Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this really important matter and for her continued interest in the transformation of our Defence Forces. I am responding on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, who unfortunately cannot be here due to prior commitments. On his behalf, I welcome the opportunity to respond and I thank the Senator for bringing this matter to the forefront today.

The Tánaiste is deeply committed to the transformation of our Defence Forces into a modern, fit-for-purpose organisation to defend the State and meet the challenges of today and the future. The Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment within the then programme for Government and its report was published on 9 February 2022. There were 130 recommendations in total, comprising of 69 main recommendations and 61 further sub-recommendations. The commission recommended significant change to the Defence Forces and to the defence provision in Ireland. It covered high-level Defence Forces structures, defence capability, organisation, culture and human resources, the Reserve Defence Force and, most importantly, funding. Given the significant recommendations contained within the report, detailed consideration of these recommendations was undertaken, with a high-level action plan and a memo for Government brought and approved on 12 July 2022. This involved the approval of a move to level of ambition 2 by 2028, 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 €1.7 billion as per capital allocation under the national development plan, the largest increase in defence funding in the history of the State. This will allow for the required substantial transformation and investment in the recruitment and equipment that were identified by the commission.

The development of a detailed implementation plan was a key early action and key output from the opening phase of the transformation programme.The detailed implementation plan for the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces was published on 21 November 2023. This plan set out our ambitious programme of work to move from level of ambition 2, as well the significant and fundamental change for the Defence Forces that will be delivered under the following themes: strategic HR and cultural change; new command and control and joint structures to be established; services to be reformed and restructured; Reserve Defence Force to revitalised; and joint capability development to be implemented.

Much work has been achieved since the commission's report was published, with the recommendations implemented to date having a significant impact on members of the Defence Forces. This includes changes made to the existing Naval Service allowance as a means of simplifying current structures by consolidating the daily allowance and the seagoing commitment scheme into one enhanced allowance. In addition to this, the extension of private secondary healthcare to enlisted ranks was implemented in September 2023.

On recruitment, a number of initiatives have been progressed to counter staffing challenges to the Defence Forces. The Government agreed an increase in the minimum retirement age for permanent Defence Force personnel, to 62. This facilitated an increase in the maximum recruitment age, to 39, for those roles.

Senator O'Loughlin referenced agency oversight. She also mentioned funding and the legislative programme that is required. I will certainly take these matters back to the Tánaiste, in order that she can get a detailed response to the questions she has raised.