Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 March 2013
4. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Defence if he will provide an update on the restructuring of the Defence Forces; the savings that have resulted from the disestablishment of the Western Brigade; the feedback, if any, that he has received from members of the Defence Forces with regard to this restructuring; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13493/13]
View answerArising from the comprehensive review of expenditure in 2011, the Government decided to stabilise the strength of the Permanent Defence Force at 9,500 personnel. Following that decision, it was decided that it was not viable to retain a three brigade structure within a strength ceiling of 9,500 personnel. Accordingly, a major reorganisation, encompassing a reduction in the number of Army brigades from three to two, was undertaken. The major reorganisation to give effect to this decision is ongoing and largely complete.
One consequence of the reorganisation was the disestablishment of the 4th Western Brigade and its associated units. At the same time, other units in the remaining brigades were amalgamated. It is difficult at this stage to estimate the savings made through the disestablishment of the Western Brigade as this is just one element of the reorganisation. Monetary savings have been delivered through the reduction in personnel strength. The reorganisation has improved the deployment options and sustainability of the Defence Forces, while maintaining an all-arms versatile force both at home and overseas.
It is regrettable that this issue is raised month after month. It reflects the extent to which the unilateral decision by the Minister in announcing the disestablishment of the 3rd Western Brigade came as a shock to members of the Defence Forces who are looking to the Green Paper initiative to form the basis for the reforms. I am a little disappointed that the notes supplied to the Minister of State do not give an indication of the savings made as a result of the initiative. PDFORRA has argued strongly that a strength of 9,500 personnel could have continued to be maintained effectively within a three brigade arrangement.
Will the Minister of State put it to the Minister for Defence that when the Green Paper process is under way, a return to a three brigade arrangement might be considered?
I must also put on record the concerns expressed to me by serving members of the Defence Forces who are being forcibly relocated from one part of the country to another. If the anecdotal information relayed to me is correct, then it appears that personnel are crisscrossing the country. This must give rise to increased costs and make the operational aspects of the work much more difficult. Is the Minister of State in a position to indicate whether costs have arisen in the context of allowances paid for relocation? Will he also indicate whether transport and travel costs have increased to a significant degree?
A three brigade structure was retained from the 1990s onward, when there were 11,500 full-time Defence Force personnel. This structure was also retained on foot of the White Paper on Defence published in 2000, which reduced the strength of the Permanent Defence Force to 10,500. It is no longer viable to retain the structure.
Some 1,772 Army personnel - 24% of its total strength - have been redeployed within the newly structured brigades and via the Defence Forces training centre. Any member of the Permanent Defence Force whose appointment was directly affected by the reorganisation was assessed for a new appointment during the reassignment phase. This was done to minimise the impact of the reorganisation on individuals. The reassignment process allowed for personnel due to be reassigned to indicate their choice of new appointment. In seeking to match personnel to be reassigned with appointments to be filled, the reassignment board based its decisions on a range of criteria. These included whether the person concerned held the substantive rank of the appointment, the person's length of service and his or her length of service in the rank appropriate to the appointment to be filled. Consideration was also given to the personal requirements of personnel. Every effort was made to redeploy personnel to locations close to their homes and to avoid disruption. It was not possible, however, to facilitate all personnel. Ultimately, the process resulted in some personnel displacement.
Does the Minister agree that if one considers the recent history of the Defence Forces, it is obvious that massive reform and reorganisation were willingly agreed with personnel in the late 1990s and early 2000s? Does he also agree that when other areas of the public service were expanding massively, in a manner that was counter-cyclical, the Defence Forces were becoming more slimmed-down and effective? In the context of the current crisis, rather than being recognised for what they have done and what they have contributed, the Defence Forces are now suffering disproportionately. This is because they are being asked to absorb the same or greater cuts than other areas of the public services which did not rationalise and modernise during the 1990s and 2000s.
The indicator for all of this is the situation in which we find ourselves nationally as a result of the mismanagement of the State's finances by the Government of which the Deputy's party was a part. The figures I supplied earlier relate to 2010, when Fianna Fáil was in power. At that time, the then Government reduced the proportion of GDP spent in this area. There are no figures available for the intervening years. The number of civil servants in the Department of Defence has decreased by 15%, which exceeds the 11% reduction in the number of Permanent Defence Force personnel during the same period. While we acknowledge that the situation is difficult, that barracks have closed and that redeployment has taken place, the Chief of Staff has made it clear that he has the resources necessary to allow him to do his job.
