Written answers
Tuesday, 20 June 2023
Department of Defence
Defence Forces
Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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98. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if additional funding will be allocated in Budget 2024 in order to implement the recommendations of the Commission on Defence in relation to capital spending; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29458/23]
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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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 by 2028, as part of the annual budgetary process. This endorsement envisages, inter alia, increasing capital investment on equipment and infrastructure as identified by the Commission.
The annual Defence budget allocation is determined within the overarching budgetary framework, and approved by Dáil Eireann having regard to the level of resources available, and defence policy requirements. It is within this context that the annual Defence budget for 2024 will be determined, with the estimates process for 2024 set to commence shortly.
For 2023, the total overall gross allocation provided to the Defence Vote Group budget, as set out in Budget 2023, is €1.21 billion, comprising of over €915 million on the Defence Vote and over €294 million on the Army Pensions Vote. This significant allocation represents an overall increase of €93 million on 2022 and includes an increase of €35 million in the capital allocation to €176 million, a 25% increase on 2022.
Ongoing and future Defence capital programmes/projects are planned, prioritised and managed through the Defence Equipment Development Plan and the Defence Infrastructural Development Plan. These internal frameworks are supported and enabled by the recent establishment of a top-down civil-military Capability Development Branch - a key Commission recommendation.
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.
In that regard, the increased level of capital investment provided to date will allow a significant number of building projects to advance under the Defence Infrastructure Development Plan. It will also allow for significant capital investment in defensive equipment programmes, to include the ongoing development of a primary radar capability along with the progression of a range of key force protection priorities identified in the Commission on the Defence Forces, thereby significantly enhancing the equipment and facilities available to the Defence Forces.
The significant additional funding allocated in Budget 2023 across capital expenditure categories highlights the positive commitment of Government to providing a strong financial platform capable of supporting a modern, agile military force, capable of responding to increasingly complex security threats. My Department remains absolutely committed to building on this successful outcome as we now move towards the commencement of Budget 2024 discussions over the coming months.
Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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100. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his views on how the role of the Irish Defence Forces would change if the Triple Lock were to be altered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29555/23]
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The so-called “Triple Lock” mechanism, which sets out the requirements for the deployment of more than 12 members of the Defence Forces for peacekeeping operations overseas, is set down in legislation, in particular the Defence (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1960 and the Defence (Amendment) Act 2006, as amended.
The legislation provides that:
- the operation must be mandated by the United Nations;
- it must be approved by the Government; and
- it must be approved by way of a resolution of Dáil Éireann (with certain limited exceptions as outlined below).
Any modification to the triple lock requirements for peacekeeping operations overseas, where the Irish Government can deploy DF personnel, would require a change in primary legislation to remove the requirement for the operation to be mandated by the United Nations.
The five permanent members of the Council may exercise their veto to prevent the Security Council from taking decisions, including those related to the mandates of peacekeeping operations. In practice, the threat of a veto by a permanent member, rather than its actual use, is often enough to prevent the Council from taking action.Indeed, no new peacekeeping missions have been approved by the UN Security Council since 2014.
When the possibility of a veto emerged last year in relation to the renewal of UN authorisation for EUFOR Operation Althea, Ireland as a member of the UNSC at the time, was in a position to play a key role in securing the renewal of the UN mandate for this EU led Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where five members of the Defence Forces are currently deployed.
In 1999, our Defence Forces were unable to participate in a peacekeeping mission when a permanent member of the UN Security Council vetoed the renewal of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP). Because the subsequent European Union peace operation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYROM/CONCORDIA) did not have a UNSC mandate, Ireland was unable to participate in that mission.
My own view is that, in the context of an international security environment which has been fundamentally altered by the illegal and brutal full scale invasion of Ukraine by a permanent member of the UN Security Council is that we need an open discussion on both the merits and the limitations of the Triple Lock.
I am concerned that any decision about where Irish Defence Forces personnel should be deployed overseas should be a sovereign decision of the Irish Government and, where appropriate, the Dáil. It should not in my view be a decision over which a third country has an effective veto, as is effectively the situation with any permanent members of the UN Security Council.
However, I respect that there are varying views on this issue and my hope is that the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy set to commence this week, will be an opportunity to examine such matters as the increasing use of the veto and the implications for the triple lock.
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