Brendan Ryan (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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37. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will outline areas of budgetary concern within the Defence Forces and his views that these concerns will be addressed in budget 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27103/16]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The White Paper on Defence, approved by Government in 2015, set out the roles that Government have assigned to the Defence Forces and looked at associated capability requirements for the next decade. This document will inform strategic decisions on resource allocation and will ensure that such decisions will continue to be made on a prioritised basis in accordance with assessed operational need. For Budget 2017, the priority is to ensure that the Defence Forces are adequately funded to continue to deliver effective services, both at home and overseas, across all of the roles assigned by Government, and to facilitate investment in essential equipment and infrastructure, as identified in the White Paper.

In 2017, Defence will require funding to provide for the pay and allowances of the Defence Forces and civil servants and civilian employees in the Defence sector.

The non-pay current expenditure will be needed to fund necessary Defence Forces standing and operational expenditure, mainly relating to essential catering, fuel, training and travel costs.

Capital funding will be required in 2017 to progress the main defensive equipment, infrastructure and IT projects identified and prioritised in the White Paper.

The Army Pensions allocation, which is primarily demand-led and non-discretionary, will provide retirement benefits to military pensioners and their dependants.