Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Commission on the Defence Forces published its report yesterday. I have not had a chance to read it from cover to cover, but I have read the executive summary. The commission has produced a very valuable body of work and I encourage Members to give it proper consideration. It is a report that was noted by the Government. We have not adopted it or accepted its recommendations. It presents three scenarios or levels of ambition. Level of ambition one involves trying to do what we are doing now but to do it properly. Levels of ambition two and three are also set out in the report. The Deputy is referring to level of ambition three, which involves increasing defence spending to €3 billion a year. That is not Government policy. We have not made a decision to do that. What will now happen is that we will have a chance to consider and debate that report, at the joint committee and in this House, and decide on the best option for Ireland. To be clear, this is an excellent report but it presents three options. It does not state what the Deputy said it states.

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