Thursday, 7 Feb 2013

Written Answers Nos 21-40

Defence Forces Recruitment

Questions (22)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Question:

22. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Defence the outstanding vacancies in the Defence Forces on 31 December 2012 and his plans to fill these. [6121/13]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

The attached table, which I propose to circulate, outlines the strength of the Permanent Defence Force as at 31 December 2012 the latest date for which figures are available, and the total vacancies, by rank, based on the rank establishment of 9,500. Competitions to establish panels to fill outstanding vacancies were held last year. Promotions from the panels are currently ongoing within the Permanent Defence Force in order to fill rank vacancies. It is my intention that promotions along with targeted recruitment will be carried out within the resource envelope allocated to Defence.

PDF Strength by rank as at 31 December 2012 versus PDF Rank Establishment of 9,500

	9,500 Rank Establishment	Strength at 31 December 2012	Vacancies by Rank
Lieutenant General	1	1	0
Major General	2	2	0
Brigadier General	8	8	0
Colonel	41	38	*3
Lieutenant Colonel	137	136	1
Commandant	336	327	9
Captain	452	433	19
Lieutenant	256	320	-64
Sergeant Major	43	42	1
Battalion Quartermaster Sergeant	44	44	0
Company Sergeant	245	196	49
Company Quartermaster Sergeant	199	175	24
Sergeant	1,330	1,068	262
Corporal	1,800	1,720	80
Private (including Cadet)	4,606	4,849	-243
Total	9,500	9,359	141

* Within the establishment figures there is provision for 10 Colonel positions overseas, however 8 of these are currently filled with no requirement to fill remaining 2 at present.

Note:

Equivalent Naval Service Ranks

Brigadier General/Commodore

Colonel/Captain

Lieutenant Colonel/Commander

Commandant/Lieutenant Commander

Captain/Lieutenant (NS)

Lieutenant/Sub LieutenantSergeant Mayor/Warrant Officer

Battalion Quartermaster Sergeant/Senior Chief Petty Officer

Company Quartermaster Sergeant/Senior Petty Officer

Company Sergeant/Chief Petty Officer

Sergeant/Petty Officer

Corporal/Leading Seaman

Private/Able Seaman

Public Sector Staff Remuneration

Questions (23)

Mary Lou McDonald

Question:

23. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Defence if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of staff in his Department or in bodies which fall under the remit of his Department whose annual remuneration including salary, pension and benefits at 31 December 2012 fell into bands of €150,000 to €199,000, €200,000 to €299,999, €300,000 to €399,999, and €400,000 and above; and if he will provide a breakdown of the positions held by staff in the relevant pay brackets. [6120/13]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

The Defence organisation includes civil servants, military personnel and civilian employees. It also includes the bodies under its aegis which, at 31 December 2012, were the Army Pensions Board and the Civil Defence Board. The Civil Defence Board has since been dissolved. None of the staff of the Defence organisation or its agencies are employed on a salary of €199,000 or above. Two individuals, the Secretary General and Chief of Staff, receive annual salaries in the €150,000 to €199,000 band.

Question No. 24 answered with Question No. 13.

Question No. 25 answered with Question No. 7.

EU Battle Groups

Questions (26, 31)

Brian Stanley

Question:

26. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Defence if he will provide a progress report on Ireland’s participation in the Austro-German Battlegroup; the total cost of participation so far; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6123/13]

Gerry Adams

Question:

31. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Defence if he will provide a progress report on negotiations on Ireland's possible participation in 2015 in the Nordic battle group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6124/13]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

I propose to take Questions Nos. 26 and 31 together.

Ireland participated in the Austro-German led Battlegroup, which was 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). A Battlegroup is a standard technical military term and it consists of about 1,500 personnel.The purpose of a battlegroup is to undertake operations (commonly referred to as the Petersberg Tasks which are set out in the Amsterdam Treaty) such as rescue tasks, peacemaking, peacekeeping and humanitarian tasks.Ireland participated in order to enhance both our own military capabilities and our inter-operability with other Member States’ Defence Forces.

