Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for his opening remarks. I look forward to working with him as Chairman of this committee and with its members. I thank him for his good wishes and wish him the very best of luck as Chairman of this important committee. I welcome my first opportunity to engage with the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence, to consider the 2016 Revised Estimates for Votes 35 - Army Pensions and Vote 36 - Defence and I look forward to working with it on defence matters.

I understand that the committee does not want a lengthy opening statement, so I will just set out the overall position before discussing the detail of the two Votes. The defence sector is made up of two Votes, namely, Vote 35 - Army Pensions and Vote 36 - Defence. The high level goal of both the defence and Army pension Votes is to provide for the military defence of the State, contribute to national and international peace and security and fulfil all other roles assigned by Government. Accordingly, defence sector outputs are delivered under a single programme in each Vote.

The combined estimates for defence and Army pensions for 2016 provides for gross expenditure of €906 million. Of that, €682 million is allocated to Vote 36 - Defence, with more than 72% of the defence Vote going towards providing for pay and allowances. The remaining non-pay allocation provides mainly for the renewal and maintenance of essential equipment, infrastructure and operational costs.

The Army pensions Vote makes provision for retired pay, pensions, allowances and gratuities payable to or in respect of former members of the Defence Forces. The 2016 estimate provides a gross sum of €224 million for the Army pensions Vote. More than €214 million of this allocation covers expenditure on all superannuation benefits for former members of the Permanent Defence Force and their dependants. It is primarily demand-driven and non-discretionary.

Having set out the financial parameters of both Votes, I would now like to outline some of the main features of the single programme on the defence Vote entitled Defence Policy and Support, Military Capabilities and Operational Outputs. To allow the defence organisation to deliver effectively on its outputs and undertake the tasks laid down by Government at home and overseas, an appropriately resourced Department of Defence and Defence Forces are required. In this regard, the 2016 defence pay and allowances allocation of €493 million will provide for a Permanent Defence Force strength of up to 9,500. In addition, it will provide for the pay and allowances of 550 civilian employees, 350 civil servants, 18 chaplains and 14 Army nurses.

There has been continuous recruitment over the past few years with an average of more than 475 taken on each year since 2011. In 2016, to the end of May, a total of 241 general service recruits have been inducted and there are plans in place to take on a total of 600 such recruits this year, with a further 850 planned for 2017. In addition to general service recruitment, 75 cadets and 26 Air Corps apprentices are also scheduled to be inducted later this year.

The defence non-pay allocation comprises both current and capital expenditure elements. The current expenditure non-pay allocation of some €121 million provides mainly for essential and ongoing Defence Forces standing and operational costs such as utilities, fuel, catering, maintenance, information technology and training. The capital expenditure allocation of €68 million provides for the necessary procurement and upgrading of defensive equipment and infrastructure.

The capital investment programme published last year allocated €437 million to defence over the period 2016 to 2021. This has allowed defence to identify and prioritise the investment of capital expenditure funds across the Army, Naval Service and the Air Corps over the coming years. The White Paper on Defence indicates the main equipment priorities in this regard. A number of specific spending decisions are still at the planning stages but projects under active consideration include the acquisition of armoured logistical vehicles for overseas missions; the further development of the armoured personnel carrier fleet; the replacement of Air Corps aircraft; and the replacement of Naval vessels in the Naval Service flotilla.

I am delighted to inform members that a contract has recently been signed with Babcock International for the provision of a fourth ship under the Naval vessel replacement programme, at a cost of €67 million. This represents excellent value and will be of major benefit to the State and a further significant enhancement of defence capabilities. Initial payments under this contract will be met from the overall 2016 defence allocation. I expect to be engaging with this committee later in the year for a technical Supplementary Estimate to give effect to the use of savings on other subheads to meet this additional funding on the Naval subhead.

The White Paper on Defence, launched by the previous Minister last year, is an important document in setting out strategic defence policy for the coming years. The White Paper process has comprehensively evaluated the ever-changing security climate, assessed the emerging threats, considered the associated capability requirements and provided the defence policy framework for the next decade based on a forward looking assessment of the security environment. This policy framework is flexible and responsive and allows the defence organisation to adapt to changing circumstances.

Following the publication of the White Paper, a total of 88 separate projects were identified. A joint civil-military project team has been established to oversee the implementation process and work in that regard is now well under way in the Department and the Defence Forces.

