I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £4,139,040 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1959, for the Defence Forces (including certain Grants-in-Aid) under the Defence Act, 1954 (No. 18 of 1954), and for certain administrative expenses in connection therewith; for certain expenses under the Offences Against the State Acts, 1939 and 1940 (No. 13 of 1939 and No. 2 of 1940) and the Air-raid Precautions Acts, 1939 and 1946 (No. 21 of 1939 and No. 28 of 1946); for Expenses in connection with the issue of medals, etc.; and for a Grant-in-Aid of the Irish Red Cross Society (No. 32 of 1938).
The gross Estimate for 1958-59 is £6,418,250 and the net Estimate, after deducting Appropriations-in-Aid, is £6,208,560. There is an increase of £37,340 on the net Estimate for 1957-58. It may be recalled that the latter Estimate showed a reduction of nearly £900,000 on the figure for the preceding year. It will be apparent, therefore, that the Estimate now before the House has been prepared against the prevailing background of financial stringency. Every item has been carefully considered and weighed against the pressing need for economy on the one hand and the maintenance of an efficient defence force on the other, and I believe that this Estimate strikes a fair balance between the two. Admittedly there is is a modest increase, but we have to provide for certain increased costs of a fairly substantial nature which were not in evidence when the previous Estimate was prepared. Also, this Estimate provides for an additional 250 men at a cost of about £55,000. I shall refer in greater detail to this matter later.
The major portion of the Estimate is accounted for by provision for the pay, allowances and maintenance of the permanent Defence Force. This provision is spread over a number of sub-heads and totals, in round figures, £4,000,000 or about 62 per cent. of the entire gross Estimate. As in previous years, the Estimate for the permanent Defence Force is framed on the basis of the full peace establishment, that is 1,334 officers and 11,864 men. Deductions are made in the relevant sub-heads in respect of the numbers by which the actual strength during the year is likely to be below the establishment. This Estimate, in effect, caters for a net average strength of 1,153 officers, 40 cadets and 7,500 men (including all Corps and Services). As compared with the approximate average strength maintained during 1957-58, these figures show a reduction of 21 officers and 13 cadets and an increase of 250 men.
The reduction in officers is due mainly to the retirement of a number of officers with I.R.A. service medals following the enactment of the Defence Forces (Pensions) (Amendment) (No. 2) Scheme, 1957, which was discussed and approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas last year. As regards the increased number of men provided for, it was found that the provision for last year only enabled the strength to be kept at a level barely sufficient for the essential day-to-day tasks of the Army. This has imposed a considerable strain on the personnel, which if continued might prove harmful to morals and efficiency. The opening of an internment camp last year and the situation along the Border have also made greater demands on the number of troops available.
It has been decided, therefore, to maintain an average strength of 7,500 men during 1958-59. This is considered to be the minimum number that will afford the necessary relief to hard-pressed personnel. The strength at the end of February stood at 6,950 noncommissioned officers, privates and seamen. A recruiting campaign has already been started with the object of securing the required number of recruits as quickly as possible and I would like to ask Deputies to lend their full support to this campaign.
Taking the sub-heads individually, I will deal first of all with those that show appreciable increases.
As regards sub-head A—Pay of Officers, Cadets, N.C.O.s and Privates —there is an increase of approximately £37,000 for "Pay of Other Ranks" due mainly to provision being made for the extra 250 men I have just mentioned. Against this increase, however, there is a reduction of over £34,000 in respect of the pay of officers and cadets.
For convenience, sub-head C—Pay of Civilians attached to Units—and sub-head S—Barrack Maintenance and New Works—may be taken together. Between them there is an increase of approximately £15,000. Provision is made in sub-head C for the employment of 30 additional employees with the Corps of Engineers. This increase is necessary in order to carry out the programme of maintenance and new works for which the materials are provided in sub-head S. It was necessary to give this programme careful consideration in view of the financial position and only works which are strictly essential have been included. It would obviously be false economy to try to save on maintenance.
As regards the new works which are provided for, the vast majority of these are relatively small and most of them are directly concerned with improving the living conditions for the troops. This is in continuation of a policy that successive Ministers for Defence have pursued. I would like to be able to do much more in this direction, but unfortunately this is not possible for the time being. I am glad to be able to say, however, that in 1958-59 we hope to start work on a housing scheme for married soldiers at Collins Barracks, Cork. Negotiations are nearing completion for the purchase of a site near the barracks and it is intended to build 24 houses. A communal laundry and bathhouse will be provided for the occupants of the married quarters at Sarsfield Barracks, Limerick. Work on the initial stages of a new dining hall and cookhouse for men at Customs Barracks, Athlone, and a gymnasium at the Curragh has been commenced and this Estimate makes provision for the continuation of these projects.
