Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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152. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the capital expenditure for the Defence Forces from 2020 to 2023, in tabular form. [26940/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The principal demand drivers of Defence capital requirements are the ongoing acquisition and renewal of military equipment along with the development and upgrade of Defence Forces built infrastructure and ICT capacity. The importance of this was set out in the 2019 White Paper Update and reinforced in the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces in 2022.

The table below outlines overall capital expenditure from the Defence Vote (including Civil Defence & Administration capital expenditure) over the specified timeframe:

Table: Capital Expenditure on the Defence Vote from 2020 to 2023 (end-April)

The primary return on Defence capital investment is the maintenance and development of necessary military capabilities which provide the means by which the Defence Forces contribute to national and international peace and security and fulfil all other roles assigned by Government.