Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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198. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the progress made on implementing the recommendations outlined in the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. [22620/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Commission on the Defence Forces was established on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government, and its report was published on the 9th of February 2022. The Commission has undertaken a significant body of work, encompassing wide-ranging terms of reference. It recommends significant changes for the Defence Forces and Defence provision in Ireland. It covers high-level Defence Forces structures, defence capabilities, organisation, culture and human resources, the Reserve Defence Force and funding.

Given the significant recommendations contained in the Report, detailed consideration of these recommendations was undertaken over a period of 5 months by the Department of Defence and the Defence Forces. Following this engagement, a High Level Action Plan (HLAP) and a Memo for Government were brought to Government and approved on July 12th 2022.

This involved the approval of a move to ‘Level of Ambition 2’ (LOA2), as set out in the capability framework devised by the Commission on the Defence Forces. This will result in the Defence budget rising from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion, in 2022 prices, by 2028, the largest increase in Defence funding in the history of the State. This will allow for the required substantial transformation and investment in recruitment and equipment that were identified by the Commission. The Budget for 2023 included an increase of €67m over the 2022 budget for Defence. This demonstrates the Government’s strong commitment to support the transformation of the Defence Forces into a modern, agile military force, capable of responding to increasingly complex security threats.

The High Level Action Plan set out a total of 38 early actions to be completed within 6 months of the Government decision. To date, over 80% of these early actions have been achieved. Progress continues on the remaining early actions, with most currently at an advanced stage and due to be completed shortly. A comprehensive written update on all 38 early actions was published on March 23rd of this year.

The move to LOA2 will require an additional 2,000 personnel, including both civil and military, over and above the current establishment of 9,500. Work has commenced on this with the ‘BE MORE’ recruitment campaign.

Retention measures being implemented include service commitment schemes in the Air Corps and in the Naval Service and the sea going naval personnel tax credit.

Pay has improved as a result of increases arising from the Public Service Pay Commission report, from recent pay agreements, and the early implementation of some of the recommendations of Commission on the Defence Forces (CoDF). The implementation of two of these recommendations, namely personnel of Private 3 Star/Able Seaman rank being paid the full rate of Military Service Allowance (MSA) applicable to the rank; and the removal of the requirement for that cohort to ‘mark time’ for the first three years at that rank, have had a substantial impact on starting pay rates in the Defence Forces, and compare very well to starting pay rates across the public service.

The Commission recommended that private healthcare be extended to all enlisted members of the Defence Forces. I am pleased to report that agreement has now been reached in principle to allow all enlisted members of the Defence Forces to benefit from the same access to private secondary healthcare, and the details for how this will be implemented are now being considered, with a view to introducing it as soon as possible.

The High Level Action Plan set out initial implementation and oversight structures. An independently chaired Implementation Oversight Group has been established to monitor the implementation of the recommendations approved by Government, and met for the first time on the 3rd of October. Ms. Julie Sinnamon has been appointed as the independent chair of the Implementation Oversight Group. There have been four meetings of the Group to date, most recently on the 27th of February. A High-Level Steering Board has been established, chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach, to oversee the implementation. The High Level Steering Board met for the first time on the 1st of March. A civil/military Implementation Management Office (IMO) has been established to support the implementation of the overall transformation programme required to implement recommendations from the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces.

Government noted that, in light of the Commission’s report, there is an urgent need for HR and cultural transformation in the Defence Forces and this will be prioritised. The High Level Action Plan identified the recruitment, through an open process, for the new senior-level civilian positions of Head of Transformation and Head of Strategic HR for the Defence Forces as early actions required to progress this transformation. Recruitment is currently underway for these two key appointments, which were advertised in Q4 2022.

A key early action, and key output from the opening phase of the Transformation Programme, the development of a detailed implementation plan, is at an advanced stage and is expected to be published in Q2 of 2023.

More generally, the Strategic Framework we are putting in place to drive the Commission's recommendations through will also be an important enabling mechanism for delivery of the Independent Review Group’s actions. My priority now is to ensure that there is one Strategic Plan for the transformation of the Defence Forces, fully understood by everyone, that has the appropriate governance and reporting mechanisms, and is properly resourced.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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199. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will facilitate the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence having an oversight role in the appointment of individuals to the Independent Oversight Board for the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22742/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Government agreed to establish the External Oversight Body of the Defence Forces, on a non-statutory basis initially, in line with one of the thirteen recommendations of the Independent Review Group on Dignity and Equality Issues in the Defence Forces published on March 28th.