The increase of £7,373 in sub-head E —Pay of Officers of the Medical Corps, etc.—is due to the fact that there will not be so many unfilled vacancies in the corps during 1958-59. There is an increase of £12,047 in sub-head G for subsistence allowances for all ranks. Increased rates of allowances were approved recently following similar increases granted to other public servants.
The largest increase of any sub-head occurs in sub-head K—Provisions and Allowances in lieu—which is up by £62,732. This is due to a number of factors, namely, the larger number of men to be catered for, the higher cost of foodstuffs following the removal of subsidies last year; and an increase of £10,000 in respect of supplies purchased for issue on repayment. In regard to the last mentioned item, there is, of course, a corresponding increase in receipts under Appropriations-in-Aid.
Under sub-head O—General Stores— the increase of £22,159 is due mainly to provision for the purchase of four elementary training aircraft and one general purposes aircraft. These are of the piston-engine type and will cost about £38,000. They are essential for carrying out the training programme for regular and reserve pilots and to continue the short service training scheme by means of which pilots are provided for the Air Corps Reserve and for Aer Lingus.
The amount of £51,567 provided under sub-head P (1)—Civil Defence— shows an increase of £8,485 over the provision for 1957-58. The two main items are Grants to Local Authorities and Equipment and Stores. Grants to Local Authorities account for £25,067, an increase of £1,610 over last year. Those grants include contributions towards the cost of civil defence administration by local authorities, towards the cost of uniform for civil defence volunteers and towards the servicing, maintenance and storage of equipment issued to local authorities. The provision of £27,200 for the purchase and maintenance of equipment and stores represents an increase of £6,875 as compared with last year's provision. This increase is mainly attributable to proposed increased purchases of equipment, especially for welfare, fire-fighting and rescue training.
The recruiting campaign for civil defence during the past year has, an initial effort, been reasonably satisfactory. In some counties the response has been very good. About 3,000 men and women have enrolled in the organisation throughout the State and upwards of 2,000 of them have been undergoing instruction given by local authority civil defence instructors. There is now the nucleus of a civil defence organisation in most counties. This represents definite progress but a much greater effort on the part of the people must be made. I would ask all members of local authorities and particularly those who are members of this House to take a greater interest in civil defence in their local authority areas and encourage people to join it. Civil defence is an inescapable obligation of every country and needs the encouragement of the public representatives belonging to the local authorities which have a statutory duty to promote it.
I need not repeat what I said last year regarding the object of the recruiting campaign, but I do wish to assure the House that nothing has happened since then to lessen the need for a civil defence organisation as part of the national defence of the State. In some respect, the potential hazards are increasing as a result of the continuous development of new types of missiles.
The increase of £24,090 in sub-head P.2—Naval Service—is attributable mainly to an increase in the cost of fuel oil for the corvettes and to the proposed purchase of a quantity of ammunition for the guns of those vessels. Fuel oil is now costing nearly £3 a ton more than when the 1957-58 Estimate was prepared. It is not practicable to offset this increase by reducing consumption as has been done in the case of petrol for mechanical transport. The stock of ammunition is now very low and replenishment cannot be deferred any longer. I may mention that one of the corvettes has undergone a major overhaul, and has been put into a thoroughly seaworthy condition. Work on the second corvette is in hands at present, and this Estimate contains provision for the overhaul of the remaining corvette. The provision for the pay of personnel of the Naval Service remains practically unchanged at £97,000 approximately.
It has been found necessary to increase the provision under sub-head R for fuel, light and water by £18,599. This is due mainly to the higher charges for electricity which became operative some time ago and to increased consumption of electricity. The provision of improved living conditions and amenities for personnel to which I referred earlier has necessarily made increased demands on this sub-head. The consumption of solid fuel, electricity, etc., is being closely watched and no opportunity is lost of impressing on all concerned the necessity for strict economy.
