Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 354: To ask the Minister for Defence the bodies that were consulted in advance of his proposal to reduce the number of Army brigades to two; the process to achieve this reduction; the envisaged savings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39742/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to say that following the outcome of the Government's Comprehensive Review of Expenditure, the Government decided to maintain the strength of the Permanent Defence Force at 9,500 personnel. This recognises the significant modernisation that has been achieved to date and reflects the Government's intention that the Defence Forces retain the capacity to operate effectively across all of the assigned roles within the restricted financial allocation. In response to this revised strength ceiling of 9,500, it is necessary to undertake a major re-organisation of the Defence Forces encompassing a reduction in the number of Army Brigades from three to two. The Chief of Staff was consulted in this regard. I have asked the Chief of Staff and the Secretary General of the Department of Defence to bring forward detailed proposals for my consideration.

The reduction in the strength of the PDF to 9,500 personnel will deliver sustainable savings. The re-organisation is a response to this reduction and is not intended as a cost saving measure in its own right. The primary focus is to free up the maximum number of military personnel from administrative and support tasks. In short the re-organisation is about maintaining operational outputs and capabilities to best effect, within a reduced strength.