Written Answers - Review Group.
Monica Barnes
Question:
50
Mrs. Barnes
asked the
Minister for Defence
the number of times he has chaired a meeting of the Price Waterhouse implementation group; the reason there have been so few meetings of the group; the timeframe for the implementation of the recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[13697/00]
Alan Shatter
Question:
109
Mr. Shatter
asked the
Minister for Defence
if, further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 123 and 127 of 28 March 2000, he will report on the progress in establishing new structures in the Air Corps and the Naval Service; the practical steps taken to develop the new organisation structure in both cases, and the other issues as outlined in his reply.
[13724/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 109 together.
The 1998 Price Waterhouse report on the Air Corps and the Naval Service set out a range of recommendations for more effective and efficient air and sea services. Some of these recommendations could be proceeded with fairly quickly while others would take longer to implement. It is important that the recommendations be implemented in a structured and coherent way that will contribute to the overall development of the Defence Forces.
I have always emphasised the importance of involving all of the relevant stakeholders in the process. That is why I established a special consultation group to provide a forum for the input of the key stakeholders in relation to the State's air and sea services. This consultation group, which I chair, is made up of representatives from the civil and military branches of my Department, from the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources, the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Finance and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. To date the group has held an initial meeting at which I invited stakeholders to make their inputs to the process and appropriate contacts have been made at official level to facilitate this.
In October 1998, I directed the chief of staff to arrange for the general officer commanding the Air Corps and the flag officer commanding the Naval Service to submit implementation plans that would give effect to the effectiveness and efficiency recommendations in the Price Waterhouse report. Draft implementation plans for both services were submitted to me late last year. After careful consideration of both plans, I decided that additional work needed to be done to augment the draft implementation plan for the Naval Service. The chief of staff recently submitted a revised draft plan for my consideration.
I have recently written to the chief of staff in response to the draft Air Corps plan, which, among other things, requires revision in the light of recent decisions contained in the White Paper on Defence.
Only when these plans have been finalised can the consultation group's principal work begin. Further meetings of the group will occur as the implementation process develops.
The Government has decided that an updated Defence Forces personnel management plan should be prepared as a matter of priority. This plan will include a continuation of the policy of regular recruitment which is now in place in order to achieve an improved age profile in the Defence Forces. The chief of staff will manage recruitment to maintain the 10,500 strength and, to this end, funding for a recruitment advertising campaign was delegated to him in April 2000. A campaign to recruit an additional 750 personnel, including 20 Air Corps recruits and 130 Naval Service recruits, commenced recently. In addition, a competition to recruit 60 cadets, including 12 Air Corps and 16 Naval Service cadets, is ongoing.
The broader development of both services has been dealt with in the context of the White Paper on Defence which presented a positive opportunity to develop the Defence Forces for the long-term. Investment in both services continued during the White Paper process and considerable sums have been expended under the Defence Vote on weapons, ammunition, transport, communications and equipment for the Air Corps and Naval Service. I have very recently announced decisions in relation to major new equipment programmes which is a key element of White Paper implementation.
Air Corps capabilities will be augmented through a special £55 million investment programme over the next three years, with procurement of new helicopters being given a special priority.
The Naval Service vessel replacement programme has already commenced with the planned acquisition of a second new state of the art offshore patrol vessel similar to thele Roísín at a cost of some £20 million, as a replacement for the le Deirdre which has been in service for nearly 30 years and is approaching the end of its economic service life.
As with the reorganisation of the Defence Forces, the changes in the Air Corps and the Naval Service will be of a positive nature aimed at ensuring the ongoing development of these services consistent with the needs of the State and the taxpayer.
