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

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 3, line 5, to delete “and” and substitute “, the Defence (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1960,”.

I will explain in my opening statement why the amendments are all tied together. At the Committee Stage debate on this Bill, I indicated that I would bring forward a series of amendments on Report Stage to allow for members of the Reserve Defence Force, on a voluntary basis, to provide additional support to the Permanent Defence Force at home and overseas. I am pleased to follow through on that commitment today. The purpose of these amendments to the Defence Act 1954 is to set out the mechanism under which a member of the Reserve Defence Force may, on a voluntary basis, be deployed on military service, referred to in these amendments as supplemental military service. Any such deployment will be where there is a particular deficiency in skills and expertise in the Permanent Defence Force, which would be addressed by the deployment of a member of the Reserve Defence Force on supplemental military service.

The amendments have been carefully drafted to underpin the voluntary nature of the supplementary military service. In this regard, any deployment on supplemental military service may only take place where the member concerned has consented, in accordance with these amendments, to any such deployment. The consent given by the member will indicate the nature and duration of military service that he or she is prepared to render, if requested. In addition, deployment of the members of the Reserve Defence Force on supplemental military service will be subject to approval of the Minister. As previously indicated, deployment will be for the purpose of filling a specific skills gap or where it is in the best interests of the Defence Forces.

I am particularly pleased that the amendments remove the absolute prohibition currently contained within the Defence Acts on members of the Reserve Defence Forces serving overseas. As a consequence of these amendments, it will be possible for a contingent dispatched for overseas service to comprise membership from both the Permanent Defence Force and the Reserve Defence Force. I am confident that these amendments will significantly widen the opportunities for members of the Reserve Defence Force to provide support to the Permanent Defence Force.

As one might expect, following on from the legislative change to introduce the concept of voluntary military service for members of the Reserve Defence Force, there is a requirement to make a number of technical or consequential amendments to the Defence Acts 1954 to 2015. These amendments include provisions to clarify that military law shall apply to a member of the Reserve Defence Force for the period for which he or she is deployed on supplemental military service, and to make consequential changes to certain sections of the Defence Act, specifically section 174 and section 182, to clarify matters arising from the application of military law. In addition, the amendments provide that a member of the Reserve Defence Force who is serving overseas with an international United Nations force shall, in common with a member of the Permanent Defence Force serving overseas, be deemed to be on active service for the purpose of the Defence Act. Furthermore, the amendments authorise the deployment of reservists on supplemental military service for service with, or be attached to, any staff, unit or other element to the Defence Forces. Similar provisions already apply under section 95 of the Defence Act 1954, where a reservist is deployed on permanent service or in duties in aid of the civil power.

The amendments also clarify that a member of the Reserve Defence Force may not, while deployed on voluntary military service, participate in certain political activities. Again, under the Defence Act 1954, similar restrictions already apply where a member of the Reserve Defence Force is called out on permanent service. These technical or consequential amendments are necessary in the interests of the effective operation of the Defence Forces when the Bill - incorporating these amendments, which I hope will be the case - is enacted.

The programme for Government, within the framework of the proposed Commission on the Defence Forces, includes a commitment to carry out a review of the role of the Reserve Defence Force, including the question of deploying members of the force with special skill sets on overseas missions. These amendments do not in any way preclude the Commission from examining comprehensively the role of the Reserve Defence Force, nor do they prejudice any possible recommendations from the Commission. I am simply taking the opportunity in this legislation to facilitate any such recommendations by the Commission on a wider role for the Reserve Defence Force by removing the current legislative restrictions that are in place.

In summary, the purpose of these amendments is to provide the legal basis by way of enabling provisions to allow members of the Reserve Defence Force to serve in support of the Permanent Defence Force, at home and overseas, on a voluntary basis. On that basis, I am bringing them before the House today.

In simple terms, we had good and quite long debates about this at previous Stages of this legislation. I gave a commitment to Deputy Berry in particular but also to others that I would remove the legal restriction in the Defence Acts on reservists serving overseas. We are, therefore, doing that now, having taken quite a lot of legal advice to make sure we do it properly.

This will give the Government and the Commission on the Defence Forces, which is looking at the Reserve as well as many other issues, the ability to make recommendations and implement those recommendations as quickly as possible, rather than having to come back and introduce new legislation next year, which would take months or more. Instead, we are removing a restriction I wanted to remove anyway because I would like to see the Reserve involved in more activity with the Permanent Defence Force, both at home and overseas. I believe the Reserve can make a very significant contribution and these amendments allow us to move forward in that regard.

The final point I want to make is on an issue that was raised with me by Deputy Berry. I hope he is in the House. Where members of the Reserve volunteer to serve overseas in the future, we would certainly look at employment protections for them. If, for example, a reservist has a full-time job somewhere else, there should be an understanding with his or her employer that he or she could serve their country as a reservist, at home or overseas. We will look seriously at how we can ensure we protect people in the context of their employment should they take up that role. However, we cannot do that in this legislation. It can only really be done by another Minister, potentially in the context of employment law. It is something I am happy to consider in more detail over time. We certainly will have plenty of time to do it because we must wait for the Commission on the Defence Forces to report, which it is due to do before the end of the year. I am happy to work with Deputy Berry on that issue.

In the meantime, the 15 amendments I am bringing forward today are sound. They all deal with the same issue and make the necessary changes to legislation, as I committed to do on Committee Stage.

See this speech in context