Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There has been a substantial reduction in the number of civilian staff in the Department of Defence over recent years. In 2008, there were 409, in 2009 there were 375, in 2010 there were 353 and in 2011 there were 247. The number now stands at 349. That is a small number for an entire Department that administers a pay scheme for the Defence Forces and deals with all levels of policy issues, administrative matters and Dáil questions. It is an area that is not as visible as it should be because the media is not interested in it although it has a substantial engagement internationally and gives me great back-up in those areas. We have had a substantial engagement in defence matters since my appointment and that was heightened during the EU Presidency, not only in the informal meeting and the related arrangements in Dublin Castle, but also at relevant meetings of the External Action Service dealing with defence issues in Europe and meetings of the European Defence Agency. We held four separate international conferences on a series of issues during the Presidency. We had a top-level conference last Thursday in Brussels that brought together for the first time in the European Union both the justice and defence sides in the field of cybersecurity. Unfortunately that gets no media attention despite the importance of the issue. It gets substantial attention from departmental officials.

I have great admiration for all of my staff in the Department of Defence. They work long hours beyond the call of duty, frequently for no additional financial benefit. They carry an enormous policy agenda which means we are addressing all of the domestic issues with substantial work done, for example, in preparing the Green Paper. We are dealing with all the EU issues relating to the common security and defence policy.

We are also dealing with all the United Nations issues and our connectivity with 12 different UN missions. In addition, there is continuing interaction between the civil and military side. I am in the middle of all of this exciting and interesting work and I genuinely do not know how the small number of staff in the Department of Defence produces the output it does and manages to provide such top level engagement. There are European related meetings that officials attend and Ministers do not attend. The perspective in the European Union is that we are very much engaged in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions and trying to co-ordinate matters. For these reasons, we should all express a vote of thanks to the civil side in the Department. The military side is also doing a fantastic job.

The Deputy asked about the reorganisation. The savings across the Vote amount to approximately €13 million based on the reorganisation that is taking place. As members will note, the reduction in the funding available has declined by only €5 million since last year. This funding is being deployed in a manner that benefits and ensures capacity and operability in the Defence Forces.

On the issues of savings and equipment, one of the very good decisions that was made by previous Governments - the Deputy will be shocked to hear me praise the previous Government - was the decision to invest in Defence Forces equipment the money realised from the sale of barracks during the consolidation of barracks. This is being done very well and effectively and the Defence Forces are now very well equipped. Some of the equipment, which was obtained prior to my time in the Department with the valid objective of ensuring the Defence Forces were fit for purpose to engage in UN and other missions, is effectively redundant. An appraisal is being undertaken of the possibility of beneficially disposing of equipment which is still in good order but no longer required for the UN missions in which we engage or no longer relevant to any assistance the Defence Forces may give to the civil power. I am committed to ensuring we retain and have available to us the equipment we need to fulfil our functions internationally and domestically.

The reduction in the funding available to defence forces across Europe impacts on the Common Security and Defence Policy and capacity of European Union member states to participate in UN missions. One of the major debating points in Europe is how equipment can be acquired most effectively. For example, the Defence Forces are jointly engaged with the Finns in southern Lebanon. UN missions always involve a number of nations being engaged in a particular project. One of the issues we discussed in our seminar was how the European Union could more effectively operate as a group of EU states under the UN flag performing peacekeeping roles. One of the areas of great interest in this area is the pooling and sharing of resources. Where one is engaged in international missions, including UN peacekeeping missions, there is no point in two or three states working together when they all have available to them a particular resource and there is a gap in another area because none of them has a resource that is required for missions. For example, the availability of helicopters for UN missions appears to be an issue of difficulty on occasions.

In dealing with equipment issues and co-ordinating what we can do at UN level under the EU umbrella, there are savings to be made in the future in pooling and sharing resources and identifying niche areas. One of our niche areas is the neutralisation of improvised explosive devices and ensuring we have what we need in that area. If we are on a joint mission with another state, it may not be necessary for it to have expertise in that area and it could supplement our expertise in a different area. Pooling and sharing of equipment is an important issue.

In the context of the specific allocation for defence equipment in 2013, a sum of €2 million has been allocated for the purchase of force protection equipment and a further €3 million has been allocated for the upgrade and modification of 6,000 current in-service Steyr rifles. Funding is also being provided for the commencement of a replacement programme for the heavy machine gun used by the Defence Forces. In addition, €60 million has been allocated for the continued acquisition of various categories of ammunition. In the context of ammunition stocks, there may be some ammunition that is past its use-by-date but was required for legitimate reasons.

On explosive ordinance, I am conscious of this matter from the Garda side as well as the Army side. There has been an increase in the number of incidents and occasions on which the Defence Forces have been asked to assist the civil power. There was a time when work in this area was essentially confined to terrorist subversives who presented themselves as patriots. Some of the explosive ordinance currently being dealt with has been acquired by criminal gangs who have been assisted by some of the subversive organisations. This is dangerous work which is done with great skill. At European level, Ireland is recognised as having a substantial skill-set in this area and these skills are used to train others on how to neutralise these types of devices internationally in various areas.

To give an insight into the current position, the number of call-outs of Army bomb disposal units was 198 in 2010, 237 in 2011 and 209 in 2012. We are only halfway through 2013 and we had 110 such call-outs by the end of May. It may be the case, therefore, that the figure will increase this year. Incidentally, it is interesting to note the statistic showing that 64 of the 237 call-outs in 2011 were hoaxes. These usually involved the Garda validly bringing in the Defence Forces to deal with a device and it subsequently transpired that it was not a device. A total of 70 of the devices were viable.

While fewer call-outs were made in 2012, the number of hoax call-outs was also lower. Of the 209 call-outs that year, 50 were hoaxes and 96 were viable devices. There was, therefore, an estimated 36 more viable devices in 2012 than in 2011. So far this year, 43 of the 220 call-outs have related to viable devices. While I hope it will not be the case, if the year continues as it has in the first five months, we can expect the number of call-outs to be between the figures recorded in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

The remaining balance of call-outs refers to either false alarms or post-blast analysis where something has occurred and the bomb disposal units are invited to examine the scene or conventional munitions disposal where old ordinance is found. The units also deal with what are known as substances of concern, for example, the disposal of pyrotechnics, fireworks and hazardous material. Some finds consist solely of arms and ammunition rather than improvised explosive devices. However, in cases where arms and ammunition are located, there is a concern that such devices may exist and the Defence Forces are called out for safety and precautionary reasons.