Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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37. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if spending under Vote 36 is within profile; if he expects an underspend in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60414/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Defence Vote was allocated with a funding envelope of €1,021 million in 2025. This represented an increase of €88 million (9%) over the corresponding 2024 allocation and includes funding for pay and allowances for 8,960 public service employees, ongoing Defence Forces standing and operational costs and the ongoing renewal and upgrading of defence equipment and barracks infrastructure as well as funding in respect of Civil Defence and the Irish Red Cross Society.

This significant allocation provided in Budget 2025 allows Defence to deliver services across its key strategic elements: Defence Policy, ensuring the capacity to deliver, and Defence Forces operations and will ensure that the Defence Forces continue to have the resources necessary to deliver on all roles assigned by Government, both at home and overseas.

Overall expenditure on the Defence Vote at end-September 2025 was €698 million, representing 68% of the total budget provision. This is broadly in line with expenditure trends in recent years. At end-September, capital expenditure was €10 million above the profile set out at the beginning of the year, mainly due to recent significant payments on capital projects. Non-pay expenditure was ahead of profile by €14 million mainly due to increased costs associated with military equipment, and pay expenditure was €16 million below profile, mainly due to the net number of additional recruits being below estimated levels.

My Department will continue to monitor expenditure across the Defence Vote very closely, and projections are that the end of year spending position will align very closely with the allocation.