Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 100: To ask the Minister for Defence the level of payroll savings achieved by him in 2009 arising from retirements from the Defence Forces and the enforcement of the embargo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1978/10]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The pay and allowances of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) are provided for in subheads B and C of the Defence Vote. The outturn on those subheads was €539.4m in 2008 and €536.9 in 2009. The 2009 figure includes the carry-over costs of two general pay increases granted under the Towards 2016 agreement during 2008, as well as the full year costs of overseas allowances for the UN mission to Chad (in which the PDF participated for part only of 2008). The 2009 figure does not reflect offsetting receipts of some €21.5m in respect of the pension levy, which was introduced from 1 March 2009.

The strength of the PDF was 10,408 on 1 January 2009 and stood at 9933 on 31 December 2009, a reduction of 475. Based on this reduction and assuming that wastage was spread evenly throughout the year, it is estimated that the resulting savings on pay and allowances in 2009 were of the order of €11m.