Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister will be aware of the Defence Forces climate survey. How much did this cost and when can we expect publication of the results? Will the representative associations of the Defence Forces be provided with a copy in advance of publication? If so, when will this be? If not, why not? The recommendation of Dr. Eileen Doyle in the independent monitoring group report on bullying and harassment is that the representative associations be engaged in the design and findings of such surveys. Why did this not happen?

The next question relates to the White Paper, on which we have already touched. I was going to ask how many projects were identified but the Minister has already said that there are 88. What is the expected cost of implementing these projects? What timeline is envisaged? What is the expected cost of implementing projects this year and next year? Are there plans to consult with the representative associations during the scoping or planning phase of these projects and to get their views before implementing projects? The White Paper requires meaningful consultation at these early stages. While the Department, the Minister of State and his team are very experienced they need to take on board the views of those whom they expect to implement projects. These are the people on the ground who will implement the White Paper and it is vitally important they are involved in the planning and scoping phases of projects. They will have operational knowledge that the Department will not have and will be able to identify potential issues. Having dealt with these organisations, I know they will be as facilitating as possible and will assist in overcoming any problems in order to make the implementation of the White Paper more successful. In any change management it is necessary to bring people along with the project.

What is the projected cost of filling current officer vacancies this year and next year? Are adequate resources for salaries and training available to recruit the level of staff we need? There is a 38% vacancy rate at lieutenant level and the rate of vacancies at captain level is 44%. These are the management levels of the Defence Forces and these are the peoples running our units in charge of the security of the State. To leave our Defence Forces with such vacancy levels puts them and our country in a very precarious position.

Has the Minister considered commissioning from the ranks and direct entry commissioning to bulk up the numbers? With cadet classes having a maximum capacity of 75 students per year, even if we were to fill every cadet class it would not compensate for the attrition rate we are experiencing. Relying solely on cadet recruitment will not be sufficient to bridge the current gap, a gap which is widening.

With the loss of the western brigade and the closure of a number of barracks over the past few years, soldiers are travelling from Finner in Donegal to Dublin to cover duties, and from Athlone to Finner and Athlone to Dublin, resulting in a huge cost to our Defence Forces. It is clearly not an efficient use of resources for somebody to travel in a car to and from a duty like this, and it would be worthwhile to estimate the cost of this while evaluating the organisational structure of the Defence Forces. It would assist us in addressing the inadequacy in the structure of the Defence Forces. I do not believe we fully appreciate the cost, financial, social and personal, of removing the western brigade.

The Gormanston youth project is part of the White Paper. What was the estimated cost of this project and what is the actual cost? Where is the Department getting the staff from to manage the project? Are they being taken from current posts and are posts being left vacant while this happens? Are people double and triple jobbing to cover this project? Were the representative associations consulted during the scoping phase of this project and prior to implementation? My information is that they were not, which was a bad move and one I hope will not be replicated. Are any civilian personnel involved in the project and at what cost?