David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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815. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the total Covid-19-related spend in 2020 by his Department, agency and budget line item; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16278/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The response by my Department to the Covid-19 pandemic involved Permanent Defence Force personnel, Civil Servants, Civilian Employees, members of the Reserve Defence Force and Civil Defence Volunteers and amounted to some €15.4 million in 2020.

Expenditure was incurred across a range of areas and included €5.3 million towards the acquisition of a new Pilatus PC-12 aircraft which was used to provide additional fixed-wing capacity response and support to the HSE, as required; some €5 million in respect of additional Medical, Engineering, Building, Personnel Protective Equipment, Audio-Visual, Information Technology, Communication and Transport costs across the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service; some €4.2 million in respect of additional Allowance payments and some €0.3 million in respect of additional Civil Defence costs. In addition, Information Technology investment of some €0.6 million facilitated remote working across the Department, which ensured ongoing business continuity throughout a very challenging period.

All Covid-19 related expenditure was met from within the overall Defence Vote (Vote 36) allocation for 2020 and reflected the positive contribution made by the Defence Organisation in reacting to this crisis.