Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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Columb Barracks in Mullingar, and specifically the old prison that has graffiti on the walls dating back to the early 1900s. It is a very historic building.

I want to move to subhead A7 on Defence Forces civilian support, pay and allowances. Based on the information that has been provided, the Revised Estimate for 2023 has gone up but the staff numbers seem to be going down. Is there a reason for that? What are the areas of change?

On subhead A8 on Defence Forces capability development, excluding aircraft and naval vessels, what is the allocation for actual equipment and what are the priorities for that spending?

Subhead A12 deals with barrack expenses and engineering equipment. The members of the committee have visited the Curragh and have seen, first-hand, the amount of improvement works that need to be carried out. We have also been to the naval base and we have seen the works that need done there. Nobody is disputing the fact that works are desperately needed. I want to ask specifically about the impact on the cost of the materials. Has that been budgeted for by the Department of Defence?

Subhead A15 concerns Defence Forces communications and IT. It is one of the areas that this committee has touched on before, particularly following the cyberattack on the HSE. We discussed the need for communications systems to be the best that they can be. Is the Department of Defence reviewing any of the security systems that are in place in terms of the use or potential use of Hikvision systems?

On subhead A21 on litigation and compensation costs, the Tánaiste referenced the report of the IRG that was brought to him last week, as I understand. Is that review an indicating factor in the increase of the amount of money that has been budgeted for litigation costs? I may come back in again with more general questions.