Our contribution was a Reconnaissance Company.If the Battlegroup had been deployed, Ireland’s contribution would have amounted to approximately 175 personnel.During the standby period, one officer was deployed to the Battlegroup Headquarters in Ulm, Germany for training and planning activities.

The costs of equipment and additional training for participation in the Battlegroup was marginal.The capabilities and equipment in respect of Ireland's contributions to the Battlegroups already resided within the Defence Forces.Training of Irish troops for the Austro-German Battlegroup took place in Ireland and no joint field exercises or manoeuvre training took place.There were no specific additional costs arising in association with the preparation and standby period.

In relation to the Nordic Battlegroup, Ireland has been invited to participate and discussions are at a very early stage.The second Force Generation Conference was held in Sweden in early December 2012. The proposed contribution to this Battlegroup will be a Reconnaissance Company with associated HQ staff appointments and supporting elements. The model envisaged for the Battlegroup gives command of a multinational Reconnaissance Group HQ to Ireland, resulting in a raised profile.Any participation by Ireland in this Battlegroup will be subject to Government approval.

Question No. 27 answered with Question No. 8.

Defence Forces Strength

Questions (28)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

28. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Defence if he will confirm whether the Defence Forces are required to maintain a minimum number of personnel overall; if he will provide an itemised list of military equipment purchased for the Defence Forces over the past five years including the cost of each item purchased and which branch of the Defence Forces it was purchased for use in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6083/13]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

The Government decided last year to accept my recommendation that the strength of the Permanent Defence Force will be maintained at 9,500. As I have previously mentioned in the House, I believe this is the optimum strength required to fulfil all roles currently assigned by Government.The Military Authorities have advised that the strength of the Permanent Defence Force at 31 December 2012, the latest date for which details are available, was 9,359 thus requiring the recruitment of approximately 140 personnel to maintain the agreed Permanent Defence Force strength of 9,500. The consolidation of the Defence Forces formations into a smaller number of locations is a key objective in the ongoing defence modernisation programme and has been recommended in many reports over the past number of years. This was a key consideration of Government in addressing barrack closures as releasing personnel from security and support functions enables the operational capacity of the Defence Forces to be maintained notwithstanding the fall in strength.

Investment in new equipment for the Defence Forces, including the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service, and the on-going maintenance support of and training on that equipment, is provided for under various Subheads of the Defence Vote. The main particular Subheads involved relate to defensive equipment, military transport, aircraft, ships and naval stores, communications and information technology equipment.

Details of the expenditure under the various subheads over the past five years are as follows:

Area	2008 €000	2009 €000	2010 €000	2011 €000	2012 €000*
Defensive Equipment	45,291	33,279	37,412	36,617	29,150
Military Transport	17,587	15,293	15,812	14,372	12,573
Aircraft	40,581	19,887	16,800	15,488	16,287
Naval/Service Ships and Stores	16,246	14,177	37,087	30,542	33,558
Communications and Information Technology Equipment	10,856	9,681	10,205	7,683	6,561
Total	130,561	92,317	117,316	104,702	98,129

*Based on Provisional Outturn

Taking into account the level of expenditure involved, a wide range of military equipment has been purchased over the past five years for operational use by the Defence Forces. In that context, it is not the practice to provide any itemised list of all equipment purchased or to give a breakdown of which branch of the Defence Forces the equipment was for, as to do so could, in particular circumstances, compromise operational and security factors for the Defence Forces.

Emergency Planning

Questions (29)

Barry Cowen

Question:

29. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Defence the steps he has taken regarding the National Emergency Response Action Committee. [6086/13]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

Emergency Planning in this country is structured around the ‘Lead Department’ principle, which means that whichever Government Department is responsible for an activity in normal conditions will maintain that responsibility during a major emergency, particularly one that has a national level impact. The advantage of this approach is that the professionals, who deal with a particular sector on a daily basis, can bring their skills and expertise to bear and can quickly identify who is best placed to provide support in an emergency situation. At a national level, the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning, which I Chair, provides strategic direction and coordination of emergency planning.

