Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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34. To ask the Minister for Defence the date on which the 4th Western Brigade was officially disestablished; the number of Permanent Defence Force personnel positions in the 14 units in Custume Barracks, County Westmeath, seven days prior to the date of official disestablishment and in accordance with that regulation on that date seven days prior to the date of official disestablishment; and the permitted number of PDF personnel in the nine PDF units and the PDF personnel in the five reserve units of Custume Barracks. [43293/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Revised organisational structures for the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) came into effect on 30 November 2012. This re-organisation consolidated under-strength Army Units into a smaller number of full strength Units, within a revised two Brigade structure. Previous structures were officially disestablished at midnight on 29 November 2012. The re-organisation prioritised the operational effectiveness of the PDF within a revised strength ceiling of 9,500 personnel and has ensured that the PDF can continue to discharge all roles assigned by Government.

The detailed PDF organisational blueprint, including establishment strengths for Brigades, individual Units and sub-Units is set out in the Chief of Staff’s Administrative Instruction CS4. In the period leading up to 30 November 2012, Administrative Instruction CS4 was based on a PDF strength ceiling of 11,561 personnel. The table below sets out the establishment for Units located in Custume Barracks, Athlone in the period leading up to 30 November 2012. It should be noted that, in order for all posts, as set out in the Administrative Instruction, to be filled, an actual PDF strength level of 11,561 would have been required. This strength level has not been seen since the 1990s.

The White Paper on Defence (2000) reduced the permitted PDF strength ceiling to 10,500 personnel (with up to an additional 250 personnel in training). This meant that just over 1,000 of the posts in the Administrative Instruction CS4, which was intended for a strength level of 11,561 personnel, could not be filled. The permitted PDF strength ceiling was further reduced in October 2010 to 10,000 personnel, meaning that over 1,500 posts in the Administrative Instruction CS4 could not be filled. Following this, the strength level of the PDF continued to decline. In December 2011, the Government decided to stabilise the strength ceiling of the PDF at 9,500 personnel. At this point over 2,000 posts as contained in the then Administrative Instruction CS4, could not be filled.

This highlights two key facts: firstly, the number of posts that could be filled within Units was, since the year 2000, significantly less than the establishment strength of Units as set out in Administrative Instruction CS4 and secondly, this disparity had then more than doubled, arising from strength reductions due to the economic downturn. From 2000 onwards, the disparity required that PDF posts remained unfilled in Units across the Defence Forces, including in Units based in Custume Barracks, Athlone.

For the avoidance of doubt, let me re-iterate that the establishment for Units located in Custume Barracks, Athlone, in the period leading up to 30 November 2012, did not reflect actual jobs in Custume Barracks. It has not done so since the 1990s. In the intervening period, it is the reductions in PDF strength that has reduced the number of jobs available in the PDF. This was not as a result of the re-organisation.

Following the Government’s decision to stabilise the strength ceiling of the PDF at 9,500 personnel, it was clear that the then organisational structures were an “ill-fit” and no longer viable. It was in this context that the then Minister for Defence initiated a major re-organisation of the Defence Forces.

The re-organisation did not significantly alter the actual number of PDF personnel serving in Custume Barracks, Athlone. The military authorities have advised me that in January and February 2011, the months immediately preceding that in which the current Government came into office, there were an average of 1,040 PDF personnel based in Custume Barracks. I am advised by the military authorities that in May 2012, there were 1,051 personnel based at Custume Barracks. On 23 November 2012, there were 865 personnel serving in Units located in Custume Barracks. In accordance with the revised organisational structures, as of 30 November 2012 the establishment for Units based in Custume Barracks is 995 personnel. As at 30 September 2014 (the latest figure available), there were 1,030 personnel based in Custume Barracks. This includes 93 personnel undertaking training courses there.

The effect of the re-organisation on Custume Barracks is that the actual number of PDF personnel based in Custume Barracks has been stabilised at a figure of approximately 1,000 personnel, within an overall strength ceiling of 9,500 PDF personnel.

Table - Establishment of Units based in Custume Barrack, as at 23rd November 2012, in accordance with Administrative Instruction CS4 (11,561 PDF personnel).