Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In July 2022, the Government approved a move to Level of Ambition 2 (LOA2), as recommended by the Commission on the Defence Forces. As part of that decision, the Government committed to increasing the Defence budget from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion at 2022 prices, by 2028, as part of the annual budgetary process. This level of investment will allow for the required transformation and investment in recruitment, equipment and infrastructure that was identified by the Commission.

The table below outlines overall current, capital and total allocations to the Defence Vote Group, incorporating Defence (Vote 36) and Army Pensions (Vote 35), over the specified timeframe.

* Vote 35 is all current expenditure and the 2022 allocation included an additional €9.325m in funding provided by way of supplementary estimate.

As evident by the significant increase provided between 2017 and 2023, the Government has facilitated considerable funding increases to the Defence Vote Group over recent years to ensure the Defence Forces maintain their ongoing capacity to deliver on all roles assigned by the Government, both at home and overseas.

In addition, the overall financial envelope provided to the Defence Vote Group for 2023 encompassed the largest annual year on year increase over this period and was also the highest ever Defence capital expenditure allocation to date, therefore making a very clear statement in support of commitments made with regard to the ongoing implementation of a broad suite of Commission recommendations.