Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

If we put it in very clear terms, there cannot be any talk about it. There is no point in paying lip service and saying that neutrality is beyond doubt if we do not really mean it but I think it is beyond doubt. I sincerely hope so. As I have said, the issue should be put beyond doubt so that we can then discuss our domestic defence requirements in a rational way without the issue of neutrality always hovering above the debate.

I have repeatedly stated that being neutral is not the same as having no defence capacity. As the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces laid bare, our defence capacity is deficient in every area. Our military equipment is inadequate and our ability to monitor aircraft in our airspace and ships in our exclusive economic zone is virtually non-existent. Our military personnel numbers are shockingly below even the inadequate levels approved. I had hoped that, after the analysis of the review commission and the broad support from across this House for level of ambition 2, which the commission proposed, we would see a tangible and dramatic improvement but that has not been so, despite what the Tánaiste has again said today.

In the documentation presented to every Member of this House on budget day this year, the allocation for defence under the subhead, Defence Policy and Support, Military Capabilities and Operational Outputs, which is the main defence spend after stripping out pensions and so on, was €896,187,000. Of this, €720,212,000 related to current expenditure and €175,975,000 related to capital. Over the year, we are to see a vast increase of 1%. After all the talk we had, there will be an increase of 1%. That covers 9,072 associated public employees, a figure that is down 5% from this year's 9,500. The number of personnel involved in defence is down. The report shows the subheads and the capital figures. Under Vote 36, how much additional capital expenditure is there for all of the things we need to do, as well as the new ships, radar systems and everything else we need to procure? It is €34 million. We have €34 million to do all of the things we need to do. What is that €34 million going to do according to the documentation distributed on budget day? It will fund capital investment on defensive equipment, land forces capability development, a force protection programme, the Naval Service vessel renewal and replacement programme and the Air Corps aircraft renewal and replacement programme, along with the upgrading and modernisation of built infrastructure in military installations throughout the country. We are going to have ships, aeroplanes, buildings and equipment for €34 million.

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