Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy should address her last question to the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney. It is more appropriate for him to answer it.

We had an increase in our budget. The total Defence allocation after this budget will be €1.994 billion. That is a 5% increase of €47 million from 2018. There is €29 million in capital funding and €6 million for pay increases under the public service stability agreement. The pay increases were received in January and on 1 October of this year. There are €2.2 million of additional UNIFIL costs from the Dormant Accounts Fund. This is provided on an Exchequer-neutral basis. There is also an increase in the pensions Vote of €10 million.

Of course pay and conditions and recruitment and retention are high priorities for me. I have spoken about them on numerous occasions on the public record. That is why members of the Defence Forces, like all members of the public service, have received pay increases this year under the public service stability programme under which there is a negotiated pay deal until 2020. By the time that pay deal is concluded, anybody at or under €70,000 will have had their pay restored. In parallel to that we have the independent pay commission, with which my Department and military management have been engaging fully over the last months. There was a joint military management and civil submission to the independent pay commission which was made in early September of this year. We expect it will be reported upon in the first quarter of next year. There is a considerable amount of work to be done on that and interface is taking place at the moment between the pay commission and the members of the Defence Forces.

Joining PESCO does not involve any additional cost to the Exchequer and I stated that when our intention to join PESCO was first mooted. Additional costs may arise in respect of participation in specific PESCO projects, similar to what is the case when the Defence Forces participate in European Defence Agency projects. The projects will relate to the ongoing development of the Defence Forces' capabilities for peace support and crisis management operations. Such costs would be incurred in the normal course and they will therefore be met from within the Department of Defence Vote. It is expected that sharing the cost of capability development across a number of member states should prove cost neutral in terms of the overall projected Defence expenditure.

The Deputy spoke about our policy on neutrality and NATO. Ireland is a member of Partnership for Peace within NATO and we meet with other members of the partnership on an ongoing basis that might have a policy like ours on neutrality. On the arms issue, which is more for the Minister, Deputy Coveney, for many countries, the defence industry is a significant element of their economy and a significant employer. As the Commission moves to apply Single Market principles to the defence sector, access to Commission instruments in support of conciliation and increasing efficiencies in the sector, including EU research and development funds, can come into play.

The plan does not focus on the arms industry but, rather, on research and the development of new technology in the defence sector in the widest sense, including the application of commercial and civilian technologies in the defence sector. As all members are aware, Ireland does not have a defence industry but it has particular strengths in the area of dual use and civil commercial technologies which can support defence capability. We must keep in mind that the technologies which will be developed under the action plan will also contribute to the capability of our Defence Forces when engaged in operations. The Defence Forces will require cutting-edge military equipment and technology and we will seek to ensure that this initiative delivers in that regard.

Are there any other issues the Deputy asked me to address?