Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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85. To ask the Minister for Defence how the budget allocation of over €900 million will be spent; how, in particular, the measures he will be responsible, given the refugee crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41201/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The 2016 Defence allocation, amounting to €904m, is made up of two Votes, Vote 35 (Army Pensions) with €224m and Vote 36 (Defence) with €680m. The Army Pensions allocation, which is primarily demand-led and non-discretionary, will provide retirement benefits to some 12,100 military pensioners and their dependants. The Defence Vote allocation includes €498m for the pay and allowances of up to 9,500 Permanent Defence Force (PDF) personnel, 550 civilian employees and 350 civil servants. It also includes €182m for non-pay costs relating to the replacement and maintenance of essential defence equipment and operational costs.

This non-pay allocation contains a capital provision of €66m towards replacement programmes for defensive equipment, ongoing investment in Defence Forces Built Infrastructure and the necessary upgrading of ICT infrastructure. The allocation for core capital funding in 2016 includes an increased provision of €4m, which will facilitate increased investment in equipment as prescribed in the White Paper on Defence. This funding will enable the Defence Forces to continue to deliver operational outputs, both at home and overseas and will allow for necessary investment, as identified by the White Paper on Defence, to ensure all of the roles assigned by Government are fully met.

The possible participation by the Naval Service in humanitarian search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean during 2016 will be considered in due course.

The Department of Justice and Equality is the lead Department in relation to providing refugee accommodation. Following discussions with that Department, consideration is being given to the use of some Defence properties on a short-term basis.