Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The comment to which the Deputy refers comes from a presentation I recently delivered at the Institute of International and European Affairs. In the presentation I outlined key issues raised in the Green Paper on Defence published in July. The purpose of the Green Paper was to initiate and stimulate a broad consultative process which would inform the development of a new White Paper on Defence, which it is intended to publish in 2014. The comment should be read in the context of the whole presentation which set out a broad range of issues that must be considered in the development of the next White Paper on Defence. The preparation of the White Paper must take into account an assessment of the future defence and security environment and the roles and tasks we wish the Defence Forces to undertake. However, the economic environment and level of resourcing available must necessarily be factored into considerations. This is a fundamental requirement to ensure a sustainable defence policy.

A key fact which is reflected in the comment to which the Deputy refers is that the Defence Forces undertake a broad range of security and support tasks not typically undertaken to the same extent by similar defence forces in other European states.

The security environment that prevails in this State has required our Army, Air Corps and Naval Service to undertake domestic security tasks on an ongoing basis. In many other European countries certain of the security tasks performed by the Army here would be undertaken by other armed forces, such as the Gendarmerie in France or the Carabinieri in Italy.

In looking to the future we must consider the types of capabilities that should be maintained having regard to likely future operational requirements and available resources. However, the White Paper must be firmly grounded in reality. The reality we face is one where the prioritisation of scarce resources and trade offs between capabilities must be carefully weighed against the implications of such decisions. A critical point, as outlined in my comment, is that the implications are not solely confined to contingent defence issues. Due to the wide variety of roles assigned to the Defence Forces they also have the potential to impact on ongoing operational tasks that provide essential supports to the civil power and protect our economic resources and if not delivered by the Defence Forces would need to be replicated in any event. This must be considered when allocating defence resources. I am conscious, as I said in the paper as delivered, that the proportionate sum we allocate by way of resources to the Defence Forces is extremely small compared to other European countries and is obviously one of the issues to be considered in the context of the White Paper.

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