I would now like to briefly outline some of the key roles and outputs delivered under the defence programme. As the committee is aware, the Defence Forces continue to make a considerable contribution to international peace and security. As of 1 June 2016, Ireland was contributing 474 Defence Forces personnel to 11 overseas missions throughout the world. This level of overseas deployment reflects Ireland’s ongoing contribution to international peace and security. The main overseas missions in which Defence Forces personnel are currently deployed are the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon with 199 personnel, and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force on the Golan Heights with 136 Defence Forces personnel. As part of the response to the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, Ireland’s current overseas commitments now also include the deployment of the LE Róisín, with 57 personnel, to the Mediterranean in May of this year.

Domestic security is primarily the responsibility of the Department of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána. However, the Defence Forces play a key support role and in 2015, as part of its aid to the civil power function, the Defence Forces provided a valuable military operational response, as and when required. By way of illustration of the type and volume of aid to the civil power roles undertaken in 2015, the Defence Forces supported An Garda Síochána in 1,021 Garda air support unit missions, 365 Central Bank security guards, 142 prisoner escorts, 141 explosive ordnance disposal call-outs and 18 Naval Service diving operations.

The assistance of the Defence Forces can also be sought by the principal response agencies in dealing with major emergencies. This aid to the civil authorities role encompasses a broad variety of responses, often supported by a service level agreement or a memorandum of understanding. Some of the key outputs under this heading include the level of response to the flooding crisis of late 2015, when 1,304 Defence Forces personnel were deployed nationwide to help with building flood defences, manning water pumps and transporting individuals and families left isolated by severe flooding. The Defence Forces were also deployed on 436 missing person searches in 2015. In addition, the Naval Service conducted a total of 1,079 fisheries boardings, detaining ten vessels for infringements and the Air Corps conducted 397 emergency aeromedical support missions in 2015.

Civil Defence is also funded from the defence Vote and throughout 2015, it was involved in a wide range of activities across the country, including supporting responses to major emergencies. Hundreds of Civil Defence volunteers from right across the country assisted in dealing with the widespread flooding in December. Missing person searches are also an ongoing and valuable feature of the work of Civil Defence.

I am very proud of the role played by the defence organisation in ceremonial events held in 2015 and to date in 2016, as part of the 2012 to 2022 Decade of Centenaries programme. Their input contributed enormously to the sense of occasion, ceremony and national pride that accompanied these events.

Among the many ceremonial highlights which incorporated a military role in 2016 were the flag raising in Dublin Castle on 1 January and the full military display involving 2,500 military personnel at the Easter Sunday commemoration parade. A number of other events are planned for 2016 and the Department of Defence will continue to work closely with the Ireland 2016 project office in the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Department of the Taoiseach to ensure the continued success of the decade of centenaries programme.

The White Paper on Defence also recognised the importance of the Reserve Defence Forces as a vital component of Ireland’s defence arrangements and the Government has acknowledged the excellent levels of voluntary service pertaining to Reserve Defence Forces membership and the vital role they can play in supporting the Permanent Defence Force. However, to increase operational efficiency, it was also acknowledged that reform is necessary and a range of measures, building on the value for money review of the Reserve Defence Forces, will, over time, increase the overall effectiveness of the Reserve Defence Forces.

Vote 35, the Army pensions Vote, has a single programme entitled, Provision for Defence Forces Pensions Benefits. Expenditure under Vote 35 is demand-driven and non-discretionary, with superannuation benefits - pensions and gratuities - and disability pensions, etc., accounting for 99% of all expenditure. Pension benefits granted are, for the most part, statutory entitlements once certain criteria are met. Some 12,150 pensioners paid from the Army pensions Vote. This is a net increase of 1,150 since 2007. Some 2,450 military personnel have retired on pension from January 2010 to date. Over recent years, a shortfall arising on the Army pensions Vote has required a Supplementary Estimate. In 2015, it amounted to €6.5 million. I expect a Supplementary Estimate will also be required in 2016. Previously, the shortfall was addressed through savings arising on the defence Vote, without any requirement for additional Exchequer funding. It is intended that this arrangement will also apply this year and I will brief the committee at the appropriate time.

Some 80 surviving widows of deceased veterans of the War of Independence are in receipt of pensions from my Department. Their average age is 92 and their numbers are, understandably, declining with the years. As a mark of the State’s appreciation, and given that this year is the 100th anniversary of the Easter 1916 Rising, I am pleased to tell the committee that these widows have received a special 50% boost in their monthly pensions, effective from 1 January 2016. There are no Old IRA veterans in receipt of pensions, given that the last such veteran died in 2006.

I have broadly outlined the key inputs, outputs and performance indicators for the defence sector. Overall expenditure to date in 2016 is largely as expected for the first five months of the year, with no significant unforeseen or unplanned pressures arising other than those already outlined. The committee members have been provided with briefing material on the individual subheads for both the Defence Estimates and Army Pensions Estimates and I look forward to positive engagement on any issues the members may wish to discuss.