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

I hope the Acting Chair will give me a little extra time given the number of Deputies in this grouping. The scepticism around whether this report will be implemented in full is fair. Even though there is a significant body of work on this and most people I have spoken to accept it is necessary to implement these recommendations now, there is understandable scepticism because this would mean a complete change in the setting of the resource base for defence, that is, where we start from. Effectively, the report is recommending we move to an increased level of ambition but it is still relatively modest. The report looked at seven or eight peer group countries that are similar to Ireland in population, wealth, defence concerns and so on, and it is proposing we move from where we are at the moment, which is spending about a third of what they spend on defence, to spending about half of what they spend. That was even before Ukraine. It recommends we have a longer and more considered discussion as to whether to move beyond that to the third level of ambition, which some people are advocating for now given the new security concerns coming from the east.

No part of the report is suggesting Ireland become a militarised country by international standards. The recommendation is we move to half of the resourcing norm across Europe, have basic military capacity and plug gaps that are itemised quite clearly. That includes, as Deputy Dillon noted, looking seriously at significantly strengthening the military intelligence and cybersecurity capacities of the Defence Forces, such as through the creation of a joint cyber defence command. That is a very strong recommendation we need to deliver on in quite a comprehensive way and as a priority.

On the process for how we will move on this, my Department, in consultation with the Defence Forces and other stakeholders, needs a number of months to get its head around how to implement change on this scale. It is not just about financial resourcing. It is also about a very fundamental restructuring of the Army, completely changing how the Naval Service operates in terms of double-crewing, which effectively means adding significant numbers to the Naval Service, and looking at a series of changes in the fundamental capacity of the Air Corps. All of that takes time to plan for. My colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and the Taoiseach's office have to be involved in those discussions as well because this is a Government decision about the country fundamentally changing the way we approach defence from a resourcing point of view. It is a question of how we plan for that over a decade, not just over a year. I hope to be able to bring that forward in June for consideration. I look forward to bringing the matter back to this House and not only getting Government support but support from other parties in this House as well.

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