Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to update Deputies on the response of the defence sector to Covid-19. At the outset, I express my deepest condolences to all who have lost loved ones during this pandemic and I wish a full recovery to all those fighting the coronavirus.

I will outline the contribution made by the defence sector as part of the overall response of the State to this terrible disease. The collective response of the defence organisation involves personnel of the Permanent Defence Force, members of the Reserve, Civil Defence volunteers, civil servants and civilian employees within my Department. At an early stage in the response to Covid-19, a Defence Forces joint task force was established in McKee Barracks. The joint task force is co-ordinating the Defence Forces supports during the response to Covid-19, with the priority on supports to the HSE.

The contribution of the Defence Forces to our national response includes helping the HSE with contact tracing, engineering support, the fitting of temporary facilities for the agency, such as in Citywest, and operating the new testing centre in the Aviva Stadium on the agency's behalf.

In addition, they have provided tentage for and marshalled HSE testing sites, transported tests to Germany, collected personal protective equipment, PPE, from 150 cargo flights and taken responsibility for the storage and distribution of PPE for the HSE. The Defence Forces also support the National Ambulance Service and its crews.

From 20 March to 29 May, the Defence Forces have undertaken more than 21,000 troop taskings, with the overall commitment of Defence Forces personnel totalling 55,000 taskings, including an average of 446 personnel on standby each day. We should not forget that during the Covid-19 crisis the Defence Forces have continued to fulfil other roles and provide support. Explosive ordnance teams have responded to 35 call-outs, the emergency aeromedical service, EAS, has carried out 117 missions, the inter-hospital transfer service has provided 17 lifesaving transport missions and the Air Corps has provided firefighting support to combat gorse fires in counties Wicklow, Kildare and Laois. The Air Corps conducted 15 military transport flights to and from missions abroad involving the movement of personnel, equipment and PPE. The Naval Service continues to patrol our seas. Most important, the Defence Forces have maintained more than 500 members on overseas missions on behalf of the United Nations.

I wish to commend every member of the Reserve and Permanent Defence Forces who has contributed to this effort. The Government and the public deeply appreciate their efforts in supporting our national response. These efforts are supported by a substantial programme of investment in equipment and infrastructure projects that sustain the capability of the Defence Forces. For example, my Department has committed more than €250 million to acquire six new planes for the Air Corps. The first of these PC-12 fixed-wing utility aircraft, acquired by the Department from Pilatus Aircraft Limited, Switzerland, for €5.2 million, including VAT, has been used to transport Covid tests to and from Germany.

Deputies will be aware that the Covid pandemic has impacted on overseas deployments. Neither the troubled zones in question nor those charged by the UN with keeping the peace there have been immune to Covid-19. To safeguard local populations and peacekeepers, on 5 April the Secretary-General of the United Nations suspended the rotations of 100,000 peacekeepers in 39 missions until after 30 June. I am pleased to state that all of our rotations have been completed. In the case of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, mission, the UN granted us an exemption that allowed our troops to rotate before the end of June deadline. As I stated, I recognise the impact of the delay on members of the Defence Forces and their families. I hope the exemption we negotiated with the UN brings greater certainty in respect of the dates it provided. I wish to thank it and all others involved for their help. I wish to confirm that the two officers who were stationed in the Congo returned to Ireland at the weekend.

The focus on Covid has impacted on Defence Forces recruitment and resulted in changes to training and work practices. I can confirm that the current strength of the Defence Forces is 8,485. This is lower than planned. The ability of the Defence Forces to induct and train recruits has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 situation. Inductions in the first months of 2020 were postponed. Some 160 extra general recruits were expected to have inducted by now. The Defence Forces are currently finalising a revised training schedule to take account of public health guidelines. Covid-19 will continue to have an unprecedented impact on the number that can be inducted and trained at any one time and, as a result, on the rate at which the strength of the Defence Forces will increase during this period.

There is increased interest in careers in the Defence Forces, as borne out by the level of applications for all recruitment competitions, of which there have been 13 so far this year. For example, the number of general service recruitment applications, at 2,994, is above anticipated for this point of the year. The number of applications for Air Corps apprenticeships has also increased significantly over the past year. It is worth noting that overall officer numbers are close to full establishment figure. There are vacancies in some areas or ranks and excess in others. Gaps in particular areas, such as a shortage of pilots, are being addressed.

I am pleased to report that more than 600 applications have been received under the new scheme for re-entry.

Some 500 have gone forward for further assessment by the Chief of Staff. In excess of 35 applications have also been received in regard to the re-commissioning scheme for PDF officers. I anticipate receiving the recommendation of the Chief of Staff shortly in regard to the first batch of re-entrants. The contribution to be made by such experienced enlisted personnel and officers will, I believe, assist in addressing capability gaps.

Despite the demands and constraints arising from Covid-19, work has continued on the Government's high-level plan, Strengthening our Defence Forces. While some projects are taking longer than anticipated, a number have been significantly progressed to date. Any management quotas arising from these finalised reports fall within the scope of representations and will be discussed with the representative associations, RACO and PDFORRA, as appropriate. I would like to thank the civil and military staff undertaking this work for all their efforts to date.

In terms of additional expenditure, and in common with other Votes, the Covid-19 response has placed essential, additional and unforeseen expenditure demands on my Department across a wide range of areas. To date, some €10.8 million has been spent by the Department of Defence in responding to Covid-19-related issues. This expenditure includes, as I mentioned earlier, €5.2 million towards the acquisition of a new aircraft; some €4.2 million in respect of additional medical, engineering, building, PPE, audiovisual and transport costs across the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps; over €1 million in additional allowance payments; and some €400,000 in respect of additional Civil Defence costs. In addition, ICT investment has facilitated remote working opportunities across the defence organisation and has ensured ongoing business continuity during this turbulent period.

Turning to the Civil Defence, the organisation is built on 3,500 volunteers giving freely of their time and expertise. Since the outset of Covid-19 in Ireland in March of this year, the Civil Defence has been activated by the principal response agencies and has undertaken over 2,500 individual tasks. This has required almost 20,000 volunteer hours to be provided by over 800 individual volunteers. In many cases, Civil Defence volunteers have undertaken front-line roles, utilising the fleet of Civil Defence vehicles, such as the transport of Covid-19-positive patients to hospitals and isolation centres, and transport of suspected Covid-19 persons to testing centres. The Civil Defence has assisted the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, delivered medicine, food and support to vulnerable people in the community and transported PPE, tests and staff across the country. I want to acknowledge and recognise the contribution of Civil Defence officers and assistant Civil Defence officers, including the newly-appointed 18 temporary assistant Civil Defence officers and, of course, the volunteers.

As part of our national response to Covid-19, we are seeing the very best of all aspects of the defence sector. The challenge of achieving the full strength of the PDF is acknowledged and there are many strands to the work under way in that regard. There is also significant investment by the taxpayer in equipment, infrastructure and people. While recognising the challenges, it is crucial to also recognise how the Defence Forces have demonstrated their capacity to provide excellent support to the front-line services, alongside the other roles defined by Government.

In conclusion, I would like to thank all of the front-line healthcare staff and other essential workers, including all those across the defence sector, for all of the work that has been ongoing and that continues to be done in these extraordinary times. I welcome the opportunity to update Deputies on the defence sector's response to Covid-19. I again express my deepest condolences to anybody who has lost family members in this very difficult period.

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