James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her comprehensive overview of the Estimates. I outlined earlier in the meeting that we would proceed by considering each Vote in sequence. We will focus on specific subheads before more general questions on other categories. Again, I am referring to the briefing document prepared and I thank the Minister and the Department for sending it on. We have another document prepared by the secretariat for consideration.

We will commence on Vote 20. I call on members to pose their questions under the individual votes rather than jumping to the next one. We will take each one in turn and deal with the issues that arise on each.

We will commence with Vote 20 on pages C4 and C5 in the secretariat briefing, which has been provided to members. This covers pages 6 to 19 in the departmental briefing. There is a good deal in this as we have 13 subheads within Vote 20. Several members have offered. I call on members to be specific about which subheads they are referring to in the Vote and to limit questions under one subhead at a time. I am conscious of time and, as always, I am keen to make the most efficient use of time at the meeting. If there are several questions we might group them and put them to the Minister as a block. Otherwise we will take them one by one depending on how the rhythm of the meeting goes. We will try to accommodate everyone but we will do so in an efficient manner.

Four members are offering in the following order: Deputy Daly, Deputy Martin Kenny, Deputy Niamh Smyth and Deputy Pringle. If anyone else has been missed, please let us know.

Before I call Deputy Daly I will lead off with some questions under Vote 20. I want to ask about subheads A1 and A3. The Minister mentioned at the outset that there was a significant spending figure on pay and pensions. Do we have a breakdown of the distinction between pay and pensions? Under the large subhead A1 there is a reference to pay. To what extent does that refer to serving members who are being paid for being on active service? To what extent does it pay for pensions? What is the split?

My next question relates to subhead A3, which covers clothing and accessories. I had asked the Minister to update us on the tender process for Garda clothing and footwear etc. How often is that done? What checks and balances are in place? Is that process audited? Has it been awarded to the same tenderer? Has it varied in recent years? Perhaps the Minister will answer those questions and then I will bring in the next speaker.