Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 15 May 2001

Vol. 536 No. 2

Written Answers - Defence Forces Re-organisation.

Billy Timmins

Question:

84 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Defence if he has satisfied himself with the recent re-organisation of the Defence Forces; if additional changes have had to be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13703/01]

Minister for Defence (Mr. M. Smith)

My overall objective as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the country has the Defence Forces it needs and that the Defence Forces continue to be an organisation in which people are proud to serve. That is the overall objective of the White Paper and I assure the House that implementation is moving ahead quickly and positively.

The Chief of Staff is currently preparing a plan to restructure the PDF in accordance with the Government's decision on overall numbers. That plan will help us to achieve the following broad goals:

to provide a light infantry based force with an appropriate level of all-arms capability; to provide sufficient forces and capabilities to meet needs at home and to make a significant contribution abroad; to put in place a more cohesive and better equipped force than exists at present; and, to provide significant additional resources for equipment and infrastructure broadly within the existing level of financial allocation.

My intention is to have the plan finalised and implemented by end-2001, in accordance with the Government decision.

It is important that we put the new organisation in place and move ahead with the modernisation of the Defence Forces. It is equally important that the new organisation offers rewarding and challenging careers to Defence Forces personnel.

The White Paper recognises the importance of the career dimension and provides for the prep aration of an updated and very comprehensive Defence Forces integrated personnel management plan to address this and related issues. The Chief of Staff is currently drafting that plan and the process is well advanced. A key feature of the plan will be a continuation of the policy of regular recruitment which is now in place in order to achieve an improved age profile in the Permanent Defence Force.

Arising from the special study on the Air Corps undertaken by Price Waterhouse Consultants, and reflecting the policy parameters laid down in the White Paper, Air Corps management has submitted a draft implementation plan to me and I have approved in principle the proposed new Air Corps organisation and this will be put in place following the completion of consultations with the representative associations which are at an advanced stage.

As in the case of the Air Corps, the Naval Service prepared a detailed implementation plan which I have approved. Implementation is proceeding, including the putting in place of the new organisation provided for in the plan.

The White Paper provides that the overall strategy for the development of the Reserve Defence Force will be based on the report of the special steering group which reported in 1999. I am pleased that the various recommendations in the report have been broadly accepted as providing a general foundation on which the future development of the Reserve can be built.

Given the dependence of the Reserve on voluntary service, I was anxious that there should be an ongoing process of consultation before proposals are finalised. To facilitate this, I published the report of the steering group last year and launched a consultative process to seek the views of members of the Reserve in advance of the drawing up of an implementation plan.

The implementation of the new structural and organisational changes for the Reserve will require about six years to bring to completion.

I was particularly pleased last year to announce an unprecedented additional £250 million investment programme in new equipment and infrastructure. This will be funded from payroll savings and from the sales of property surplus to requirements.