The Government moved quickly to establish the Body, making the following appointments on April 5th:

• Professor Brian MacCraith as the Independent Chair
• Ms. Josephine Feehily
• Ms. Patricia King
• Ms. Julie Sinnamon
• Mr. Aongus Hegarty
• Ms. Jacqui McCrum in her capacity as Secretary General of the Department of Defence

I am also pleased to announce that with the agreement of Government on May 16, I have also appointed Ms. Sam des Forges to the Body.

Ms des Forges, is the Director of Conduct, Equity and Justice in the Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom and has very relevant experience in the areas of diversity and inclusion, transformation of Defence Forces complaints system, implementation of reforms relating to culture and unacceptable behaviours with the Defence Forces.

Ms des Forges unique personal experience, expertise and insight will be of huge value to the Body.

The immediate establishment of the External Oversight Body is a critical element to driving the necessary culture change throughout the Defence Forces and increasing transparency and accountability.

The calibre and combined skills and experience of each member gives me every confidence that this will happen. As is the norm, the Chair of the Body will accept any invitation to come before the Committee to discuss its important work.

The first task I set the Body was to develop detailed Terms of Reference in line with the recommendations of the Report for my approval.

My expectation is that the Chair will submit detailed Terms of Reference for my approval in the coming weeks. Once approved the Terms of Reference will be published.

While the Body has been established on non-statutory basis, it is my firm intention to introduce legislation to put it on a statutory footing as soon as possible. Once established on statutory basis, I expect future subsequent appointments to carried out via the Public Appointments Service.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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201. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the allowances available to members of the Defence Forces for serving overseas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22787/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There are a range of allowances available to Defence Forces members on overseas deployments. The two most common are Overseas Peace Support Allowance (OPSA) and Overseas Armed Peace Support Allowance (OAPSA).

Overseas and Armed Peace Support allowances are paid along with the pay of the members of the Permanent Defence Force serving overseas and payment is commenced following notification from the military authorities that a member has proceeded overseas on a particular mission. Payment of the allowances is then ceased following notification of his/her return from overseas. It is important to note that these aforementioned allowances are paid tax-free, to participating personnel.

For your information, the current daily rate of OPSA is €70.34 for Enlisted personnel, €86.90 for Captains or lower commissioned officers, and €95.01 for those in the rank of Commandant or higher. The daily rate for OAPSA, paid in tandem with OPSA is 25.28, for Enlisted personnel, or €26.75 for commissioned officers.

Certain other overseas appointments, not of the OPSA or OAPSA nature, attract expense related allowances to ensure that Military Staff are not “out of pocket” as a consequence of necessarily incurred expenses in the discharge of their duties, while living abroad. These expenses include a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) associated with a higher cost of living index at the post abroad, a Local Post Allowance (LPA) and a rent allowance, where applicable. A full Financial Support Package (FSP) applies to Training Courses of 12 months duration or greater and the criteria for applying these related fees is set out under a Conciliation Council Report under the Conciliation and Arbitration (C&A) Scheme for members of the Permanent Defence Force, the proceedings of which are confidential to the parties concerned.

Personnel on UN missions also receive Per Diem allowance, which is a subsistence rate, in effect, a payment is that is non taxable. At the same time, holiday pay is also payable to personnel, in certain circumstances depending on the duration of the deployment, on return from the overseas mission. This payment is also non taxable.

In addition to the above, military personnel serving overseas can, in certain circumstances, be paid Technical allowances for specific specialist roles they are undertaking, while deployed on overseas missions, to include, for example, cooks, drivers or logistics personnel.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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202. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of Defence Forces personnel who served overseas in the years 2017 to date; the average length of the deployment; by Air Corps, Naval Service and Army, by location, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22788/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Despite the best efforts of my Department and the Defence Forces, it hasn't been possible to provide the information requested within the given timeframe.

However, the information requested is being collated and I will revert to the Deputy directly as soon as the information has been fully complied.