Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)

A value for money review, VFM, of the Reserve Defence Force commenced in February 2010. In the interim period the EU-IMF deal was signed. The requisite fiscal consolidation which was a part of this deal has a direct bearing on the level of resourcing available for the Defence Forces. This in turn is linked to the framing of future plans for the organisation of the Defence Forces, including the Reserve Defence Force. In response to the economic difficulties, the level of resourcing available for the Defence Forces has decreased, which has impacted the broader organisation, including the resources available for the Reserve Defence Force. There have been significant reductions in paid training and recruitment has been curtailed in line with these reductions.

The Government's comprehensive review of expenditure, CRE, was the mechanism for determining the resource envelope for the Defence Forces over the coming years. The CRE process has presented two challenges to the progression of the VFM review of the Reserve Defence Force. First, members of the team undertaking the VFM review were asked to prioritise the CRE. Second, it was not feasible to isolate proposals for the Reserve Defence Force until the resource envelope for the Defence Forces for the coming years was made known in budget 2012 following the completion of the CRE. Accordingly, while work has been ongoing, it was not feasible to identify options for the future development of the Reserve pending clarity on the broader resource envelope.

Significant challenges lie ahead within the reduced resource envelope. As part of the response to the downsizing of the PDF to 9,500 personnel, a major reorganisation of the Defence Forces, encompassing a reduction from three to two Army brigades, will be undertaken. This will also affect the Reserve Defence Force. The Chief of Staff and Secretary General are to provide detailed proposals in this regard for consideration. In effect, the work on the VFM review of the RDF has been overtaken by broader events. The VFM steering committee will now consider the way ahead in light of the reorganisation of the Defence Forces and the budgetary provision. Clearly, the future plans for the Reserve must dovetail with those for the overall defence organisation.

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