Vol. 489 No. 7
18 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Defence when the Price Waterhouse review of the Air Corps and Naval Service will be completed and published; the proposals, if any, he has for consultation with the representative associations on these reports; and if he will make a statement on the low staff levels at certain grades in both services which are causing concern and which may lead to recruitment outside the service of the State. [9022/98]
20 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for Defence the expected date of completion of the work by the consultants on the review of the Air Corps and Naval Service; when he will publish the completed reports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9034/98]
30 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Defence when the Price Waterhouse review of the Air Corps and Naval Service will be completed and published; the proposals, if any, he has for consultation with the representative associations on these reports; and if he will make a statement on the low staff levels at certain grades in both services which are causing concern and which may lead to recruitment outside the service or the State. [9023/98]
133 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for Defence the expected date of completion of the work by the consultants on the review of the Air Corps and Naval Service; when he will publish the completed reports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9035/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 18, 20, 30 and 133 together.
The Defence Forces Review Implementation Plan, 1996-98, provided for special studies to be carried out on the Air Corps and the Naval Service. In July 1996, the Efficiency Audit Group engaged Price Waterhouse management consultants to conduct a review of the Air Corps and the Naval Service. The consultants subsequently furnished a preliminary draft report to the Efficiency Audit Group. This draft report highlighted issues which required to be studied in greater detail and identified a number of new issues which required examination.
As a consequence, rather than publishing a report that merely identified problems, it was decided that the consultants should examine these problems further in order to produce a report that was as comprehensive as possible and which could serve as the blueprint for the development of these important services in the years ahead.
The consultants completed their review earlier this year and they submitted their final report to the Efficiency Audit Group in February 1998. The report has been considered by the steering group overseeing the review and it will be submitted to the Government in the very near future.
I assure the Deputy that I am committed to publishing this report at the earliest possible opportunity. I confirm once more that any matters arising from this review that come within the scope of representation will be the subject of full consultation with the representative associations.
With regard to staffing levels, the position is that both the Air Corps and the Naval Service have lost members to other employments. This situation is not unusual in times of economic buoyancy. The Department is in the process of filling a number of vacancies for watchkeeping officers for the Naval Service which were recently advertised in the national press. The recruitment competition is open to all candidates, including any non-resident candidates who meet the eligibility criteria for the job.
Is the Minister aware that non-publication of this report is having a devastating impact on the Naval Service and the Air Corps? It has a devastating effect on staff morale and it makes proper planning impossible. When did the Efficiency Audit Group see the report and has it completed its examination? More than a year ago the Minister said it was a disgrace that this report was not published. Is he dealing with it as seriously as he should? It is impossible for the Air Corps and the Naval Service to plan or to take on new tasks with any certainty because everyone is waiting to see what is in the report.
I am as conscious as Deputy Fitzgerald of the way this matter has dragged on. As I explained the preliminary draft was unsatisfactory from a number of points of view. It did not go close enough to the problem or propose solutions and another considered effort had to be made which caused a significant delay. Another reason was that when Price Waterhouse Management Consultants were asked to examine every aspect of the Defence Forces, the Naval Service and the Air Corps did not get sufficient attention at that time.
The Efficiency Audit Group received the report in the latter half of February. The steering group in the Department of the Taoiseach has examined it and completed its work and is now in a position to present it to the Government. The Deputy will appreciate that this work is done in the Department of the Taoiseach in the first instance and that for the past six weeks the steering group and the main personnel concerned were dedicated to another important area of activity which drew on almost all their resources. They achieved success in that task. This report will soon be presented to the Government.
A number of other Departments have signalled their intention to become involved. As the Naval Service and the Air Corps are involved in a number of services, such as health, the marine or as an aid to civil powers, a number of Departments want to have an input.
I do not want to delay the publication of this report. Different organisations tend to worry about such delays, but the Naval Service and the Air Corps know what has happened. They are aware of our commitment to ensure that the best possible solutions are produced to deal with the fairly significant problems which have emerged in terms of how these organisations will be sustained in the future. I guarantee that once the report is presented to the Government, it will be published immediately thereafter.
There is no doubt there are significant problems in the Air Corps and the Naval Service which need to be urgently addressed. I hope the Minister realises the urgency of the situation. Is it possible that the Department of Finance is delaying the report because of its resistance to giving further resources to this area? Can the Minister reassure the Air Corps and the Naval Service about staffing levels, for example?
There is no foundation to the rumour that the Department of Finance has been unhelpful in this matter. It has not come to the stage where the Government must make decisions on future expenditure. The expenditure for this year is already agreed. Expenditure for the years ahead, in the context of what will emerge from the deliberation of the court will be decided in the months ahead. There are rumours from day to day in many of these organisations. I will enlist the Deputy's help in quenching any rumours she knew about before she asked the question.
Have any meetings taken place between the representative associations and Price Waterhouse Management Consultants or have submissions been made about the review?
The representative associations had an opportunity to make their submissions. At least one of the associations presented a comprehensive picture some time ago.
Prior to the Easter recess, the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources said he would have discussions with the Minister about the difficulties in fishery protection. Did those discussions take place?
We had an interesting meeting a couple of weeks ago at which we made a joint decision to ensure that a better fast tracking system is provided, particularly in the case of emergencies. We want to ensure that the Irish emergency services will be the first line to be approached and that the Naval Service and the Air Corps will be contacted thereafter so that all resources are available to deal with any type of emergency. I assure the Deputy that the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources would not indicate anything in the House to which he would not apply his mind immediately. I might make a mistake, but there is no way he would make one.
What is the position as regards national brigade structures? Is it true that the findings of the Price Waterhouse report are being pre-empted and that the numbers in the brigade headquarters are being reduced? Is it true that the Minister intended to bring before the Dáil in February and March plans for a three brigade structure? Will we have two national brigades?
I am doing badly today because Deputy Stanton is teasing me. He knows I am not responsible for the decision to have three brigades. That was made by my predecessor, Deputy Barrett, and I have no quarrel with it. The reorganisation of the Defence Forces was an important element in creating a more mobile, efficient, younger and fitter team. In the intervening period, there was the voluntary early retirement scheme, the constant recruitment scheme and the decision to ensure that funds saved through the voluntary early retirement scheme would go back into equipment.
There is a delay in terms of the reorganisation of headquarters. We need an amendment to the Defence Act and we have already given a commitment to introduce that in this session so that there will be no delay in underpinning that change. Some of the overall changes have been delayed but they are not of such import that they cannot be resolved fairly quickly once the legislation is passed. Any rumours to the effect that I am moving people to headquarters are not true.
