Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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81. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if his Department plans to offer healthcare benefits to members of the Defence Forces and their families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29521/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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A wide range of primary medical services are provided to members of the Permanent Defence Force, including an annual medical examination, sick parades, GP services, prescription services, laboratory services, physiotherapy, chiropody, radiology, ophthalmic examinations, clinical mental health services provided by an in-house psychiatrist and two in-house psychologists, and routine dental treatment. In addition to the above, arising from a Programme for Government commitment, my Department has recently secured sanction to extend the provision of private secondary healthcare for all Defence Forces personnel, in line with the services that were previously available only to Officers.

In the case of Defence Forces personnel assigned to longer term overseas administrative posts, these personnel, and any accompanying dependents, are provided with global comprehensive medical insurance for which a formal arrangement is in place with a health insurance provider. This involves the organisation paying the difference between a basic minimum payment and the cost of the global plan.

In addition, the Defence Forces Personnel Support Service provide a welfare, information, psycho-social support and referral service, that is professional, responsive and confidential, to serving members of the Defence Forces and their families to sustain and enhance the individual well-being of personnel, and to promote a safe and positive work culture in order to support the effectiveness of the Defence Forces.

As additional support, my Department has arranged the provision of a confidential counselling, referral and support service, on a wide range of personal and work related issues, for serving members of the Defence Forces, civilian employees and Civil Defence members.

A Freephone confidential helpline is available on a 24/7 basis 365 days a year and is staffed by fully-trained and experienced counsellors. This service was extended to the families of Defence Forces personnel on a pilot basis during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Chaplaincy Service also provides confidential, comprehensive pastoral support and spiritual care to personnel at home and overseas.

I can assure the Deputy that the health and welfare of Defence Forces personnel is a key priority.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My officials and Military Management engage in regular and ongoing discussion on recruitment into the Defence Forces. This includes discussions regarding the recruitment of trainees, apprentices etc, and the scope and terms and conditions falling from that, where such proposals are made by Military Management.

With regard to Air Corps, it is my understanding that Air Corps Management are currently looking at the matter of apprentices and technicians, as part of the ongoing management of provision of maintenance and servicing of Air Corps aircraft, their engines, systems, equipment and weapons. It is my understanding also that Air Corps management is engaging with the Further Education sector regarding any accreditation matters that may arise from that.

In the event that there is any change in policy suggested by Military Management in this regard, this will require a Business Case to be developed by Military Management setting out the rationale for any proposed change in practice. Indeed, it is my understanding that Military Management has just, as of last Friday, submitted proposals to my Department to run a Trainee Military Aircraft Systems Technicians induction in 2023, and my officials will work closely with Military Management on progressing that.

Ultimately, however, any decision to run an Air Corps apprenticeship induction is a matter for Air Corps Management, and is dependent on the correct accreditation arrangements being in place. I am not currently in a position to say when an induction of apprentices will take place, but I will be very happy to provide this information to the Deputy, once the necessary arrangements have been finalised by Air Corps Management.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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84. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the actions proposed to augment the ability of the Defence Forces here to protect vital subterranean and submarine infrastructure in light of recent global threats in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29512/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Defence, I chair the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning (GTF) supported by the Office of Emergency Planning (OEP) in my Department. A subgroup of the GTF was assigned responsibility to develop guidance on critical infrastructure resilience in 2017. The subgroup produced the first guideline document on critical infrastructure resilience in February 2019. This document was subsequently revised and updated in July 2021.

While the primary responsibility for safeguarding critical infrastructure rests with its owner or operator, the guideline document provides the methodology for operators of essential services to follow to enhance their resilience. It also outlines that it is the responsibility of each government department to foster links and work closely with the semi-state and private sector operators of critical infrastructure, in their respective policy areas, to enhance the protection of critical infrastructure from a wide variety of threats.

In advance of the enactment of the new EU Critical Entities Resilience Directive, the Department of Defence is working with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications to stress test critical infrastructure in the energy sector in Ireland. These stress tests will be completed before the end of 2023.

Department of Defence officials and the Defence Forces continue to engage with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications in relation to the protection of Ireland’s offshore infrastructure. While the Defence Forces have limited sub-sea capabilities, enhanced maritime patrolling of the Irish Sea in the vicinity of priority offshore infrastructure is taking place by a mixture of air and naval platforms.

In relation to the future development of subsea capabilities, the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces considered that a step up to Level of Ambition 2 (LOA2) should seek to deliver enhancement of sub-surface capabilities to monitor sub-sea cables. The report states that to achieve this would mean the Naval fleet should have enhanced air, surface and sub-surface search capabilities, with the latter allowing the Naval Service to monitor activity in the vicinity of sub-sea cables. In order to achieve these desired capability effects associated with a move to LOA2, specific recommendations made by the Commission were accepted in principle by Government when it published its High Level Action Plan for the Commission's report.

A further early action identified in the High Level Action Plan is the commencement of the Strategic Defence Review. This review will examine defence policy across all domains and inform future capability requirements and enable a broader debate on the State’s overall defence policy. Department officials are currently working with their Military counterparts with a view to progressing this action. The first stage of this review will be a security environment analysis to be conducted by an interdepartmental working group which has been established for the purposes of the review.