asked the Minister for Defence if his attention has been drawn to an article in a Dublin newspaper (details supplied) dealing with Army equipment and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Army Equipment.
108.
I have seen the article referred to in the question. It would not be in the interests of security to publish details of the quantities or types of certain equipment held or being purchased for the Defence Forces and, for that reason, it is not the practice to comment on articles which speculate about these matters.
I may, however, say that substantial quantities of equipment, additional to those for which provision was made in the current year's Estimate for Defence, either have been ordered or are in the process of being ordered.
When final figures and costings are available, I propose to introduce a Supplementary Estimate which will include provision for such portion of the additional expenditure involved as will fall to be met in the current financial year.
Could the Minister say if the figure is, in fact, £2 million, or is it £3 million and £1 million announced £3 million and £1 million seems to have got lost on the way? He says now it is £2 million.
I will be making a statement on the matter when I introduce my Supplementary Estimate.
The Minister should know now. The only person I have no patience with is the person who does not read his brief properly and the Minister obviously did not do that because he said it was £3 million. Now he says it is £2 million. Somebody must have told him——
I will call the Deputy's bluff. The Minister at no time stated that £3 million would be available. If the Deputy can prove that I did make that statement, that is another matter.
That will have to be done when the Minister has not got it on his brief.
The impression was given that there was £3 million for new equipment and that that equipment would be in addition to what was on order last year. The whole operation was described in the article as a confidence trick and it looks very like one.
Is this £2 million or £3 million going to be used to pay for equipment ordered last year or will it be provided to buy new equipment when it is voted here?
That is a separate question.
A Supplementary Estimate will be introduced at a later stage indicating the purpose of the expenditure.
We are very near a new Budget, you know.