John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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3. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the progress that has been made in the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Commission on the Defence Forces report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5156/23]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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Next week marks the first anniversary of the publication of the report and recommendations of the Commission on the Defence Forces. Will the Tánaiste outline the process of implementing its recommendations? What meetings have taken place and what is the schedule for the full implementation of all the recommendations?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment in the programme for Government, and its report was published on 9 February 2022. The commission has undertaken a significant body of work, encompassing wide-ranging terms of reference. It recommends 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.

Given the significant recommendations contained in the report, detailed consideration of these recommendations was undertaken over a period of five months by the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces. Following this engagement, a high-level action plan and a memorandum for Government were brought to Government in July last year. This involved the approval of a move to level of ambition 2, LOA2, as set out in the capability framework devised by the Commission on the Defence Forces. This will result in the defence budget rising from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion, in 2022 prices, by 2028, the largest increase in defence funding in the history of the State. This will allow for the required substantial transformation and investment in recruitment and equipment that were identified by the commission. The budget for 2023 included an increase of €67 million over the 2022 budget for defence. This includes an almost 25% increase in capital funding and demonstrates the Government’s strong commitment to support the transformation of the Defence Forces into a modern, agile military force capable of responding to increasingly complex security threats.

The move to LOA2 will require an additional 2,000 personnel, civil and military, over and above the current establishment of 9,500. Work has already commenced on this with the recently announced recruitment campaign, Be More. Some specific initiatives include the immediate commencement of planning for military radar capabilities, including primary radar and the establishment of an office of Reserve affairs with the priority objective of developing a regeneration plan for the Reserve Defence Force.

The high-level action plan set out initial implementation and oversight structures. An implementation oversight group has been established which met for the first time on 3 October. Subsequently, Ms Julie Sinnamon was appointed as the independent chair of the implementation oversight group with a second meeting taking place on 17 November and a third meeting taking place on 27 January. A high-level steering board has been established, chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach, to oversee the implementation.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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There does not appear to be a sense of urgency or crisis within the Defence Forces. When the report was published this time last year, there were 8,468 members of the Defence Forces. As of the end of January, that figure stood at 7,907. The commission report could have been used to instil some sort of confidence that the Government is taking action.

Members of the Defence Forces are voting with their feet; they are leaving in their droves. Some 500 members have left in the 12 months since the publication of the commission's report. The issue with members of the Naval Service has been touched on already. This time last year, there were 867 members of the Naval Service. That figure now stands at 800, which is 294 fewer than the establishment figure. In January alone, 12 sailing days had to be cancelled because of the crisis in the Naval Service. There is no sense of urgency whatever, as I stated already, as regards the high-level action plan, with the Government's implementation targets already being missed.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The issue is finding solutions. No one is in any doubt about the challenges facing the Defence Forces, the loss of personnel or the fact that we are not recruiting sufficient personnel to offset the numbers who are leaving. That involves both a recruitment and a retention strategy. In the context of the high-level action group it involves implementation of the 38 early actions to be completed within six months of the Government decision. To date, approximately two thirds of those 38 early actions have been achieved. I can go through the details for the Deputy on the head of transformation and the head of strategic HR positions. The human resource management and human resource dimension of the Defence Forces have to be transformed, and there also has to be cultural transformation within the Defence Forces. We have implemented the oversight group, with Ms Julie Sinnamon approved as chair and overseeing the implementation. We have removed the requirement for three-star private able seamen to mark time for the first three years at that rank and we have ensured that all personnel at private three-star able seaman rank are paid the full-rate military service allowance applicable to the rank.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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It is not working.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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All of these measures have taken place but more is needed. It is not just about those specific issues; there is a broader issue at play.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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This is about solutions and those solutions were provided by the commission 12 months ago. The Government responded with its analysis of the commission's recommendations seven months ago, in July of last year, and there is still a massive haemorrhaging of members of the Defence Forces. There is a lack of willingness, as far as I can see, to fully implement all of the commission's recommendations as quickly as possible. I have already highlighted the issue around the working time directive where a solution has been identified, not just by the commission but by representative bodies representing members of the Defence Forces. The Government gave a commitment to bring forward heads of Bill within six months. It was supposed to have submitted them to the Office of the Attorney General in January but has failed even to implement that solution. Of the recommendations in the commission's report, 37% were accepted by the Government, 42% were accepted in principle and 13% were to receive further evaluation, with the Government to revert in the case of 8% of them. On the analysis of the recommendations that were not accepted by the Government and those to be given further analysis, what is the position? Has that analysis been done? Is the Government fully supportive of all of the recommendations contained in the commission's report?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Government decision is as it is; it is as has been taken. My task is to move forward quickly to implement the recommendations. Of the 38 early actions to be completed within six months, about two thirds have been achieved to date. That includes the head of transformation and the head of strategic HR positions being advertised externally and progressed. It also includes implementation and governance structures being developed and initiated, including the establishment of an implementation oversight group. I have gone through the specifics of the requirements for three-star private able seamen and so forth and I mention the recruitment and induction strategies. There will also be a fundamental legislative change, not just in the context of the organisation of working time directive but also a new defence Act. I have asked my officials to progress work on that legislation and to develop capacity within the Department to set about fundamentally updating and modernising defence legislation to take cognisance of the recommendations of the commission. I will be focusing strongly on that aspect.