Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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17. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will report on the level of day-to-day spending in the Defence Forces annualised as a percentage of GDP in each of the years 2016 to 2020; and the estimate for 2021. [34696/21]

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister report on the level of day-to-day spending in the Defence Forces annualised as a percentage of GDP in each of the years from 2016 to 2020, including an estimate for the current year?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It sounds as if I have an ally in trying to increase defence spending. I will remember that at budget time.

Each year, the defence budget is determined within the overarching budgetary framework and approved by Dáil Eireann, having regard to the level of resources available and defence policy requirements. Capital funding allocations are also framed by the multi-annual national development plan. Expenditure on the Defence Forces is managed through the defence Vote 36, with all operational outputs delivered from a single set of forces encompassing the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service. Defence Vote 36 provides funding for the pay and allowances of members of the Defence Forces, civilian employees and departmental staff, ongoing Defence Forces operational and standing costs, the acquisition of military equipment along with the development of the Defence Forces built infrastructure. It also provides funding for Civil Defence and the Irish Red Cross Society. Separately, Vote 35 provides for military pensions.

Overall gross defence Vote 36 expenditure of €781 million in 2020 was some €110 million or 16% greater than the 2016 figure of €671 million. Capital expenditure on equipment and infrastructure has increased by €58 million over the same period. The allocation of €810 million provided for the defence Vote 36 in 2021 represents an increase of €29 million, or 4%, on the corresponding allocation provided in 2020 and an increase of €139 million or 21% on 2016 expenditure.

Percentage of GDP comparisons of defence expenditure include military pensions expenditure when calculating such percentages. Between 2016 and 2020, while the defence expenditure in Vote 35 and Vote 36 increased from €905 million to €1,032 million, the defence expenditure in Vote 35 and Vote 36 as a percentage of GDP decreased marginally from 0.33% to 0.28%. This was against the backdrop of a very significant increase of some €96 billion or 35% in Ireland’s GDP figure between 2016 and 2020.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for those figures and I welcome the various increases the Minister referred to from 2016 to the present. Given the pandemic, there will undoubtedly be further increases.

I wish to focus on the cyberattack. Obviously, great work is done by the Defence Forces across the board, but given the recent impact of the attack on our health service and the Minister's comments earlier about the European element and co-operation, which is interesting and we will focus on that in the next week or so in our questions, is the Minister aware of the Norwegian Cyber Defence Force, which was established in 2012? I understand it has a complement of approximately 1,500 personnel. In view of Ireland's key pillar of fintech, pharmaceutical and other important industries, it is important that the country and Government would focus on funding and having a resilient anti-cyberattack strategy. Perhaps the Minister will comment on that.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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This brings me back to an earlier question relating to cybersecurity and the considerations of the Commission on the Defence Forces for the future in terms of the cybersecurity elements of the threats we face in the security domain. It is important to point out that the budget the Government spends on cybersecurity is not just confined to the defence budget. It also goes to the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications. In fact, the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications has the primary responsibility for cybersecurity in the State. He is the sponsoring Minister for the National Cyber Security Centre. That does not mean the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces do not contribute to that. We do. There is an important skills set in the Defence Forces with regard to cybersecurity capacity. That is why somebody from the Defence Forces is seconded to the European centre of excellence for cybersecurity in Tallinn. We work closely with other EU member states, but I expect we will see increased spending in future budgets on cybersecurity for the reasons the Deputy outlined.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Absolutely, and I welcome the Minister's comments in that regard. I know it is not just the Minister's portfolio. I raised this issue last week with the Tánaiste and the need to ensure there is funding and, indeed, a review of all the various strategies from the Government and industry. It is important that we have a robust system and that we invest in it, given the unfortunate and decimating experience in the last few weeks. That said, it would be important to have a structural and technological change as well as a mindset from the Government to ensure we can thwart, as much as possible, any future cyberattacks. I welcome the Minister's comments about the potential co-operation at European level. That makes absolute sense. As the Minister said about our peacekeepers, if we can use resources adequately and smartly, it will be a benefit not only to Ireland but across Europe.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Cybersecurity is going to be one of the key challenges for the State in the context of a post-Covid recovery and how we protect data and our telecommunications systems and infrastructure as more people work from home and more people require and rely on high-speed broadband connectivity, both internationally and in the State. We will have to ensure that these systems and protected and safe. In my view, Ireland will continue to be a magnet for foreign direct investment, as a gateway into the European Union, and will continue to host enormous volumes of global data in data centres. We have our own systems for healthcare, education, foreign affairs, defence and so forth that need to be protected from cyberattacks and the type of malware attack we saw in our health system, but we must protect a private sector investment here as well. We will see more consideration of, and more investment in, cybersecurity responses, given the issues that have been outlined.