1 million in 2019, the year before Covid. As many people have not applied for passport renewals this year for the obvious reason that they have not been travelling, we believe there will be a significant increase next year. The estimate is somewhere between 1.3 million and 1.7 million. We need to invest heavily in staff, equipment and space if we are to do that. All of that is under way.

I am also delighted that the budget allows for an increase in focused supports for Northern Ireland. Alongside an enhanced shared island fund, a €1 billion investment in the Brexit adjustment reserve and confirmation of a new PEACE PLUS cross-Border North-South EU programme, this budget allocates €2 million to the International Fund for Ireland in recognition of the vital work it does to promote contact, dialogue and reconciliation across communities in Northern Ireland and in Border counties.

On the defence side, we have an ambitious budget that gives us more money to spend on the capital side and more than enough money to cover both pensions and salaries.

If we do not get up to our target strength of 9,500, the excess money from that will remain in the defence Vote and will be reallocated to other areas, particularly the capital investment programme, in order to make sure that nothing is being wasted.

As was said on budget day by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, in many ways the real questions the Government will have to answer in terms of the resourcing of the Defence Forces will come when we publish the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces in December. We may get an opportunity to debate that in the Chamber in December or January. I look forward to the work of the commission resulting in a fundamental and serious debate on defence and security issues, and the resourcing issues that come with them. I believe we will see that the work of the commission has been extremely comprehensive by the time its report is published.

On the foreign affairs side, we are in expansion mode. The ODA budget is being significantly increased this year, to well over €1 billion for the first time ever. We are also opening new embassies and consulates in strategic parts of the world where Ireland has not had a voice in the past but needs one in the future. In terms of citizens' services, in particular passports, we are investing heavily in hardware, space and new people to make sure that we can meet the significant increase in the demand for passports next year.

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