Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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399. To ask the Minister for Defence if he will seek to increase funding for the Defence Forces for the period 2016 to 2020. [11459/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As part of the 2015-2017 Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE) process, theDepartment of Defence submitted a detailed proposal to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in May, 2014. Following on from this CRE submission and subsequent bilateral discussions, an overall financial envelope for the 2015-2017 period was outlined. Within this envelope, decisions on resource allocation are made on a prioritised basis in accordance with assessed operational requirements.

Work continues on the development of a new White Paper on Defence, which will inform key decisions regarding Defence provision for the next decade. Working groups comprising civil and military representatives from the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces are considering future operational demands and the defence capabilities required to meet these demands. I anticipate that the final draft of the White Paper will be submitted to Government for approval by the end of July. Subject to Government approval, the White Paper on Defence will then be published.