Written answers
Thursday, 10 April 2008
Department of Defence
Departmental Expenditure
5:00 pm
Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 30: To ask the Minister for Defence if he envisages cutbacks in services provided by or through his Department in 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13561/08]
Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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There are no proposals for cutbacks in the level of services provided by or through my Department in 2008. The gross total allocation for my Department in 2008 is â¬1,078m, comprising â¬888m in the Defence Vote and â¬190m in the Army Pensions Vote. This represents an increase of 7% on the 2007 allocation.
About 70% of the Defence Estimate is expended on pay and allowances for an average of 10,500 Permanent Defence Force personnel, some 880 civilian employees and about 380 civil service staff. The Defence Estimate includes additional funding of â¬37m for Defence Forces participation in the EUFOR mission to Chad, the bulk of which will be expended on transport costs. This additional funding will ensure that our troops in Chad will have the best possible equipment and facilities in what will be a very challenging environment.
The ongoing investment in modern equipment and facilities for the Defence Forces will continue in 2008, as will the major programme to provide modern accommodation for the Defence Forces which has been ongoing over recent years. Overall, the increased level of resources underlines the Government's commitment to ensuring that the modernisation process in Defence will continue to make solid progress.
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