The Government Task Force was established after the 9/11 attacks and is comprised of Ministers and/or senior officials from all Government Departments and key public bodies. It meets on a regular basis, the most recent meeting was held on 17 December 2012 and the next meeting is scheduled for 18 February 2013.

The Government Task Force provides a forum for keeping emergency planning high on the agenda of all Government Departments and it examines crosscutting issues that impact across Government. It is a forum for sharing of information and, from time to time, experts are invited to make presentations to the Task Force on any emerging emergency planning issues.

The Government Task Force meeting held on 9 November 2012 focussed on winter preparedness. After that meeting, together with my colleague Leo Varadkar T.D., Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, we both launched the 'Be Winter-Ready' information campaign for 2012-2013.

The purpose of this campaign is to provide timely information to the public on how to prepare for winter with the advice being delivered via Aertel pages, booklets and through the “Be Winter-Ready” website www.winterready.ie .

In December 2008 the Roles and Responsibilities in Emergency Planning was approved, which identified the lead Department and the supporting Departments and Agencies responsible for over 40 separate emergency scenarios. As part of this process, national guidelines for coordinating a national level emergency/crisis response were put in place, which outline how a National Coordination Group is convened under the lead Government Department given that responsibility. To illustrate this, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is designated the lead Department in coordinating the national level response to severe weather emergencies and during recent severe weather events, chaired meetings of the Severe Weather National Coordination Group, which included senior representatives from Government Departments, the Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána, Met Eireann, the National Roads Authority and other State Agencies.

This National Coordination Group examines all of the issues arising from severe weather events and provides a forum for sharing of information and helps to bring about a coordinated ‘whole of Government’ national response in such circumstances. The Group has met a number of times in 2012, particularly during the flooding in June 2012 that affected Cork and in early December 2012 in anticipation of a severe cold spell and possible heavy snowfall. The National Emergency Coordination Centre also provides support when the National Coordination Group is activated in response to a specific crisis/emergency.

Question No. 30 answered with Question No. 9.

Question No. 31 answered with Question No. 26.

Overseas Missions

Questions (32)

Jonathan O'Brien

Question:

32. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Defence if he will commit to protecting the triple-lock mechanism. [6127/13]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

In accordance with the provisions of the White Paper on Defence 2000, the Government is committed to maintaining Ireland’s contribution to international peace support operations through the deployment of Defence Forces personnel on UN mandated peace support operations. Deployment on all peace support missions is subject to what is referred to as “the triple lock” – i.e. Government, Dáil and UN approval. However, personnel may be deployed for training, for humanitarian operations and for other such reasons under the authority of the Government in accordance with the provisions of the Defence (Amendment) Act, 2006, which formalised arrangements in this regard.

The requirements of the “triple lock” were most recently set out in Ireland’s national declaration associated with the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.

A Defence Green Paper is due to be published shortly which will initiate the process of developing a new White Paper on Defence. Obviously, since the last White Paper on Defence, both the domestic and the international security environment and the related threats and challenges have evolved significantly. In this context the Green Paper will engender discussion on all relevant matters including the triple lock. However, it would not be appropriate for me to prejudge the outcome of that debate and I look forward to a positive and engaged discussion on the issue, in the context of formulating a forward looking defence policy for Ireland for the next ten years through the development of the next Defence White Paper.

Overseas Missions

Questions (33)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

33. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence the number of tours of duty there were to Lebanon since 1 January 2000; the number of Privates, Corporals, Sergeants, CQs and Company Sergeants that were on each trip. [6126/13]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

There were 13 tours of duty (deployments) to the Lebanon since 01 January 2000. The breakdown of the ranks requested by the Deputy for each contingent is set out in the table below:

UNIT	Company Sergeant	CQ	Sergeants	Corporals	Privates
86 Infantry Battalion	13	12	79	114	259
87 Infantry Battalion	10	14	98	153	269
88 Infantry Battalion	9	15	93	142	243
89 Infantry Battalion	9	15	93	142	243
41 Irish Component	8	14	37	17	17
43 Irish Component	6	6	14	13	7
44 Irish Component	6	3	14	7	11
34 Infantry Group	1	2	16	54	63
36 Infantry Group	3	2	10	60	63
104 Infantry Battalion	7	6	59	115	219
105 Infantry Battalion	7	9	52	104	209
106 Infantry Battalion	5	7	44	77	151
107 Infantry Battalion	6	6	41	81	156
TOTAL BY RANK	90	111	650	1079	1910
GRAND TOTAL	3840

Question No. 34 answered with Question No. 17.

