Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 364: To ask the Minister for Defence the date of establishment of the Defence Forces canteen board; if this board is still in existence; the purpose and role of this board; the number of members of the board; the number of whom are appointed by himself; the person by whom the remaining board members are appointed; the expenditure of this group for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5365/08]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The Defence Forces Canteen Board was established in 1944 in order to provide canteens for members of the Defence Forces. Messes for private soldiers were established informally in 1990 as a result of the report of the Gleeson Commission, and then formally established in 1997. In 1991, as part of an overall review of mess administration it was recommended that the most efficient method of exercising supervisory control over the new and existing messes was through the centralised control of the Defence Forces Canteen Board. By 1999 all Officers' NCOs' and Privates' messes, currently numbering 65, were under the centralised control of the Canteen Board. While each mess operates under the control of a local Mess Committee, the Defence Forces Canteen Board exercises supervisory and financial control over the operation of the bars in all military messes throughout the Defence Forces. The Board also manages 5 dry canteens. The total annual turnover of the Board is currently in excess of €5million and it has a staff of 22, many of whom are part time. The Canteen Board returns the profit made by each mess to that mess.

Defence Forces regulation Q.11 Part II specifies that the Board shall consist of not less than four and not more than seven serving officers of the Defence Forces and shall include a chairman, a general manager and a secretary. The members of the Board are appointed by the Chief of Staff, after consultation with the Minister. The chairman is normally the Deputy Chief of Staff (Support). The Deputy Chief of Staff (Support) furnishes his recommendations to the Chief of Staff as to the other officers to be appointed members, specifying those whom he recommends for appointment as General Manager and Secretary.

It has been normal practice for the Board to be composed of seven (7) members. Apart from the Chairman, these include the General Manager and the Secretary. The four other members are normally the Second-in-Command/Executive Officer of each of the three Brigades and the DF Training Centre. The Board members, other than the General Manager and Secretary, carry out their Board functions in addition to their primary duties.

The Defence Forces Canteen Board Annual Report and the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General are laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas each year. These contain detailed financial information of the Board's operations for the year. A summary of the Profit and Loss Account figures for 2002 to 2006 is presented below (the 2007 accounts are not yet finalised):

My Department provides an annual subvention to finance the workings of the Defence Forces Canteen Board. Over the last five years the following amounts have been provided: