Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

The revised national development plan capital allocation for the defence Vote group for the period 2026 to 2030 is €1.7 billion. This represents an increase of €600 million, or 55%, on the previous baseline of €1.1 billion. For 2026, the defence capital allocation will increase by €85 million, or 40%, to €300 million. Capital investment in defence primarily provides for the renewal, retention and acquisition of major defence equipment and infrastructural platforms - expenditure which enhances and supports our military capabilities and therefore contributes to a more secure and resilient society. The revised capital allocations now provided to defence will assist ongoing efforts at modernising and upgrading our equipment and built infrastructure platforms, and will enable progression on key elements of our commitments within LOA 2 as outlined in the Commission on the Defence Forces report.

The Deputy will note that following the conclusion of the process of agreeing overall departmental allocations, all Departments were requested to consider and outline our sectoral priority projects for delivery over the period to 2030. In that regard, my Department is now prioritising within the revised NDP allocations to meet its sectoral targets and obligations. I have two things to tell the Deputy. On budget day, we will be in a position to publish the projects we intend to deliver on in 2026 so I will have more details that are specific to the Deputy's question then. Also, this autumn we will be expected to publish the sectoral investment plans for the next number of years.

The delivery of infrastructural projects outlined in the infrastructure development plan and the master plan programme is being planned as part of this process. This will encompass consideration of the joint induction training centre in Gormanston, Baldonnel, Haulbowline and DFTC infrastructure master plans and will reflect fully on key factors such as funding availability and contractual commitments to inform future infrastructural needs and priorities.

To make a long story short, we have seen a very significant increase in our capital budget for defence. I welcome that; it was badly needed. It is my Department's job, in conjunction with the Defence Forces, to publish sectoral investment plans to show how we intend to allocate those resources against specific projects and we will do that in the coming weeks.

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