Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 99: To ask the Minister for Defence the amount received from the banks in 1996, in respect of cash escorts supplied by the Defence Forces; the amount received in 2006 and due to be received in 2007; the way in which these amounts are calculated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11586/06]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 515: To ask the Minister for Defence the expenditure associated with provision of military security for cash transportation; the amount received from the financial institutions in lieu thereof in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12264/06]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 99 and 515 together.

An annual contribution of €2.86 million has been paid by the banks to my Department in respect of the provision of cash escorts since 1995. This figure was set by the Department of Finance in the 1995 budget and had not been altered since. The contribution from the banks was designed to part-cover the total costs to the State of providing cash escorts. At that time, the contribution covered approximately 72% of the total cost arising to the Defence Forces. Based on annual costings by the Department, the relative level of the contribution had fallen in real terms over the years to the situation where it was only covering 43% of the total costs.

The total cost in respect of the provision by the Defence Forces of assistance to the Garda Síochána in protecting movements of cash for the years 2000 to 2004 — the figures for 2005 are currently being collated — was as follows:

Pay accounts for about 54% of the total costs of providing cash escorts. The non-pay costs include security duty allowance, 7%, subsistence, 8%, transport, 28%, and aerial surveillance, 3%.

As the Deputy may be aware, I had a number of discussions with the Irish Bankers Federation, IBF, in relation to this matter last year, with a view to increasing the level of contribution by the banks in respect of the costs incurred by the Department in the provision of cash escorts. Following detailed and intensive discussions between officials of the IBF, the member banks and the Department, a detailed formal agreement was signed on 11 May 2005.

This agreement, which is for a five year period, provides that the banks will pay the total actual costs incurred by the Defence Forces in the provision of cash escorts. Costs in respect of each 12 month period to end-December will be paid the following year on or before 1 June. This is to allow for the compilation of returns from the brigades and allocation of costs following the year end. The first payment under the new system — costs for 2005 — are currently being collated and are due to be paid in June 2006. At the banks' request, I agreed to defer the first payment to that date to meet the banks budgeting and accounting timeframe. In return for my agreement to this deferral, a transitional payment of €1 million, payable before the end of 2005, was negotiated as part of the overall agreement. Therefore, in 2005 the banks made their annual payment of €2.86 million plus the additional €1 million making a total contribution of €3.86 million. The amount to be paid in 2007 — costs for 2006 — will not be available until early 2007.