Clare Daly
Question:27. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Defence if there is a timescale for the release of the military pension records. [48561/12]
View answerMilitary Archives
Questions (27)
Written answers
The Military Service Pensions Archive project is a cornerstone of the Government Centenary Programme. Approximately 300,000 files relating to the period from Easter Week, 1916, through the War of Independence and Civil War comprise this collection. The files relate mainly to applications by individuals and/or their dependants for the award of pension and gratuities for veterans who served as members of the Irish Volunteers, the Irish Citizen Army, the Irish Republican Army, Cumann na mBan, the National Army/Defence Forces on active service or who were casualties or wounded while on duty during the period from April and May 1916 through to 30 September 1923. A phased release of material into the public domain is planned. The first release, primarily web-based and concentrated on 1916 participants, is planned for early 2013. Regular releases relating to the War of Independence and Civil War will occur in the run up to 2016.
Subsequent releases will have a web element but it is important to note that not all papers on each file will be available online. Physical visits to the Military Archives will be required to see the full material. It is envisaged that the provision of accommodation for people wishing to access the Military Archives records and for the storage of the archives will be progressed further under the Governments Centenary Programme.
Defence Forces Deployment
Questions (28)
Mick Wallace
Question:28. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence if he will provide details in tabular form of all occasions on which Defence Forces personnel were deployed for civilian events from March 2011 to date in 2012; the cost of each deployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48468/12]
View answerWritten answers
The Defence Forces receive an extensive number of requests each year from individuals, organisations and from Government Departments and Agencies to deploy personnel to civilian events. These events range from a local charity organisation, where a handful of personnel might provide a Military display, to a national event such as the annual National Day of Commemoration where the Defence Forces have a key ceremonial role. Given the number and scale of these requests, it would not be feasible to capture the details sought in respect of every occasion where Defence Forces personnel were deployed for civilian events. I have however detailed the personnel numbers involved in some of the higher profile events in the tabular statement below.
Details in relation to the costs of these deployments are not recorded as no significant personnel costs arise as a result of the Defence forces' participation in these events. The only costs that may arise are in relation to subsistence and transport/fuel costs. These are not captured for every individual event but should the Deputy identify a particular event(s) that is of interest to him, I will request my Department to calculate the costs that may have been incurred and I will write to the Deputy directly.
Personnel Deployed to Key Civilian Events
|
Event |
2011 |
2012 |
|
1916 Easter Sunday Ceremony |
409 |
409 |
|
The National Day of Commemoration |
357 |
340 |
|
Annual Famine Commemoration |
164 |
119 |
Defence Forces Deployment
Questions (29)
Pádraig MacLochlainn
Question:29. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Defence the measures he will undertake to ensure that rural Reserve Defence Forces outposts are maintained and fully supported by permanent members of the Defence Forces. [48459/12]
View answerWritten answers
Arising from the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE), the Government stabilised the strength ceiling of the PDF at 9,500 personnel. A major re-organisation of the PDF was initiated which will entail a reduction in the number of Army Brigades from three to two. As part of this re-organisation the number of PDF personnel (known as PDF Cadre) available to work full-time with the Army Reserve is being reduced to 24 in each Brigade (48 in total). Additional support will be provided to the Army Reserve from PDF Units as part of their ongoing duties.
In light of the reduction in the number of full-time PDF Cadre, it is clearly not feasible to staff all posts in the same way as they are currently staffed and alternative approaches must be developed. I understand that the Steering Committee that undertook the VFM Review had due regard to the revised PDF structures and resource constraints when framing their recommendations.
As the proposed responses to these recommendations are currently being developed, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this point.
EU Battlegroups
Questions (30)
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:30. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Defence the cost of the Irish Army participation in the EU Battle Groups; the cost allocated for training and participation if they are actually dispatched to take part in a war; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44912/12]
View answerWritten answers
Ireland is currently participating in the Austro-German led Battlegroup, which will be on stand-by until 31 December 2012. In 2010, the then Government approved Ireland's participation in this Battlegroup. The other members of the Austro-German Battlegroup are Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Our contribution is a Reconnaissance Company together with staff posts at both the Operational and Force Headquarters amounting to approximately 175 personnel. During the stand-by period one officer has been deployed to the Battlegroup Headquarters in Ulm, Germany. This officer is engaged in training and planning activities. Ireland has previously participated in the Nordic Battlegroup in 2008 and 2011. The other members of the Nordic Battlegroup were Sweden, acting as Framework Nation, Finland, Norway, Estonia and Croatia (2011 only).
Any decision by Ireland to participate in a specific Battlegroup operation is subject to our national sovereign decision-making procedures - “Triple Lock”, i.e. UN mandate, Government and Dáil approval. The participation by the Defence Forces in EU Battlegroups increases its interoperability with forces from other Member States. The costs of equipment and additional training are marginal. The capabilities and the requisite high-end equipment in respect of Ireland's contributions to the Battlegroups already reside within the Defence Forces. No military equipment has been purchased specifically for EU Battlegroups. Training of the manoeuvre elements of the Austro-German Battlegroup took place in the contributing Member States - Irish troops were trained in Ireland. Unlike the Nordic Battlegroup, there were no joint field exercises or manoeuvre training with other elements in the Austro-German Battlegroup. Battlegroup training in Ireland is part and parcel of the overall programme of training for rapid deployment elements of the Defence Forces for overseas operations and, in the case of the current Battlegroup, comprises mainly the standard training of reconnaissance formations.
Under the Battlegroup Concept, Battlegroups are designed to be operational within 5-10 days of approval from the Council of the European Union and must be sustainable for at least 30 days which could be extended to 120 days, if resupplied. Based on previous deployments, the current estimated additional cost for a maximum 120 day Battlegroup deployment would be €10.7 million (excluding allowances and ammunition which are generally already provided for in the Defence Vote). This cost will only arise if the Battlegroup is actually deployed. There are no proposals under consideration at this time for the deployment of the Austro/German Battlegroup.
Question No. 31 answered with Question No. 13.
Question No. 32 answered with Question No. 12.
Overseas Missions
Questions (33)
Mick Wallace
Question:33. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Defence the number of Irish Defence Forces personnel currently serving in Syria; the role of Irish Defence Forces personnel in this location; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48467/12]
View answerWritten answers
Five (5) members of the Permanent Defence Force are deployed in Syria as part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO). The Defence Forces have participated in UNTSO since 1958. Defence Forces personnel serving with this mission are based in Syria, Israel and Lebanon. The 5 Defence Forces personnel based in Syria are part of Observer Group Golan (OGG) responsible for the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. Their duties include manning Observation Posts, conducting fortnightly inspections in the area; conducting patrols in the area (3 per fortnight) and conducting other tasks as required.
As the security situation in Syria remains highly unstable and volatile, Defence Forces personnel normally based in Damascus were relocated by the United Nations from Damascus to United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) accommodation on the Golan Heights, on 15 October 2012, as a temporary force protection measure. The Irish personnel continue to fulfil their roles from their current location. It is intended that they will return to accommodation in Damascus when the security situation allows it. It is not yet clear when that might be.
UNTSO works closely with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and UNDOF. The main objectives of UNTSO are to monitor ceasefires, to supervise armistice agreements and to assist the UN peacekeeping operation in the area. It also maintains a presence in the Egypt-Israel sector in the Sinai. UNTSO maintains offices in Beirut and Damascus.
Six members of the Permanent Defence Force who had been deployed as unarmed military observers to the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) were withdrawn in August 2012 when the missions mandate came to an end.