Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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202. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the progress made to date in respect of the establishment of an independent external complaints system for serving members in the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18006/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The report of the Independent Review Group (IRG), established to examine dignity and equality issues in the Defence Forces, recommended that members of the Defence Forces have ‘access to an independent, external complaints service delivered by a professional service provider for as long as it takes to put a trusted internal system in place’.

Externalising the complaints system on a statutory basis, as envisaged by the IRG, will require significant amendments to primary legislation, namely the Defence Act and will take some time. Accordingly, an interim process is required pending changes to the primary legislation.

I recently announced the launch of an independent, external interim Grievance System that will deal with complaints of an interpersonal nature from serving members of the Defence Forces. Mr Kevin Duffy, former Chair of the Labour Court, has been appointed as the interim Grievance Manager (IGM) of the Defence Forces.

The new IGM process is now available to serving members of the Defence Forces (both Permanent and Reserve) for an initial 12 months trial period. A review of the process at that stage will inform the primary legislation required to establish a suitable complaints process for serving members of the Defence Forces on a statutory basis.

This new process is an addition to the existing suite of complaint and grievance options, internal and external, available to serving members of the Defence Forces, which includes an Ombudsman specific to members of the Defence Forces.

The introduction of the IGM process is another step in the implementation of the IRG recommendations and in the journey of cultural transformation in the Defence Forces. It is an important part in a wider review and redesign of the grievance management framework within the Defence Forces, which is aimed at building trust and confidence in the complaints processes.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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205. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he is examining the feasibility of developing new accommodation for military personnel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18021/25]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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209. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence for an update on plans to audit the existing military estate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18020/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 205 and 209 together.

Since the 1990s, the long-standing policy of the organisation has been to withdraw from the provision of married quarters for serving personnel. This policy approach remains reflective of the State’s move away from the historic provision of tied housing for State employees. The move away from this provision was accepted by senior military management at the time and has been acknowledged as a long-standing policy.

Turning specifically to investment in developing accommodation for training and operational purposes, this forms part of the wider Defence Forces Infrastructure Development Plan (IDP) which sets out a programme of project delivery for the years 2023 to 2027. The capital allocation for building works in military installations and barracks across the country for the last five years was some €170m. This year the capital allocation stands at €50m for capital investment with a further €12.5m allocation for ongoing maintenance and running costs. In terms of development of accommodation the following are the current capital works projects at respective stages of ongoing construction, procurement, and design and planning:.

Projects on-going

• The development of a new modular accommodation block at Casement Aerodrome
• The refurbishment of Block 4 accommodation block in Haulbowline.
• The refurbishment of Block 1 Accommodation in Collins Barracks, Cork.

• New Accommodation Block, Collins Barracks
• Refurbishment of Block C, Stephens Barracks
• Upgrade of Former USAC Building, Renmore

• Haulbowline Refurbishment of Old Comms Cadet Accommodation
• Haulbowline Refurbishment of the Cadets Mess Accommodation
• Gormanston Camp, New Accommodation block
• Stephens Barracks, Refurbishment of Blocks A, B, D, E & F
• Cathal Brugha Barracks, Refurbishment of C House
• DFTC, New Student Accommodation Facility
• DFTC, Refurbishment of Ceannt Block 1