Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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207. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the status of the review of the conciliation and arbitration scheme for the PDF; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37484/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Conciliation & Arbitration (C&A) Scheme for the Permanent Defence Force is the mechanism for addressing industrial issues within the Defence sector. In line with the Irish model of Irish industrial relations, this is a voluntary mechanism which provides structures for management and staff to engage on collective issues that may arise. These structures have helped to maintain positive industrial relations in the sector over a number of years.

A revised Conciliation and Arbitration scheme is in place since 2020, incorporating the recommendations of an independent review of the scheme. An independent Chair of Conciliation Council, which the Permanent Defence Force Representative Associations had sought as a key outcome from the review, was appointed in March 2020.

A review of the Scheme is currently being undertaken by the current Independent Chair of the Conciliation Council of the C&A Scheme. This was mutually agreed by all parties to the Scheme. Individual submissions have been sought and received by the Chair from all parties to the Scheme, and discussions between the Chair and the individual parties, on foot of those discussions, have been held. There will be a plenary session of all parties in Q3 2023, after which it would be hoped to conclude the Review of the Scheme as soon as possible thereafter.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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208. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence for an update on the publication of the detailed implementation plan in relation to the 130 recommendations arising from the Defence Forces High Level Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37506/23]

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. There were 69 main recommendations and with sub recommendations there were 130 recommendations in total. The Commission undertook a significant body of work, encompassing wide-ranging terms of reference. It recommended significant changes for the Defence Forces and Defence provision in Ireland. It covered 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. The High Level Action Plan set out the response of Government in relation to each of the 130 individual recommendations: Accept, Accept in Principle, Further Evaluation or Revert. 103 of its recommendations were accepted by Government for implementation, or accepted in principle, with 17 requiring further evaluation and a further 10 to revert to Government.

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. A comprehensive written update on all 38 early actions was published on March 23rd of this year, and includes the status of each of the 38 early actions in tabular form. At that time over 80% of the early actions had been achieved. Progress continues on the remaining early actions, and to-date approximately 95% have been achieved, with the remainder at an advanced stage and due to be completed shortly.

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. I welcome the recent appointments of Mr. Brian Molloy to the position of Defence Forces’ Head of Transformation and Mr. Declan Carville to the position of Head of Strategic HR.

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 Q3 2023.

When published, it will set out the approach to implementation for each of the 130 recommendations. Effective reporting mechanisms were put in place for the 38 early actions, and once the detailed implementation plan has been published similar reporting mechanisms will track the progress of all the Commission’s recommendations.

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.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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209. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 169 of 4 July 2023, for a breakdown, by rank, of the number of people leaving the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps, by month, over the past five years, in tabular form, and indicating whether those individuals had completed their agreed contract or if they had paid to exit their contract early; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37554/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the military authorities that it was not possible to collate the required information within the timeframe available. I shall provide the information to the Deputy once it becomes available.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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210. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 169 of 4 July 2023, for a breakdown of the numbers of people joining the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps, by month, over the past five years, in tabular form, and indicating whether they are joining at an officer or enlisted level and if they are entering through direct hire or general service recruitment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37555/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It has not been possible to collate the required information in the time available. I will revert to the Deputy when the information has been gathered.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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211. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 169 of 4 July 2023, for a breakdown of the numbers of former Defence Forces personnel re-enlisting, and at what rank, with either the Army, Naval Service or Air Corps, by month, over the past five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37556/23]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It has not been possible to collate the required information in the time available. I will revert to the Deputy when the information has been gathered.