Defence Forces Remuneration

Questions (35)

Pádraig MacLochlainn

Question:

35. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Defence if he plans to restore the gratuity payment to members of the Defence Forces. [6118/13]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

The recent Value for Money Report on the Reserve Defence Force (RDF) explored the options available to best support the Reserve Defence Force into the future. The central recommendation from the Value for Money Steering Committee was for the retention of the RDF with approximately 4,000 personnel spread countrywide to be based in barracks and in 16 other locations. It recommended the abolition of the RDF gratuity and re-assignment of the budgetary provision into paid training for members of the Reserve. It was in order to boost funding available for paid training sufficient to sustain a Reserve Defence Force of approximately 4,000 personnel. I have accepted the recommendation of the Value for Money Report on the RDF to reallocate funding into paid training so as to maintain the strength of the Reserve at approximately 4,000. It is not my intention that the gratuity would be restored.

Question No. 36 answered with Question No. 8.

Question No. 37 answered with Question No. 12.

Question No. 38 answered with Question No. 15.

Departmental Expenditure

Questions (39)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

39. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence the extent to which he is satisfied that the savings to date achieved in his Department in compliance with the Memorandum of Understanding he inherited from his predecessors are sufficient to meet the requirements as specified, if he is assured that the procedures so far adopted do not interfere with the efficacy, reliability and capability of the Defence Forces, his views that adequate resources remain available to his Department to ensure an ability to meet national or international requirements and or responsibilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6128/13]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

The required savings of recent years, in both pay and non-pay, have necessitated a flexible and adaptive approach from the Defence Organisation. A key focus has been the prioritisation and maintenance of Permanent Defence Force operational capacity in order to ensure that the Permanent Defence Force retain the capacity to fulfil all roles assigned. All elements of Defence expenditure were examined for the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure in 2011. In response to these resource constraints, the Defence organisation has undertaken further significant reorganisation and reform. These changes will ensure that the Defence Forces organisational structures are configured to maximise required capabilities. I am satisfied that the Defence Forces can continue to fulfil all roles assigned by Government.

Defence Forces Strength

Questions (40)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

40. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence the extent to which he remains optimistic that he may retain the strength of the Defence Forces at maximum level for the foreseeable future notwithstanding compliance with budgetary requirements, if this will apply to military equipment including vehicles or technology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6129/13]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

I am advised by the Military Authorities that the strength of the Permanent Defence Force at 31 December 2012, the latest date for which details are available, was 9,359. This is against the agreed stabilised strength for the Permanent Defence Force of 9,500. In this context it is my intention that targeted recruitment will continue within the resource envelope allocated to Defence. Targeted recruitment will ensure that into the future the Permanent Defence Force can continue to deliver all operational outputs required by Government in the domestic environment as well as for overseas peace support operations. The full spectrum of Defence Forces personnel and equipment, is also available for deployments in response to emergencies and crises. The acquisition of new equipment for the Defence Forces remains a focus for me as Minister for Defence. Defence Forces personnel have the most modern and effective range of equipment, including logistical equipment, to carry out their day-to-day roles at home and overseas. However, it is imperative that the Department and the Defence Forces, similar to all other Government Departments, must take into account the current difficult economic environment we are now operating in. The budgetary situation will continue to dictate the level of funding available for new equipment, including vehicles, upgrades of equipment and different technologies. Decisions will be made accordingly on a strictly prioritised basis with a view to maintaining the capability of all roles assigned by Government to the Defence Forces. Within the Resource envelope available for Defence, I am satisfied that the Defence Forces can continue to fulfil all roles assigned by Government.