Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to present this Bill to the House. This is a short technical Bill. It was debated in the Seanad yesterday for 15 to 17 minutes or thereabouts. It provides for the inclusion in the Defence Act 1954 of an appropriate naval rank for the position of Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces. I thank Members for facilitating discussion on all Stages today.

Traditionally, the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces has assumed the army rank of Lieutenant General. On 30 June 2015 the Government approved Rear Admiral Mark Mellet for approval by the President as the next Chief of Staff from the end of September. Rear Admiral Mellet is the first naval officer to be recommended for appointment by the President as Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces. The commissioned rank of Vice Admiral in the Defence Forces is the equivalent naval rank to the army rank of Lieutenant General. The purpose of the Bill is to provide for the rank of Vice Admiral in the Defence Act.

Before dealing with the detailed provisions, I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate Rear Admiral Mellett on his forthcoming appointment and wish him well in his new and challenging role. He will be taking office at the same time as the publication and launch of a new White Paper. There will be a sense of a new chapter for the Defence Forces, and that is welcome.

I also thank Lieutenant-General Conor O'Boyle for his distinguished service and important contribution as Chief of Staff in recent years. I got to know him very well in the past 12 months and regard him as a Chief of Staff who has done a remarkable job in recent years. He has changed things for the better in the Defence Forces. His mark is certainly on the White Paper. I thank him for a career of dedication in the Defence Forces and wish him a very happy retirement.

I will now mention the detailed provisions included in the Bill. Section 1 which contains definitions is a standard definitions section that, in this case, provides definitions for the "Principal Act", the Defence Act 1954, and the "Act of 1979", the Defence Act 1979.

Section 2 amends section 24 of the principal Act. The Second Schedule to the Defence Act 1954 lists, in tabular format, the commissioned Army and naval ranks in the Defence Forces. There is no equivalent naval rank for the Army rank of lieutenant-general. The section amends section 24(3) of the Defence Act 1954 to provide for the inclusion in the Second Schedule to the Act of the equivalent commissioned naval rank, that is, vice-admiral, for the commissioned Army rank of lieutenant-general.

Section 3 which amends the Second Schedule to the principal Act inserts, for ease of reference, an amended Second Schedule in the Defence Act 1954 that includes the naval rank of vice-admiral as the appropriate rank if a naval officer is appointed Chief of Staff.

Section 4 contains the Short Title and collective citation. It is a standard citation provision.

As the Bill will only give effect to a minor and technical change to the Defence Act 1954, it was considered that pre-legislative scrutiny was not needed in this case. On the proposed amendment tabled by Deputies Seán Ó Fearghaíl and Denis Naughten to change references to "Army rank" to "Army and Air Corps ranks", I do not propose to accept it on the basis that there is no requirement for separate references to Air Corps ranks which are the same as Army ranks. The Air Corps and the Naval Service are both service corps of the Defence Forces. The reason the Schedule to the Act provides a separate column for the Naval Service is that naval ranks are different from the ranks of the Army and the Air Corps. The Air Corps and the Army essentially use the same ranks, as Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl knows very well.

There is a need to review the Defence Acts and we will do so if we have time in government. The Act being amended was put together in 1954, but it really reflects what was put in place in 1924 and we need to review it.

An amendment has been ruled out of order because of potential cost implications. It proposes establishing a rank of admiral to match the rank of general. Neither of these ranks is used in the Defence Forces. For the sake of completeness, it is probably the right approach, but this is not the time for it. We are simply seeking to change the legislation in a technical way to facilitate the new Chief of Staff and establish an appropriate rank for him in order that the change can take effect in September.

A broader review of the Defence Acts which may involve many other changes is probably necessary, but I do not believe we have the time to carry it out in advance of September, which is when Lieutenant-General Conor O'Boyle will retire and soon-to-be Vice-Admiral Mark Mellett will take over as Chief of Staff. That is from where we are coming and I ask colleagues to facilitate the change today in order that it may be made.

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