Results 5,301-5,320 of 50,064 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: It was based on 8,600 last year. The base now is 8,100. We lost people during the year. There was a net loss of people during the year.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: The calculation last year was on a base of 8,600. This year, it is on a base of 8,100 because there has been a net loss in Defence Forces personnel, in other words, the number of inductions has not matched the number of people who have left.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: No.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: The recruitment target is the same but it is on a lower base, unfortunately, because of the challenges around recruitment and retention. If we go above the 400, the funding will be there to meet it. There is no issue. If, say, we get 600 in net, the funding will be there to deal with it. We will simply get a Supplementary Estimate on that because we have an establishment figure that is...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: I was not there then.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: It got converted to capital.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: In some cases, it got converted to capital or other expenditures that would have arisen within the year.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: Not really. One could argue that.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: No. As the Deputy can see from all the increases, we have not had an issue on it. That is the point.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: Not particularly. It flows from the earlier point that we now go on the actual strength as opposed to the establishment figure. The finances were based for a long time on the establishment figure. It is like teaching where one gets the demographic dividend automatically. That used be the row with DPER when I was in the Department of education. If pupil numbers went up, one automatically...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: Yes. We are 2,000 out.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: The cap will be the establishment figure. I have made that clear to the Minister for public expenditure.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: Exactly, but as far as I am concerned-----

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: It does not have to be. As the Deputy said, we are unlikely to get there. I accept the position of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform reluctantly, in the sense that it was prior to my time, but I get the point that we need to be as realistic as possible in our Estimates, both current and capital. The other side of the coin is that we are full steam ahead on our...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: No, not necessarily. I would not think so. We are proposing-----

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: I get the point, but the Deputy is talking about marginal numbers - 1,576 in 2021 to 1,550. That is only 26 people.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: Yes, 1,550 from 1,607. I am sorry, as I do not have the 2023 figures with me, but the Deputy is referring to marginal changes. In fact, we will potentially increase our obligation to UNIFIL this year. At the end of the year, we will be coming back from UNDOF, but we will be increasing our UNIFIL presence.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: I can check for the Deputy, but apart from the large missions like UNIFIL and UNDOF, we have a range of smaller overseas deployments. Every now and then, two, three or four people return from those. I have the list with me. We have 329 with UNIFIL, 134 with UNDOF and 11 in UNTSO, which is another mission in the Middle East but is more based in the community. Four personnel are deployed...

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 35 - Army Pensions (Revised)
Vote 36 - Defence (Revised) (1 Feb 2024)

Micheál Martin: Historically, there has never been any allowance for the battle groups, but as the Deputy correctly said, I have negotiated an improvement in the general allowance situation for those on the battle group. I can get the Deputy the details of that, but it is a first in terms of security duty allowances for those on the battle group in lieuof other opportunities that they might not be able to...