Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 50 together.

I thank the Deputy. I am aware he has raised this before. As he knows, the Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment in the programme for Government and the Government decision in December 2020 that agreed to its terms of reference and membership. The report was published on 9 February 2022. The Commission undertook a significant body of work, encompassing wide-ranging terms of reference. It recommended significant changes for the Defence Forces and defence provision in Ireland.

It covers high-level Defence Forces structures, defence capabilities, organisation, culture and human resources, the Reserve Defence Force and funding.

In July 2022, the Government approved a high-level action plan in response to the commission report. As part of this, approval was given for a move, over a six-year period, to a level of Defence Forces’ capability equivalent to level of ambition 2, LOA 2, as set out in the capability framework devised by the commission, which will entail funding increases to reach a defence budget of circa €1.5 billion by 2028 through the annual Estimates process.

Implementation structures have been put in place, including an implementation oversight group and a high-level steering board, to support the implementation of the overall transformation programme required to implement recommendations from the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. There are a number of recommendations contained in the report which may impact on the structure of the Defence Forces, including that the structure of the Army be reviewed and in that context, the disposition of units across the Defence Forces may be considered.

The recommendation that the structure of the Army be reviewed was identified as an early action in the high-level action plan. However, no decisions on the future disposition or locations of Defence Forces formations, installations and personnel have been made at this time. As I said earlier, military authorities have established an office of Army force design, which will undertake the significant work required to give effect to this recommendation.

To be frank with the Deputy, there are no plans to consider the Dún Uí Néill site in Cavan as a forward operating base but it is a matter I will discuss further with military leadership and my Department. I believe the site is currently used by the Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board. Given the wider recruitment issues, it is a matter on which I will reflect.

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