In sub-head X—Incidental Expenses —the provision of £19,000 for advertisements shows an increase of £9,000 over the provision for 1957-58. Ordinary departmental advertising will absorb about £2,000 and £17,000 is required for recruiting advertisements for the Army and Civil Defence. I hope we will be able to achieve our targets without having to expend the full amount, but as the building up of both these forces is an urgent task, it is necessary to make fairly substantial provision.
Provision is made in sub-head X (3) for a payment of £15,450 to the Irish Red Cross Society by way of a Grant-in-Aid. This is an increase of £1,000 over the provision for 1957-58 and includes a sum of £5,000 approximately for the maintenance of a group of White Russian refugees which the society has agreed to receive and look after. Some time ago the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees appealed to this and other countries to take some of the 15,000 White Russian refugees in North China. Arrangements have been completed under which the Irish Red Cross Society will take up to 20 at a time on behalf of this country. The arrangements provide for the grant to the society of 20,000 dollars by the High Commissioner for Refugees for the purchase and equipment of a premises to house the refugees, the society to become the owner of the premises on arrival of the first batch of refugees.
The Government has agreed to indemnify the society to the extent of not more than £5,000 a year in respect of the cost of maintaining the refugees in this country. Suitable premises have been purchased and fitted out and the first batch of seven refugees arrived last November. It is not known at the moment when the other 13 will arrive. The society continues to look after the Hungarian refugees at Knockalisheen Camp and to bear the maintenance costs from the special fund created by the generous subscriptions of the Irish people. The society is to be highly commended for its activities and deserves every help and encouragement.
In sub-head Y (2)—the Reserve Defence Force—the provisions for the Reserve of Officers—First Line and the Reserve of Men—First Line are substantially the same as those in the 1957-58 Estimate. In the case of An Fórsa Cosanta Áitiuil and An Slua Muiri there is a net increase of £12,805. This is mainly due to an increase of £21,000 in respect of clothing. In 1957-58, we had available certain stocks of clothing and consequently the provision for new purchases was rather low. These stocks are now exhausted. The increase, however, is partly offset by a saving on pay and rations resulting from revised training arrangements. The attendance of the Reserve at training during 1957 was well up to the standard of previous years.
Lastly, there is a regrettable but unavoidable increase of nearly £17,000 in sub-head AA—Expenses in connection with the Offences Against the State Acts. Deputies will be already aware of the reason for this and it is hardly necessary for me to go into any detail.
Turning to the sub-heads that show reductions, I think that only sub-head P—Defensive Equipment—where there is a reduction of £164,134 calls for special mention. While full mobilisation stocks have not yet been built up, fairly substantial quantities of weapons have been procured and the Army is now moderately well equipped with the lighter types of armament which are unlikely to be superseded in the near future. With this in mind and having regard to the present financial situation, I felt that this sub-head could bear a substantial cut and that we should try to do with a provision of just over £60,000 for 1958-59. An appreciable part of this sum is for maintenance.
It will be observed that no provision has been made for the Bureau of Military History. The bureau was wound up on 31st December last, but a small office staff is being kept on for the present to deal with outstanding matters and to prepare the archives for storing away. Provision for this staff is made in sub-head Y—Office of the Minister for Defence—for a period of nine months only, as it is expected that the work will be completed by 31st December next.
I should like to thank all who contributed to the work of the bureau. They will be gratefully remembered in years to come by historians of the struggle for independence. I should also like to appeal to those, who are in a position to make important contributions and who have not yet done so, to lose no further time in preparing or completing their statements, so that as complete a record as possible may be available for the future historians.
The reduction of £16,506 in Appropriations-in-Aid may call for some comment. The main items affected are sale of surplus land and sale of surplus stores and unserviceable clothing which show reductions of £10,700 and £10,000 respectively. In 1957-58, there were two fairly large areas of land for disposal at Baldonnel and Tallaght and it was assumed that both would be disposed of before 31st March, 1958. The Baldonnel lands have been transferred to the Land Commission. The disposal of the Tallaght lands, however, has taken longer than was expected, but is likely to be completed during 1958-59 and the anticipated receipt has been taken account of accordingly. As regards the sale of surplus stores, and so on, the quantities available for disposal are diminishing, but I shall make every effort to obtain the maximum revenue from this source.
In conclusion, I should like to pay tribute to the loyal and efficient manner in which the Army has discharged its duties during the past year, which was a particularly difficult one and made great demands on the personnel of all ranks. If there are any matters on which Deputies require additional information, I shall do my best to supply it.
